Confession time. I had no idea what I’d see or do in Uruguay before we decided to go. I saw that it was close to Argentina, and figured I’d hit another country since we were nearby. Let me say it plainly: If you go to Buenos Aires and don’t spend 1-2 nights in Montevideo (at least) you’re missing out. We didn’t spend any time in Colonia, but it was clear that Uruguay is a worthwhile spot for several days if you’re in the area. Montevideo felt a bit like Miami/ Miami Beach to me (not the wild club part of South Beach). It felt safe and was very walkable too.
Speaking of walking, we started our first full day basically doing everything Santiago told us to do in our discussion. We started with a walking tour of the old city and got a better sense of the history of the county and the presidencies. For lunch, I had some chorizo and a steak that was far too big for a midday meal (esp after a giant sausage as a start) After resting for a few hours, we met with an awesome host for some pastries and mate (check out her IG here). After dinner, we went to Carnaval! We walked for several miles.
On our second full day we walked for 10 miles (literally) around the city in the other direction, then went back to Carnaval. I’m proud of our 25,000+ steps seeing the neighborhoods.
The meat was as awesome as advertised. There are apparently more cows than people in Uruguay. The mate (pronounced “Mah-Tay”) is absolutely everywhere. They drink it ALL DAY! Everywhere you looked, you saw people carrying their mate cup and thermos of hot water. Drinking mate was clearly a national obsession. It was actually pretty good too!
The photos in this gallery are some of the pix I snapped as we walked around and experienced the city. Carnaval photos are in another post.
Mate and pastries are an excellent combination. If you visit Montevideo, you MUST find Mary Stephanie on AirBNB and book her. Her IG is here too.
Bamboo did not think highly of us taking over the living room and angrily watched us eat pastries and sip mate from behind the wall most of the time we were there.
