Uruguay

It's been a long time. It was cold in Buenos Aires and Chile, and since I had gotten all my things stolen, it changed my route a little bit. I went to meet a friend who was coming to Santiago who had brought some things with him for me and then I went back to Bolivia, where it was nice and warm. After a few weeks up there, I came back down South where spring was starting and it was starting to get nice again!

Patagonia will be coming up soon, and I would prefer to have nice weather rather than freezing cold temperatures. But this post is Uruguay!

Uruguay is an interesting little country full of quirky little corners. It's really expensive. That came as a big surprise. I got there by crossing the river from Buenos Aires on a high speed ferry. It only took about an hour.

I went to three cities, Colonia Del Sacramento, Montevideo and Punta del Este.

Colonia is a small ancient town. I like the old city there. You feel like you stepped back in time. The town is so small, they don't even have taxis, because you can walk everywhere! The streets are cobble, the buildings are brick, and there are even ruins hanging around.

The lighthouse on the ruins of a convent

 Tree lined cobble stoned streets!

Above is the old gate to the city. Colonia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it shows fine examples of colonial Spanish and Portuguese architecture. I had a good time there.

Montevideo is a sprawling capital city. It just goes on for miles and miles. I went to the old city there and was surprised at the lack of upkeep and restoration that they do (or don't). Beside 300-400 year old buildings were old 1970s style buildings and brand new modern all glass skyscrapers. It felt like the city didn't know whether it wanted to be old or new. I've shown some of the older buildings below.
It's hard to get a sense of the grandeur of the Banco de la Republica del Uruguay because there were no people around. It was seriously a ghost town when I was there. But this building is massive, easily 4 or 5 stories high.

The balconies (picture above) were so intricate and adorned with so many different things. The artists really took their time sculpting. This seems to be a lost art in North America. Finally, the Teatro Solis is the oldest theatre in Montevideo. I just wanted to check out the building, but there were people dancing tango out front! Amazing! Check out the video...

Punta del Este is a serious beach town. And when I say serious, I mean it. There was nobody there when I was there, because it's still winter down here. There was no one on the beach because it was cold. It seems like the Miami Beach of South America though. Casinos line the streets alongside high-end stores. There are dozens of condos being built with ocean views. It rained when I was there and was sunny on the very last day. They have this cool hand in the sand where you can take pictures. The skies cleared on my last day there...so sad. It's back to Buenos Aires where more adventures await!