Montevideo

For two days we have been exploring Montevideo on foot, sometimes on tourist paths, sometimes off the beaten track. The jet lag and the unusual heat, as well as the noise and hustle and bustle of the city, are still giving us a hard time. But we still have plenty of time to acclimatize - today we received the news that our car will not arrive as expected on 11.01., but - presumably - not until 18.01. After the initial annoyance of such a delay, we are now taking it easy and will spend our time in Uruguay as pleasantly as possible - there is still so much to discover and we will take it easy.

We have already taken the first bureaucratic hurdle today. We met our 'agent' Eduardo Kessler, who is supposed to help us get the Dubs through customs and out of the port. After a long and hot walk through the less picturesque outskirts towards the port, we met Eduardo at his office as agreed around 11:00 am. We communicated in English and a little Spanish, and Eduardo personally took us to 'Migracion', where we were supposed to get a document that would identify us as tourists so that we can bring the Dubs into the country duty-free. We were told in advance that we would have to plan for two to three hours of waiting time for this document - if we were to arrive at 7:00 am. We arrived at half past 11, and when we saw the many people waiting, we expected to have to spend the entire day there. Eduardo disappeared into the hustle and bustle of the desks, greeted a young man, waved us over, and disappeared with the words that we had to fill out something here and pay later. The young man took my passport, filled out the form, I signed it, was called to the cash desk two minutes later, paid a few Pesetas, and held my document in my hands after 5 minutes. I wonder what the people who had been sitting and standing there for hours thought about that? For us, it was a stroke of luck, because with our limited Spanish, it would have been difficult. Tomorrow we will try to get the 'Bill of Landing' at the shipping company - this time without Eduardo.

Afterwards, we went to our favorite coffee shop, actually a kind of beer garden in a small, shady park, just a few steps from our hotel - but with the best Cordado we have had so far. The coffee in the hotel is simply undrinkable. In the evening, we made an expense list for our expenses - after all, accounting is necessary. The price level in Uruguay is quite high - significantly higher than at home. At least when it comes to prices for coffee, eating out, groceries, and hotels. Public transport, fees, etc. seem to be on our level.

We ended the day in a small bistro restaurant near the hotel with a glass of wine.