One week in Uruguay

Since I caught up on my neglected diary notes on the evening before our departure, I didn't have time to pack. So I had to get up very early on Sunday morning, May 7th. But as a reward, I got a beautiful sunrise from the balcony of 'my' apartment in Buenos Aires. After one week there, it has really become my home. How nice to know that I would return. That's why I was able to leave some things there and set off with a lighter backpack.

In the morning, Karin came by to pick up the keys (because it's actually her apartment, but more about that in the next blog) and we could take a train ride together. At the harbor, I met Bénédicte, a French girl I befriended at the language school in Santiago. Funny enough, she arrived in Buenos Aires at the same time. We met a few times, planned our trip to Uruguay and will meet again in Bolivia in June.

The ferry was different than we had imagined. Nothing like a Bodenseefähre where you can go up. Rather a feeling of being in an airplane but soooo huge! It quickly and safely took us to Colonia, where we had already reserved a hostel.

Colonia del Sacramento

Everyone said that Colonia is so beautiful and they were not lying. Although it rained most of the day, we still got a beautiful view of the town.

And the rain stopped just in time for the sunset, which we could enjoy on the pier.

Before the rain started again, we escaped to an ice cream parlor (omg ice cream with Dulce de Leche and Swiss chocolate!!) and after planning our next stage in the hostel, we found a divine all-you-can-eat buffet with a huge selection of salads and Asado that you could select directly from the grill. And for dessert Flan with? Of course. Dulce de leche. And then a night-time digestion walk at the beautifully illuminated harbor. We felt so comfortable in this city.

Punta del Diablo

We used the rainy Monday to cover some distance. We took the bus at 8 o'clock to Montevideo and from there to Punta del Diablo. Actually, Punta del Este is THE place to be, where you have to go, or rather be seen. They say it's the Saint Tropez of South America and that Shakira and who knows where else have a house there. But since we mainly wanted to go to the beach, we preferred this quaint little place. Because the pictures of Punta del Este promised mainly a tourist beach built up with high-rise buildings. We arrived in Punta del Diablo at 7 pm, but in the darkness it felt like the middle of the night. And the bus stop was really somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, a New Zealander and two Germans got off with us, who wanted to go to the same hostel, and the girls knew the way. Together, we walked through the deserted streets in the drizzling rain. Accompanied by more or less dogs. They are really annoying. Especially when one thinks it can join you and then other dogs feel provoked as they pass by their yard and start fighting. And you stand in between thinking 'thanks a lot...!'

The hostel 'Diablo tranquilo' was great! The people were relaxed and nice, from the breakfast terrace you could see the sea, and the common room was spacious and cozy. We stayed there for 2 nights to have a whole day for an activity.

Since I couldn't find a suitable place for my back exercises, a staff member gave me a tip that there is a terrace outside another building. I do the exercises every morning and I even brought my yoga mat, otherwise the pain would be unbearable. Finding a place for it is always a challenge. Outside, I realized how big the hostel's property is and how many cute accommodation options there are. I was really lucky with the weather and could do my exercises there in the sunshine. On the first morning, I met a group of cute puppies on the way, one of which accompanied me up, crawled under and over me, and chewed on my hair. On the second morning, my plan didn't work out because a stupid big dog claimed the terrace as his own and thought it was funny to throw himself at me, to be petted or to bite into my yoga mat. Or into me. That wasn't cute anymore. That day, I gave up and squeezed myself and the mat into a corner inside the hostel. I could only get rid of the smell of the stupid dog much later, by hand washing my clothes again.

On the first morning there, on Tuesday the 9th of May, we took it easy, planned the next few days, and wrote Couchsurfing requests for Montevideo. Everything is so much easier with two people! You can discuss decisions and don't always have to deal with everything alone. Don't have all the responsibility. You have only half the work of looking up hostels, bus connections, and other things. Especially Béné is better and quicker at that since she used to work in a travel agency. Half the work when cooking. Always someone familiar to talk to, and I also have more self-confidence and it's easier for me to speak in Spanish with others when she is there. But we are also really lucky that we get along so well. We have a similar level of Spanish and now consistently speak Spanish to each other. We both have a similar need for how much we want to do and see, but then also take a break and enjoy good food.

At noon, we rented 2 bikes from the hostel to ride to the national park. It was also very beautiful, but when we arrived at the beach around 4 o'clock, it was already cold. We underestimated how far it would be, and the bikes were not very good, which didn't make it easier to make progress. We also couldn't find the shortcut that a hostel employee had mentioned. In fact, we were really close to our hostel, but unfortunately, the path ended there. My mood changed. We were hungry and exhausted and could hardly imagine riding all the hilly way back. But then a car passed by nearby. The first people we saw on the whole route. I immediately went up to ask if they knew another way. They turned out to be a German family traveling through South America for a year with their 3 children (so great!). Full of helpfulness, compassion for us poor lost souls, and joy of life, the father quickly put our bikes on the roof of the car and they took us to the village, right to the store on our street corner!

We had really outrageous luck! It is also so inspiring to meet such great people.

At the hostel, after this adventure, we first had a beer, chips, and later a Dulce de Leche ice cream, of course :)

On Wednesday morning, we had to leave early again because we wanted to at least go to the beach right in front of our door before our bus ride. After my dog-accompanied exercises and before breakfast, we went there. Surrounded once again by an exhausting pack of dogs.

Getting up early really paid off, to stand in the waves once and the water was actually quite warm. And back at the hostel, the puppies came towards us again. It's a pity that they do not stay so small and will probably become as annoying and rough as the others. (Even though it doesn't sound like it here - I actually really like dogs :D But only as long as I can assess them and they don't suddenly come rushing at me in the middle of nowhere. Or bite 'for fun'. Or rub abnormally stinky and on my clothes, which I have to wash out by hand again.)

I could enjoy breakfast even more because I had intelligently bought rice cakes, so I could spread jam and Dulce de Leche on them 'like a normal person'. It's always a bit of luck whether the included breakfast in the hostels also includes muesli or just wheat bread, in which case I have to make something of my own. Rice cakes are not as great as bread, but still an affordable solution.

Fortunately, we could wait for our bus at a stop a few streets away so we didn't have to go all the way back to the terminal where we had arrived. On the way, we saw many pretty little houses that we wouldn't have encountered in Punta del Este. And one of the overexcited dogs from earlier joined us again, but this time limping. It breaks your heart to know that as a stray dog, he won't get any help. It's also sad that he almost trustingly joined us. I am always fascinated by the fact that so many dogs still run towards people despite all the disappointments.

Cabo Polonio

Cabo Polonio was a tip from a Dutch woman I met in my hostel in Castro, who lived in Uruguay with her boyfriend for 3 years. It is a nature reserve, not connected to the road network or public electricity and water supply. That means you can only take the bus to the terminal and then buy another ticket for a Camión, which takes you to the place.

We waited for the departure in the beautiful weather..

.. were told at some point that we had to go to the other side of the ticket booth and couldn't believe our eyes. Although we had already heard that we would need such a vehicle, we had a different idea of what this Camión would be than this:

We had to put our backpacks in this open flap or whatever it's called at the back. We were among the last to board and this luggage space was already full. When I pointed out to the driver that the backpacks on top would definitely not hold, he gestured reassuringly that he would take care of it. He didn't. Fortunately, another woman who was sitting all the way at the back was attentive and was already busy tying Bénédicte's backpack to the frame of the vehicle when I rushed to the back at the beginning of the journey because I realized that the guy's statement could be forgotten. This is one of the things I learned in the theater: to react. We tend to wait first out of politeness, even though we have a bad feeling. And then we are appalled afterwards. I will write about the false learned politeness some other time, because the thought of how dangerous it can be really concerns me at the moment.

But first, let's talk about the horror trip! When I was a child, I got sick from everything; driving in a car, train, and bus. Today it's usually fine as long as I concentrate on the road. I just must not look at my phone or read (that's why I'm equipped with my sacred mp3 player full of music and audiobooks for all the bus rides here). But this Camión was really beyond good and evil, let alone normal means of transportation. Because of the tarps, you couldn't look outside anywhere, and the thing swayed so much that I was firmly convinced that we would tip over with a swing and everyone would die. I cannot remember when I was this sick from nausea. Bénédicte didn't know how to deal with me. She spoke kindly to me, but I, pale as death, was not able to answer anything and was irritated by the 'we'll be there soon' remarks.

When we finally arrived, we were greeted by a young woman who worked at the 'Lobo Hostel Bar' where we wanted to go anyway. Since it is not the season, we hadn't made a reservation and that was fine. She showed us the way and explained that they filter the water themselves, so you can't drink it. There is also a little electricity from solar panels and a wind turbine.

I stumbled after her and took forever to recover halfway. But there are worse things than resting in such a beautiful place:

Béne was so relieved when I got some color back in my face, and so we took a walk through the Hippie village. And I mean really with original Hippie vibes, as cannabis consumption is more or less legal here and sometimes the amount of smoke in the air seemed enough to get high :D

We played cards with three other Frenchmen we had met in the Diablo Tranquilo hostel and who had arrived in Cabo Polonio on the same bus. Playing cards is much more common among the French. Even in the other hostels, there were always only French-speaking rounds getting together to play cards. I generally have a fear of card games because I always feel like I don't get them and that everyone will react stupidly. But the others explained it to me in a very nice way in Spanish, the rules were not overly complicated, nobody reacted disdainfully when I did something thoughtless or cheated or desperately wanted to win. So I could really feel comfortable. And even win a round for once :)

We all ate the fish risotto offered by the hostel's restaurant and then stood by a campfire for a long time with a great atmosphere. There was guitar and harmonica music and singing, and we even had a full moon. This moon seemed even more impressive because there was no light at all except for the lighthouse. In the night, I was so grateful that I had brought my sleeping bag because the thin blanket at the hostel didn't reach anywhere. In the evening, I had put on almost all the clothes I had, it was so cold. But we had much more peace and almost had the beach to ourselves during the walk. In summer, this must be incredible with all the tourists and surfers.

For my exercises the next day, Thursday, I had the coolest spot ever. On the rooftop terrace of the hostel, in the sun, with a view of the sea. Then we walked along the beach in the other direction again, which seemed much more beautiful and special to us than in the other places.

Since there was no internet, I made a call to a Couchsurfing host from a friendly guest (everyone here is sooo nice!) who has a Uruguayan phone. Unfortunately, it didn't work out with him, but I was very proud that I could now even have a phone call in Spanish without the help of the otherwise so supportive gestures.

In the hostel kitchen, which is covered but outdoors, we cooked an improvised lunch from pasta (for Béné, because it's made of wheat), mashed potatoes (from powder, for me), and a tomato-carrot salad. I am always surprised by what delicious things can be conjured from a few ingredients.

After lunch in the sun, we started the journey back. I was mega panicky about it, but Béné managed to prevent me from walking the quite long distance (for which I would have had to leave very early) and convinced me that it would be better on the roof. There are a few places up there that we only noticed during the journey the previous day and from which you can see something. Initially, I wasn't convinced yet:

And there was a boy sitting at my feet who didn't think it necessary to move, even though there was space, and who kept his head dangerously close to my shoes all the time.

But it really is a huge difference when you see that we are NOT about to tip over. The swaying on the dunes was much less dramatic from above. Also because there was high sand on both sides of the path, where we would have fallen relatively soft. So I could even enjoy the view:

Montevideo

When we arrived in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, it was actually already late, and we didn't know where to go first because we were still waiting for confirmations from our many Couchsurfing requests. Unfortunately, they disappointed us, but thanks to a park with wifi, we found a hostel very close by where we got free beds at half past ten at night. And we really had luck with it.

The 'Caballo Loco Hostel' (translated 'crazy horse'..) was clean, spacious, and even had a pool table.

On Friday evening, we met a group of Chilean guys there with whom we had a lot of fun and realized again how impossible the Chilean dialect is to understand! But we were glad to be able to speak Spanish because we were really tired of all the English in the hostels. Besides, Spanish words now come to mind first, which makes speaking English really difficult. And all the overzealous, superficial, and always the same short conversations like 'Heeeey where are you from??' no longer appeal to us either.

With the Chileans, we also found a bar where a live band was playing and in between, two couples were dancing Salsa at breathtaking speed. But other than that, people can just dance here. And they do. Even the guys we went out with in Santiago simply had fun dancing with each other. I have never experienced this in Germany, most men there are too good for it :D

We were really lucky because after the band, only Reggaeton came on. A Latin American music style that Béné adores and that by now has only made it to Europe as a few songs (Gasolina, Chantaje, El Perdón..). And so we are always looking for clubs where this music is playing :D That's why we both enjoyed dancing to this music for a while even after the guys went back to the hostel. It's so convenient with Béné that she is so independent, and you can walk back at night together as well (Don't worry, in Bolivia, we will always take a taxi). And on both evenings, there was so much going on on the well-lit streets that we really felt safe.

After the sunny beach days, we had less luck with the weather in Montevideo. On Saturday, we went on a city tour in the rain.

I realized again how unknown Uruguay is to us. It's so small, but really beautiful and very safe. So if you ever want to go on vacation in South America, I can highly recommend it!!

On Sunday, we visited the famous market, where there really is everything. We even found a stand that sold typical food from Venezuela with gluten-free bread! Filled with meat and avocado. A dream! Especially as we had been looking for avocados in vain most of the time and could only make guacamole once.

Then I found a nice notebook as a souvenir for Karin from a woman who makes all the notebooks herself and individually with quotes.

Although I am usually not a fan of crowds, I really felt comfortable at this market.

I couldn't quite imagine what 'everything' meant at first, but it's true. From several fruit and vegetable stands to the usual jewelry and trinket sales, half furniture stores, and actual animals! The poor ones..

We also visited the 'landmark' of Montevideo, unfortunately in gray weather, but at least in dry weather.

And so our paths separated again on Monday, May 15th. I went back to Buenos Aires, where Karin picked me up from the harbor in the evening. Béné stayed with a workaway family near Montevideo for another two weeks, where she helped in the kitchen and garden. Next, she will continue to Brazil, and luckily we will meet again soon in Bolivia!