Travel guide for URUGUAY

Activities

Culture

On Sunday nights in the Palermo district in Montevideo there are camdombe groups that drum weekly. Three people from teh hostel bought a few boxes of wine and walked with the group. It was great watching the group, the dancers, and the random group of people who were watching. It was also a great thing to do at the end of my trip when money was running low!

Sport Events

Montevideo has two soccer teams. Penarol and National. One of the people I met in Punta del Diablo asked if I wanted to go... he said it woudl change my life. We hung out on the rambla all day... drinking... picnicing... and then walked to the game that night. When we got close to the stadium a police officer on horse came and swiped all of our bottles pretty suddenly, so note to self... if you walk there... don't drink while walking... you may get killed by horses. The game was great. Everyone was dressed up in colors... singing and jumping around the entire time. People were shooting off fireworks and sparklers when there was a goal. I had a blast. I would say don't wear sandels or pants taht are too long because people were peeing all over the place. Sit in the 'cheap seats' where the everyday Uruguayos are. Wear comfortable shoes because you will be standing the entire time and people can be a little pushy.

Leisure

Go walk on the rambla. It goes from the Port in Cuidad Vieja and goes about 40km.

Shopping

On San Jose, two blocks from teh intendencia, there is a place called marcado cultural where they have craft stands of uruguayo artists. You can get anything from a mate to key chain, but it is all really well made. ALso the artists take turns manning the stands, so you can talk to the artists as well.

Be Cautious

I would say be careful in Cuidad Veija at night. Just like most other places... the touristy part of town is surronded by slums. At night there are people there begging for money. They snatched a dutch girl's purse while walking back from a bar.

Best routes

I arrived in BA, spent three weeks there... hard to leave. Then took the ferry. www.buquebus.com to Colonia. Colonia was very quaint, with tons of old streets, buildings, and stores. (After travelling the rest of Uruguay though, I realized all teh prices in Colonia are super expensive... so if youare planning on buying anything get it in Montevideo.) I spent one day in Montevideo, then headed out to Punta del Este. I stayed there for 2 days at 1949 hostel, which was expensive, but right in the center of evertyhing. Being there in Febuary, there wasn't many people in town. It was mroe like Miami beach than I had hoped though... so I head from there to La Pedrera, which is a beach town in Rocha. It is a beautiful city. The main street is full of restaurants, and then just ends on this beautiful cliff. I stayed two days there as well. There was a jazz festival at one of the restaurants that was fun one of the nights. It still had a touch of class, like Punta del Este, but more laid back. From there I went to Cabo Polonio, a small small town on the beach in Uruguay. (You take a bus down highway 10. It drops you off on the side of the road and then you take a 4x4 truck to the actual city. Half the drive on teh 4x4 is off road. Cobo was also very beautiful. There is no electricity so everything is run on generators. No roads. Just a whole bunch of dirty hippies trying to sell you there goods. I made the mistake of not making a reservation at teh hostel, so I ended up paying them to watch my bags and fell asleep by some rocks around sunrise after a night on the town. Then I took a bus from the roadside to Punta del Diablo. I ended up on a wait list at El Diablo Tranquilo Hostel... and at 6pm ended up getting in. The hostel was beautiful with a big common area to sit around the fire, outside kitchen, great view,one block away from the beach, and fantastic showers...after sleeping on the beach all night... it was definitly needed. The dorms were a little small, I didnt' spend mcuh time in there at all inbetwen nights out at their bar...(whole nother story.) then napping on the beach all day with a caprinha in hand... (the bar has a walkway down to the beach. They delivered right to my towel.) I ended up staying there 5 days in Punta del Diablo... really didn't want to leave. The town was a mix between Cabo and La Pedera. There were tons of little quichitos on the beach, several bars open... each with their own vibe... good seafood... surfing... which I tried the second and thrid day and coudl barely walk the next day... The last day I ended up talking to one of the owners during breakfast before I hit the bus. She was from Minnesota! What are the chances... really! Two girls from the same county in Minnestoa meeting up in a small fishing village in UY. She had moved down here with her guy she met in Madison and loved it. I sadly left Punta del Diablo for Montevideo with an offer to work in the hostel whenever I came back... very very tempting. I spent three days in Montevideo nursing my sun burn, went to a show in teh Solis theatre, which was super cool, but in Spanish... which took alot away from it because I only have survival spanish.) Saw the Tambores in Palermo, had an asado at red hostel, which was very nice, and just walked around. There was also a street market... tristan narvaja.. or something like that on SUnday morning. That was fun to walk around and see. Oh ya, I also had some great food. I went to a place called La Otra, where I got the best steak I have ever had in my whole life. Picanha. mmm. Then back to BA..

Value 4 money

Hanging out on the beach beer/caprinha in hand in Punta del Diablo. The asado at Red Hostel The terrace of the bar El Diablo Tranqulo in Punta del Diablo The soccer game Watching the tambores in Palermo. The steak at La Otra. worth every peso.

Wish it had

Skipped Colonia and Punta del Este and just spent more time in Punta del Diablo.