So we arrived in Buenos with 10 days to spare before my flight to Rio and decided to pop over to Uruguay to check out what this little interesting little country has to offer. Although small in comparison to its neighbours, in the last few years Uruguay has legalised abortion, civil unions between same-sex partners and even the state-controlled sale of marijana. Yes, from April 2014 , when the law goes into effect, it will be the first country in South America where you can legally buy and grow marijuana. Uruguay’s president, José Mujica himself is an interesting story. After being tortured and imprisoned for 13 years under the Uruguayan military dictatorship, he is now one of the most humble presidents in the world. He refuses to live in the presidential palace, he drives an old bocho (beatle) and he donates over two thirds of his salary to charity every year. Amazing.
So we caught the ferry across the Río de la Plata and in 1 hour and 15 minutes we were already treading on Uruguayan soil. Our first destination was the town Colonia de Sacramento, which is not only the nearest ferry destination but was also recommended as a pretty place to visit.
Colonia de Sacramento was founded by the Portuguese in 1680 and used to smuggle goods across the river to Buenos Aires. It is a very pretty town with a lovely historical centre the only problem with us was that it was raining almost the whole time we were there so we didn’t get to enjoy it as much as we would have liked.
We did, however manage to come to a few quick conclusions about Uruguay. Firstly, it is horrifically expensive here in comparison to the rest of South America. I bought one empanada for 38 Uruguayan pesos (1.7USD), which is the equivalent to 3.5 empanadas in some parts of Argentina. And the night in the cheapest hostel was the most expensive we have had so far. Considering the average salary in Uruguay is only 600USD it is difficult to understand why everything is so expensive.
Secondly, Uruguayans are probably more obsessed with maté than Argentinians. You just do not see an Uruguayan on the street without a maté in his hand- fishing, on the beach, wherever.
And finally, Uruguayans are equally as obsessed with meat as the Argentinians and proudly share with all the fact that their country contains 3 million humans and about 10 millions cows 🙂
In the ferry
Sweaty and exhausted due to the heat and humidity
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