After arriving in Buenos Aires, we spent just one day in Argentina before taking the ferry to Uruguay. The ferry arrives in Colonia del Sacramento, just across the Rio del Plato (the river/bay that separates Argentina and Uruguay). We enjoy the quiet atmosphere in this charming colonial-style city. Before night falls, we start the first kilometers by bike towards Montevideo, here we go!
The 200 km to the capital passed very quickly, even too quickly. Between the cow fields (yum, good South American meat 😋) we only see a few palm trees from time to time. The rural roads are used very little (considering the obstacles we have had to overcome, we understand 😉). Unfortunately, these roads make us take a huge detour, so halfway we decide to take the national road instead so as not to waste time unnecessarily. After these 2 days, we have already arrived in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay.
Montevideo
Montevideo has charmed us enormously. We stayed for 10 days at Andres’ house, our first (and perhaps best?) host of the trip. His welcome was warm (“mi casa es su casa” is very right here) and he was there with advice on tourist sites and to explain to us the culture, history, politics and anything else we wanted to know about his country.
The biggest surprise for us was the good economic situation of the country. Uruguay is the South American country with the smallest wealth gap (the difference between rich and poor 😉). Wages are close to or even higher than in some European countries and prices are the same as in France for example (it was our wallet that was the most surprised 😒). And in addition to the good economic situation, it is also a very politically stable country (especially now that several South American countries are in crisis).
But apart from being a safe country, Uruguay and its capital Montevideo have much more to offer: good meat, beautiful beaches, a certain sweetness of life (a chill atmosphere)… On the first day, we spent most of the afternoon at the Mercado del Puerto, an old market hall full of parillas (grill restaurants), eating meat and drinking “medio y medio” (half white wine, half Champagne). In the late afternoon we went for a walk in the historical centre. And that’s how we can sum up our stay: eat well, visit a little, enjoy life… A perfect start to our trip!
What we liked best about Uruguay:
- The atmosphere in Colonia del Sacramento
- The beautiful dirt roads, quiet and peaceful between cows and palm trees
- The Mercado del Puerto in Montevideo, its meat and its medio y medio
- The beaches of Montevideo and the gentle way of life here
To see the photos: