5-16-10 Montevideo, Uruguay

Getting to Uruguay was an entertaining ordeal as we took a huge ferry from Buenos Aires to Colonia, about two hours from Montevideo. The ferry was one of the larger vessels I’ve been on and was well equipped with a restaurant, bar and large DutyFree shop. Not long into our voyage we started hitting some rough seas which caused dozens of perfumes, chocolates and crystal trinkets to fall to the ground with each wave.

We were the first off the boat as we’d been the last to park on the lower deck. Waiting for us when we rode off was Sami, who’d taken an earlier ferry the same day. He showed us where to go to get processed into the country. Their customs office was a small Toyota pickup truck with a fat man inside who filled out our paperwork on a clipboard perched on the steering wheel which honked the horn frequently by accident.

It was really overcast and misty as we rode out of Colonia making me wipe my visor frequently. We were happy to be out of the city and relax a bit while riding. BA was great but it’s nice to get away into the country as well. The highway was lined with palm trees, each unusually thick and about 30 feet tall, spaced every 50 feet or so. Thousands upon thousands of them all perfectly uniform, very impressive. After several miles the palms changed to equally well-planted pine trees.
They aren't big on signs here in Uruguay which is somewhat annoying but we were able to find our hostel surprisingly easy. It's not downtown but is located in a quiet suburb with lots of Victorian styled homes, not what I expected at all.

Uruguay is the North Dakota of South America. From what I’ve seen, it has nothing that you can’t see better elsewhere and is simply mediocre and remarkably unremarkable. The only thing that stands out in my mind regarding the country and their inhabitants is that they drink more mate than anywhere I’ve ever seen. What bothers me about their mate consumption is the inefficiency in which they do so. In one hand they have a thermos of hot water. In the other they have their gourd filled with dried mate, hot water, and a filtering straw. If I were to like the lawn-clipping flavored concoction enough to drink it on a regular basis I’d somehow fashion the mate cup to the top of the water thermos as it would free up one hand which would allow for productive things to be done. However, maybe this is all well known to the average Uruguayan and they are thoroughly enjoying the simplicity provided by having both hands occupied.
I saw the nicest memorial yet of South America today. It was a maosoleum of sorts for some warlord general. There was a huge statue of him on his steed, maybe three times the real size. Underneath him was a set of stairs that led underground to a dimly lit room that was spectacular. Dark granite that was spotless with large, back-lit cast concrete letters on the interior walls which spelled out important dates in the life of Sr. Artigas who apparently slayed more than a few uncooperative natives throughout his days. Two sword-toting soldiers were on either side of his urn which was octagonal and adorned with gold writing and placed on an altar of sorts under a beam of light which looked like something Indiana Jones might try to heist.  Perhaps most pleasant was what was missing... no trash, no typos, no bums, no strange smells, no broken tiles and no stray dogs. It was perfect. Felt like I was back in the States for a few minutes.

Later that night we went to a strange indoor market that housed dozens of small BBQ or 'Parilla' restaurants.  They were all out in the open, each with about a dozen stools surrounding a huge fire with a 15'x8' grill over it whose height was adjusted by a series of winches and chains.  Mark instantly recognized one as being from the show, "No Reservations" with Anthony Bourdain so we thought we'd give it a try.  Our order came out heaped on a small, personal grill with various sausages, entrails, steaks limbs and a few non-meat products as well.  All excellent except for what we thought was intestine. Too chewy.