Post by Ella
Much better weather Saturday, in fact, nearly perfect walking weather. We met Jorge (of GuruWalks) at Plaza Zabala for our delayed historical walk. Uruguay has rich history. Between the Spanish and Portuguese along with the meddling British, they had quite a time until gaining independence.
Jorge described Uruguayans as “melancholic “. Argentinians say a sad Argentinian is like a happy Uruguayan. There is a not-so-friendly rivalry between Argentina and Uruguay which is why Uruguay was accused of letting the British use their ports during the Falkland war. Jorge would neither confirm nor deny.
We made the circuit of plazas and historic streets, all the while Jorge, a journalist by trade, lectured us on Uruguayan history and side stepped questions about the current political landscape. We entered the buzzing Mercado de Puerto where we had a taste of medio medio (half,half) – a mix of Chardonnay and a light, sparkling dessert wine and stopped in the bakery where the best alfajores are made. We ducked into the museum where the constitution was signed, wandered into a church, stopped in at a bookstore.
Yan and Doug from Santa Monica (early 60s is my guess) were the only other customers on this tour. They’ve been on an 8 month journey (so far), starting in Mexico, heading to Panama, Costa Rica, Chile and Argentina. They always stay in capitol cities for a month to “understand the people”. Sometimes that’s the only place they visit in a country. For example, in Argentina, they stayed a month in Buenos Aires and that was it for Argentina. They will stay a month in Montevideo. Interesting approach for their travels. Not one I quite get. Do you?
I can kind of see traveling that way, always nice to stay in a place long enough to be able to pretend you actually live there and get to know a place pretty well and go back over and over to the good restaurant and parks, etc. that you’ve discovered. But, I wouldn’t like restricting myself to big cities. Or, traveling for so long.
I do like the energy of big cities (in limited exposure). All the different neighborhoods to explore, eating opportunities, shows, events, museums. I could see a month in a place like Buenos Aires. And it is a little thrill when you feel familiar enough to pretend you are a local (pretending only to yourself I mean). But I’d hate to pass up the large expanses, the tiny towns, getting close to flora and fauna. So I still don’t fathom their approach. But that’s their plan and they are sticking to it 😄