We are now in Buenos Aires after spending the past week in Uruguay.We caught another overnight bus from Porto Alegre (Brasil) to Montevideo (capital of Uruguay). The bus we took was like travelling first class on a plane,with trolley dolly bringing round food and drink and enormous seats that fully reclined like beds, they were so big you could only fit three seats wide in.
We stayed in a wonderful old building with great high ceilings and marble stair cases. The great thing was it was only 10 pounds a night for the two of us.
Bargain!
Montevideo is a beautiful city with only 1.4 million people, no traffic problems and friendly people. Just the kind of city we wouldn´t mind living in! There were lots of derelict buildings that we dreamt of converting and using as a holiday home! The city is quite sleepy, but as with the rest of south america, they like to socialise. We went to a tango night at a bar, which was full of locals tangoing, they were really impressive, it looked like such a complicated dance, and they made it look effortless. We left the bar at 3am, but there were still people in the streets whose nights were just beginning. Some old people sitting in the streets outside their homes drinking mate, the local drink that consists of lots of herbs and green stuff soaked in hot water, drunk through a straw that has holes in the bottom that act like a filter to stop the green stuff being sucked up. It is disgusting stuff, but all of the locals drink it. They drink it as they walk, in shops, on the bus, everywhere they carry their special cup and a thermos flask. It is very funny to see!
Uruguay is a gem of a country, one you could spend a long time exploring. We only visited two places but both were beautiful and full of history and charm. Our last stop was a place called Colonia del Sacramento, a port town, with old cobbled streets and lovely quaint restaurants. The food and drink was soooooooo cheap. We had a meal with a litre of wine which came to 7 pounds.Another bargain! The wine was good, we recommend you try Uruguayian wine it is quite tasty, and for only 1 pound 50 for a litre it was delicious!
It is so nice to taste good wine, now we are in Argentina it can only get better! The wine is cheap and the steaks even cheaper! Our idea of heaven. We may never come home, we might just be hidden in Buenos Aires, in a restaurant with a good juicy steak and a litre or two of good Argentinian wine! we have already discovered they don´t ask how you want your steak, they know how to cook them to perfection already!