Plaza Indepencia
We stepped out of the airport, 20 km away from the capitol, Montevideo, into the heat and only heard one “Taxi?” After a quick, “No, gracias” there was no further pursuit. As anyone who's been to a heavily touristed area can relate, being hounded by relentless local vendors and hawkers is a constant annoyance. This was the first of many experiences that confirmed Uruguay’s location off the beaten path. However, that’s not to say that it was an undeveloped path.
Statue of Artigas in Plaza Indepencia
Mausoleo de Artigas
Montevideo's streets are filled with motorcycles. In Colonia del Sacramento, motorcycles and scooters outnumbered cars ten-to-one.
During the bus ride into Montevideo, residential barrios, some resembling middle class neighborhoods in California or Florida, gave way to a wall of towering buildings. Arterial Avenida 9 de Julio led us to Plaza de Indepencia, where we saw the first of many statues of Jose Gervasio Artigas, “the father of Uruguayan independence.” Descending steps on either side of the statue lead to his underground mausoleum. After a brief rest in the cool tomb, we ascended to visit one of Montevideo’s largest attractions, El Ciudad Vieja (the Old City).
Abandoned Building In the Old City
El Ciudad Vieja
El Ciudad Vieja
El Ciudad Vieja
Taranco Palace Gardens
The Old City is a largely poor barrio on the south side of Montevideo. Although a section near Plaza Indepencia has been gentrified, containing many bars, restaurants, and nightclubs, most of the neighborhood is in disrepair. Crumbling buildings have been bricked shut (presumably to keep out squatters) and young, shirtless children and tourist police are the only keepers of the street. Despite all this, the Old City contains some of the most beautiful architecture in Montevideo with baroque facades and tall wooden doors. We even stumbled upon the beautifully preserved Taranco Palace, built by a French architect in the early 20th century for the Taranco brothers, immigrant merchants who found their fortune in the Americas. After wandering the streets for a few hours, we drifted down to the corniche. Here we discovered what keeps Montevideo’s artist class busy—the graffiti.
Hendrix
Zoot Suit Riot (killing Yoshi while the girl with the bleeding eyes watches in terror?) Photo by Melissa Meyer
Uncertainty, Photo by Melissa Meyer
VISUALKEI
Knuckle Dragger, Photo by Melissa Meyer
We eventually uncovered the reason for Montevideo's urban art scene. Unemployment in Uruguay is around 8% of the 3 ½ million people (over a million of whom live in Montevideo). The country’s traditional industry, agriculture, on which they rely for most of their exports, has been waning in the recent years. Perhaps in an attempt to transcend this industry many young professionals are turning to technologies. Our couchsurfing.com hosts, who were Venezuelan and Uruguayan, both work for an airline reservation call center in Montevideo. According to Wikipedia, Uruguay has become the first exporter of computer software in Latin America. These new industries may be catching speed, but not all of Uruguay’s youth are running to catch up. There exists a substantial demographic of left-wing youth who express their radical desires through graffiti and release their pent-up angst across concrete canvases throughout the city. One of the most surprising sights on first arriving to Montevideo was the graffiti sprayed across the columns of a city government building. Apparently Uruguay’s democratically-elected leftist government is the most liberal grantor of freedom of expression in Latin America. So much that vandalism goes unchecked. When discussing the wall-side paintings, however, it’s hard not to make an argument in favor of the urban art.
We Are 138, Photo by Melissa Meyer
Savanna
The Aliens Who Gave Birth To Human Civilization and Religions. Do the Uruguayans know something that we don't? (Note the pyramid and all-seeing eye at bottom right.) Photo by Melissa Meyer
After a wonderful night with our hosts, tasting the regional fare and chatting about local culture, we headed off to Punta del Este, unarguably the largest tourist attraction in Uruguay.
"Patriotism is Egotism En Masse", Photo by Melissa Meyer
"No More State Terror"
"I'm a Marxist of the Groucho Trend" (Irony is not lost on the Montevideans), photo by Melissa Meyer
If Montevideo is the bastion of young, middle-class professionals and blue-collar urbanites, Punta del Este houses the country’s upper class and wealthy expatriates. The coast here is lined with ocean-side resorts, what would be multi-million dollar condos in the United States or Europe (I couldn’t get in touch with my real-estate agent to confirm the actual prices), and fancy restaurants catering to beach-bound tourists. There’s not much else to say other than the place was filled with Argentineans away for the weekend, and strolling the shadowed, narrow, wind-swept, tree-lined streets at night set off my pirate meter. If not now, this dark, defendable point with it’s sheltered bay was in the past a pirate paradise.
Bikini Beach @ Punta del Este, Photo by Melissa Meyer
Since our daily budget doubled after arriving in Punta del Este, we decided to cut the visit short and took a 7-hour bus ride across Uruguay’s southern coast to Colonia del Sacramento, a Portuguese-built smuggler’s den across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires.
Iglesia Matriz, Built Circa 1680
Calle de los Suspiros
Originally, we were only going to spend an hour in Colonia in transit to Buenos Aires. Most guidebooks suggest no more than a few hours as a side trip from the Argentinian capitol. On the way out of Montevideo our bus broke down for an hour causing us to miss the last ferry to BA. Lucky for us we were forced to spend the night and hence discovered the entrancing tranquility and beauty of Colonia’s quiet, cobblestone streets and archaeological gems.
Calle de los Suspiros
San Francisco Xavier
Colonia del Sacramento was founded in 1680 by Portuguese to smuggle goods across the estuary into Spanish-controlled Buenos Aires. In the 1760s Spain captured the port thus curtailing the “illegal” activities, but Colonia retained its unique foundations. Today one can visit some of the oldest buildings still standing in Uruguay. The Iglesia Matriz (“Main Church”) was building in 1680 and has withstood several partial destructions. The building’s resilience was due in large part to the policies of an early governor who insisted that it be built with masonry. Another old foundation is the Convento de San Francisco, built between 1683 and 1704. Today, the wide stone walls encircle a modern lighthouse. The Calle de los Suspiros (“Alley of Sighs”) is a perfect example of Colonia’s charm. The cobblestone street leading to the water’s edge was built with a V-shaped central drainage. This was (and still is in some parts of the world) the preferred method of drainage when an underground sewer system doesn’t exist to be utilized with crowned streets and gutters. Wandering under the willows on Colonia’s tranquil streets once again set off my pirate-meter. Arguably this was once a pirate stronghold as they smuggled goods across the Rio de la Plata into Argentina. The next day I had to drag myself onto the ferry and leave Colonia. We were heading from paradise into the mouth of a leviathan, the crowded, pollution-filled streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Antique Art in Colonia's Streets
Colonia del Sacramento Vibe
I didn’t know what to expect in Uruguay and I was delightfully surprised with what I discovered. From Montevideo’s painted barrios, across Punta del Este’s umbrella-studded beaches, and through Colonia’s outlaw past, Uruguay was a constant delight. It comes as a surprise that more haven’t discovered this lightly trodden path between Brazil and Argentina. Many claim that Uruguay is developing its tourism industry to entice more travelers into her borders. After visiting it’s clear that anyone traveling the region would be sorely remiss to skip over this diamond in the rough.
p.s. I hope to have more pics up on Picasa soon. Internet has been kind of spotty.
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