Cottage Montevideo

... medors m je crois que jaccumule de la fatigue et je sature des villes, je veux du vertm de lespace et des hauteurs!!!!<br>je prds mon bus le soir pour rosariom je quitte lurugauy (sans regrets) et je commce mon asecnsion pour puerto iguazu!!!

We arrived by bus to Montevideo from Colonia in the morning then shared a taxi to the hostel El Viajero Ciudad Vieja Hostel with our new Austrian friend Martin. Martin had been on the same ferry to Colonia as we were the prior day and coincidentally stayed in the same hostel there. We crossed paths with him while strolling the cobblestones streets but hadn't really talked with him until breakfast in the hostel in Colonia. We were once again ...

... over the old town with a bottle of their beer...called Patrica incidently, which I think is a strange name and I am now on a mission to find the strangest named local brew. Also in a facebook conversation with a friend the other day she wondered in there were any other countries with three Us in the name, which led me to wonder if there were any other countries with 3 of the same vowel in a one word name, answers on a postcard please as I have not had a ...

... gets paid about 35 pesos an hour (less that £1) so things seem expensive to people who live here. After a few drinks at the bar me and Ismael went to a club, the girls were tired so headed off home. We got a cab which came to 80 pesos (about £2) and then walked a few blocks to the club. The streets all looked the same, quite high grey building with trees along the pavement and not very well lit. The club just looked like another tall grey building, the ...

... dancing with teams of drummers, to acts of political satire (actually one of the bases of Carnivale, especially during previous times of political repression), to humourous acts, and teams of singers. The costumes and makeup were unreal. Each team had exactly 45 minutes to impress the judges and then paraded through the audience, drums beating, dancers going off, and 4 Aussies in the front row going off as well ...

... hot sec while you look for something in your purse? oh no. this is where the mate holder comes into play. there is a wire stand that you can separate the gourd from whenever your little heart desires, a gourd that is upholstered in leather with little built-in feet, or the aforementioned cow hoof-setting. some prefer the mate with conveniently built-in feet. the bombilla [aka metal straw] is also pivotal. the ...

... Pulling up to the dock, the crush crowded the door...with the usual Argentine frenzy to avoid the shameful position of anything but first in line. Get over it. We left the building...and got into the taxi line...but no...it was not a line at all. This being Argentina, nobody waits in line. We watched with disgust as party after party cut the line. Time to do as the locals do...I walked into traffic and flagged down a ride. "Home to Palermo...and make it snappy Jack."

... like a cow hoof. They fill the cup with this tea (loose green tea) and then pour the hot water into the mug. They have a straw type affair that is made of stainless that has a flattish spoon covered with a screen on one end (the end they put into the water). They walk around with this cup sucking on the tea. We saw many people carrying a thermos of hot water to refill it. We saw lots of tourist stands ...

... Monday. Looked nice through the windows though. All in all, loved Montevideo, a very laid back place, chilled out atmosphere and a pleasant break from the chaos of Buenos Aires. I thought portenos drank a lot of mate but they've got nothing on the uruguayans .... any time of day, everywhere you go, all walks of life are carrying a thermos of hot water and a mate guord. It's quite a commitment really, much more than picking up a Timmy's at the drive-thru.

... another short walk to the entrance of the Rural Fair/Exposition 2008. Cost us $90 Ur. each to get in, and we wandered around the entire place, eventually taking off jackets and sweaters. We saw two barns of sheep, two barns of cows, one of chickens and roosters, and one of pigs. One little lamb was following its mother, and a calf was nestled in a stall next to its mother. There was no smell of manure anywhere, just the sweet smell of hay ...