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First Few Days

A long time coming with this post. A few things I have learned:

32 hours (door to door) of travel and lack of sleep can really take a toll on your mental and physical health.
Always have a back up debit card to get cash (I lost my only one within an hour of landing).
Montevideo is beautiful and is definitely a country everyone should visit without any hesitations or reservations.
I don’t really know what I am ordering at restaurants (first was a burger without a bun and then it was a meat plate with unfamiliar meats).
Uruguay has the most cows per capita of any country
A hole in the Ozone layer reaches into Uruguay over the summer months (fortunately I haven’t gotten too burnt).

Ozone Layer
DU [=] Dobson Unit, the higher the better.

I’ve taken it easy this first week with plenty of siestas and walking around the city. I walked around La Rambla enjoying the sunshine and beaches on the first day not realizing how bad of a cold I picked up on the flight over.

The next day I headed to the old city (cuidad vieja) to get out and about. As stated before, this city is very safe and easy going. The parks here are gorgeous as well. The one near my hostel has numerous statues of important historical figures including Confucius and Einstein.

I have spent a lot of time in my bed in the hostel, resting to get over this cold. At first I was pretty timid to talk to my hostel mates as I assumed everyone only spoke Spanish or Portuguese. I was quickly reminded that English is a world language and that I probably didn’t need to learn anymore Spanish.

That’s not stopping me though. I signed up for a two week Spanish immersion class at La Herradura School a ten minute walk from my hostel. They offer a live in option to help make it more immersive but I had to opt out of that. Why? I lost my debit card my first day (left it in am ATM). Not to worry, my bank is sending a new one to my hostel but that leaves me stuck here until it arrives.

The food here is primarily meat sandwiches and Italian influenced meals (pasta, milanese, etc.). My Swiss buddy Roman, took me to a amazing BBQ restaurant (La Pulperia) which grills fresh meat over hot embers, no charcoal here!

I’ve experimented some with other foods including: hamburgers without buns, a meat platter that included blood sausage, and a steak sandwich. The beers here are better than I have had in other Latin American countries but I am still looking for a good IPA.

One of my favorite things to look out for in new cities is graffiti art as it shows another side of the culture that is normally pushed into the background.

I’m looking forward to Spanish class, Carnival, and more food. Thanks for following along!

Beach Life and Goodbye to Uruguay

If there is a little slice of small beach town heaven that has not been overtaken by large luxury resorts, it’s Cabo Polonio in Uruguay, my next stop after Montevideo.

My hostel (Narakan) was right on the beach. Every morning I sat by the window or outside with my coffee letting the serenity envelope me. Breakfasts were simple but filling, a reflection on the lifestyle here.

Life was very easy here, my first day I did a 12 mile hike through sand dunes to the southern edge of Vallisas (the next town over) with Germán a friendly guy on vacation from Cordoba. Ok, the hike wasn’t easy but coupled with the views and company it was relaxing.

After the hike we went to the top of the lighthouse for amazing views where I ran into Ori whom I met briefly at La Herradura Spanish School. He came over for dinner with his hostel friend Tamara.

The next day, as I was updating my blog, my Canadian friends showed up to my hostel and coincidentally were my roommates for the next three nights with Joanie (Scottish). We had a wine night (actually I had one almost every night with them) and caught up about our travels.

The next day I enjoyed my coffee in silence watching the waves crash methodically on the shore. Once all the girls were up and broke fast, we all did the hike to the highest dune around (another long hike in sand). On the way we made best friends with a stray dog. Bruno hiked with us all the way there and let us take some pictures with her (yes we realized Bruno was a female after we named her).

On the way back Bruno decided she need to roll around in a dead sea lion. We stopped giving her love so she ran off to the next group of people. She’s probably running around stealing pets from travelers to this day.

We said goodbye to Joanie and went back up to the top of the light house for some more awesome views.

Mary (the hostel host) started a bonfire for us. That night will always be in my mind due to the combination of the fire, super moon, ocean, wine, and good friends. I even danced by myself to some (of my) music under the moon/fire light.

The next day we explored town, bought some souvenirs, and had lunch (all with my money since the Canadians didn’t have any left). We left paradise on a dune buggy.

The girls offered a seat in their car with them. I hopped in Frank (I never found out why they named him that) and we were off for La Pedrera, another beach town down the coast. The beach season was over so most of the hostels were closed. We ended up in a 75 person party hostel all to ourselves.

We explored a little bit mostly took it easy here since most of the town was shut down.

The next day the Canadians dropped me off in Montevideo for one last night with my friends from there. The Canadians trekked on to Buenos Aires where I would see them the next night for an asado.

I met up with Marshall in Parque Rodó for some mate. An hour or so in, Frederico met up with us. Another hour after, Molly came to hang out as well. After a total of 4 hours and four thermoses of mate, then proceeded to drink till we closed down a brewery. Good way to hangout with friends for potentially the last time. No pictures from that night.

The next day I grabbed an early bus to Colonia, a world heritage site. Unfortunately I only spent a little bit of time there. It’s gorgeous and definitely deserved at least one night. I had to catch the ferry to Buenos Aires so I could hang with Kate and Emily one last time. Uruguay treated me well and I already miss it. On to Argentina!

Food porn sideshow.

Montevideo and Lack of Posting

So I owe an explanation for not posting anything for over two (2) straight weeks. I definitely got caught up in the wonder of starting my trip, semi focusing on my spanish lessons, semi focusing on partying, and enjoying my time with new friends. Being in Montevideo in one spot for three (3) weeks, I actually started making a decent group of friends who I chilled with on a regular basis (shout out to Molly, Marshall, and Kevin).

Peñarol Copa Libertadores game with Marshall and Kevin. 4-0 win!
So. Carolina Stank Eye courtesy of Molly.

I’ve also met a bunch of great travelers that I hope to meet up with later on my trip and since I don’t have many set plans, it makes it relatively easy to meet up with friends. Missing – Mica, Jonas, Kate, Emily, Tom, Lory, Roger, Kerry, and Fraser.

Brazil, Belgium, and the USA come to the table for a drinking game
Edmo (SF), the Irish Girls, and a Russian showing solidarity at the Women’s March in Montevideo.
Ze Germans and Raquel!

Spanish classes at La Herradura School greatly improved my Spanish. Instead of 4 hours of group classes a day, I got 2 hours of one on one lessons (hablamos solo en español) because everyone else was at a higher level than me. The four years of french, the patience of my professors (Maribelle and Juan), and the out of school practice (again shout out to Molly and Mica) really helped me develop my Spanish skills.

Mi profesora Maribelle.
My certificate that unfortunately got crumpled up.

If any of you ever visit Montevideo, a must stop is Parque Rodó. It’s a gorgeous park on the coast that celebrates important historical figures. So many locals frequent the park to enjoy their afternoon mate with friends. Puede estar tranquillo en Parque Rodó.

Partial method of how to make mate by an American in Uruguay.

Local street artist who drew our pictures.

Montevideo nightlife can turn up in certain spots but it mostly follows the city’s mantra of tranquillo. I went to a couple local bands shows (my friend’s band is called Tripoli), a local legend DJ Koolt, and some random live music.

Tripoli performing with Kevin backing him up on the sound board.

Kevin, Frederico, and I went out all night this past Saturday only to end the morning with 60’s rock and tea. Oh and Kevin’s dog was the cutest!

It was a truly amazing experience to see the number of people who marched on March 8th for International Women’s Day. Over 10,000 people showed up to march along Montevideo’s main street 18 de Julio. The march was at least 6 or 7 blocks long jam packed with supporters.

I also got to see a little of Uruguay’s Carnival celebration which is different from both Brazil’s and Argentina’s. Uruguay’s celebration is focused on comedy and an opportunity to provide commentary on local political issues. Brazil’s is obviously the most wild and extravagant while Argentina’s is more about pride (which neighborhood or city has the best mugras). It was fun to watch the mugras (performance group) at the velodromo but most of it was lost on me due to my dearth in Spanish.

Mugra leaving the velodromo for their next performance of the night.

Do you understand them?

Kevin invited me to a Copa Libertadores match between Peñarol (one of the best Uruguayan Teams) and San Jose from Bolivia. Peñarol won resoundingly 4-0 hopefully they can keep it up!

Beautiful day for a game!

That atmosphere!

Sadly, I must end my time in Montevideo. The friends I made here I hope to keep for years to come (I mean, San Francisco is a great place to visit). Below is the obligatory food/building photo dump. Cabo Polonia next for some much needed beach time.

Homemade sandwich.
Pastel, a Brazilian specialty made by the Brazilian hostel workers.
Hostel breakfast.
Mozzarella dip.
Asado short rib.
Kale quinoa salad.
La Puleria, forever and always.
La Pulperia again.
Best flan of my life.
Irish pub, Irish-ish grub.
Chorizo and burger stand.
Deep fried cheese stick.
There is a hotdog under there, I swear!

The legislature building.

On some rocks next to Las Ramblas.

Why and How?

Back in 2014, I had graduated with my degree in engineering, completed a two month trip through western Europe, and moved back in with my parents in the San Francisco Bay Area desperately searching for my first real job.

In early 2015, a company went out on a limb, hiring me despite the my degree in a different field. I was quickly transferred into a stressful but opportunistic position (Project Management). I decided then and there that I was going to save up for another trip (houses just sounded so boring, like the beginning of the rest of my life). So over the course of four years and two companies, I saved up enough to pay off my loans and embark on this trip.

Initially, the plan was to go to the Men’s World Cup in Russia 2018 and then take the trans-Mongolian railway to Asia. That became a pipe dream once the USMNT lost to Trinidad and Tobago 2-1, six months before the planned start of my trip. So instead, why not got to the Women’s World Cup in France 2019 where we actually stand a chance of winning it? Starting in South America became an excuse to leave for my trip earlier so I could enjoy a prolonged summer.

One way tickets were bought in November 2017 with a loose plan in place revolving around specific focal points: learning Spanish, Anjunadeep Explorations, the Women’s World Cup, and my brother’s graduation in Glasgow. New focal points keep being added along the way as friends or family reach out or random decisions change my course.

After putting in my two weeks and hurriedly moving or donating all my stuff, I said my goodbyes and so the new adventure began!