Lilly's Highlights & Recommendations # 21 (Colonia del Sacramento/Montevideo, Uruguay)

We only spent 72 hours in Uruguay, one of the lesser visited South
American Nations but there was still enough to do for a quick top 5.

1. Eating at markets - this is another big Spanish thing popular in
Montevideo. Old wrought iron buildings, which once housed produce
markets, converted into a selection of restaurants. The food choice
was as per Argentina with grilled meats (and fish too if you're lucky
and sick of meat!) the main offering. But it is almost always tasty
and the atmosphere in these places is great: smoky, historic and
authentic (by which I mean very popular with locals not just tourists.
There were so many large families of all generations eating together
in the one we went to on Friday night that I felt like we were dining
with the mafia!). To be more specific the largest and best example is
the Puerta Mercado (Sunday lunch - apparently Sat lunch is best) but
the smaller Mercado de Los Artisanos (Saturday dinner) was good too.
The PM also houses the Carnavale museum which is all in Spanish but
gives you a feel for it and the wacky costumes.

2. Tristan Narvaja flea market - held on Sunday mornings covering 7
blocks of the new town in Montevideo this is a classic flea market.
You can buy everything from kittens to knives to knitwear and the
prices are cheap. We didn't buy much but it is a great experience -
lots of sights, smells and bustle.

3. Football at Parque Central - emboldened by our success at Boca we
decided to try a football match without a tour guide (gasp!). It
turned out to be more than easy and very cheap. Bus to the ground was
easily picked up by spotting supporters in their team colours and we
got there an hour before to ensure that we could just pick up tickets
on the door. The tickets got us space on the concrete steps as per
Boca. However, it was not at all same same. For a start the area was
absolutely rammed with people even blocking the stairs and also for
most of the match people sat rather than stood (apart from at the
exciting points of course). It is also a smaller ground with a
capacity of only 22,000. However, despite the differences what was the
same was the amazing atmosphere - easily as good as Boca. An amazing
range of complex songs but everyone knows all the words and at some
points 80% of the crowd was joining in. The quality of the football
was not great but the atmosphere makes up for that and I think even a
dull 0-0 would be fun to watch here.

4. Colonia El Sacramento - a popular weeked spot for residents of
Buenos Aires, being only an hour away on the quick ferry and you can
see why. It is a picturesque little town in a very European mould
(Spanish/Portugese influence). The historic centre (19th C) can be
comfortably viewed in 24 hours but it is worth it. There are pretty
houses, Uruguay's oldest church, a lighthouse and plenty of lovely
cafes/restaurants to rest at. It is particularly nice to sit at one of
the places on the seafront and watch the sunset. There was one
particular cafe which must be owned by a couple of anglophiles
containing a large picture of 30 St. Mary Axe, a book edited by a
colleague of my Dad's and a pile of old Observers. Cute cats too!

5. Teatro Solis - a beautiful renovation project has just been
completed on this 19th C theatre in Montevideo, turning it into a top
class cultural venue. Unfortunately all the shows were in Spanish but
you can just wander off the street into the sleek cafe/bar. I had a
yerba mate here. This is a common S. American drink the origins of
which are claimed by both the Argentinians and the Uruguayans. The
Uruguayans edge it for me though as we saw many more people consuming
it here. It is no easy business either as it involves carrying around
your own personal mate mug with straw/spoon and a thermos of hot
water. You can buy special mate set bags to make it easier. As to the
drink itself you fill the mug with the yerba leaves (not just a few as
in tea), pour on boiling water and then drink the resulting flavoured
liquid from a special straw which has a spoon shaped filter on the
bottom to stop you getting a mouthful of leaves. It tastes very bitter
but it doesn't get drunk with milk or sugar. It does contain caffeine
so that may explain its popularity.

Major downside of S. America - I seem to be allergic to it!! I suspect
it is the pollution as I have a cough and a permanently runny nose.
The antihistamines seem to be kicking in now though so hopefully
things will improve.

Back on the ferry to BA now. Not sure where next....