¡MONTEVIDEO!
I've had a hankering to visit Uruguay for a couple of years. My friends Heather, Paula and Dave decided to come along. We rented an Airbnb just a couple of blocks from the ocean. It was three bedrooms and two baths with a nice balcony overlooking the ocean in one direction and the city in the other. The place was simple and uncluttered with a good kitchen. If anybody's interested please call and I'll hook you up with details.
Our apartment was in the Palermo district of Montevideo. This is an older area of mostly two to three story buildings. The streets are lined with plane trees so it has a European feel. In fact, the whole country seems as if a part of Spain had broken off and drifted down to South America.
There is very little traffic for a city of 1.5 million people. Montevideo is very walkable. There are some hills but nothing too steep. It's important to take care when crossing the few busy streets because there aren't many zebra crossings. Most of the streets are very quiet.
There isn't much tourist pressure in Montevideo. There seems to be just one big cruise ship per day and, like most cruise destinations, the cruisers don't get more than five blocks from the ship. There are very few "touristy" things to do in Uruguay. The country isn't on many people's bucket list. That's one of the things I like about it.
We ended up traveling all over Montevideo for reasons too numerous to mention here. Whenever someone found out we were from Texas, they would spread their arms and smilingly say "Welcome to Uruguay!". Where else does that happen?
Basically, there are only two reasons to be in Uruguay:
1) You were born there.
2) You really want to be there.
Uruguay isn't on the way to anywhere. You can't just miss an exit and accidentally end up in Montevideo. The national airport only has six gates.
WINE COUNTRY
Uruguay has a thriving wine industry. Some of the wines are quite good. Two of the biggest appellations (Montevideo and Canelones) are very close to Montevideo. The topography closely resembles Carneros.
The vineyards are mostly planted with Tannat and the five traditional red Bordeaux varieties. The most popular whites seem to be Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Albariño. The wines typically have good natural acidity because of the maritime influence. We were there in high summer and the temperature never got above 86F. There can be some humidity on the warmer days.
While Uruguay is sometimes called "The Switzerland of South America' it's really more like "The Kansas of South America". The whole country can be described as "gently rolling". The highest point is only 1800 feet above sea level and that's just one big hill.
We rented a tour bus and went out to visit Bouza Winery. Most of the wineries in Uruguay are small and have limited tourist facilities. Bouza is bigger and has a luxury restaurant attached. We had an excellent lunch of BIG MEAT. More about that later.
We had two bottles of Tannat with the meal (2020 and 2021). Both were excellent. Tannat is difficult to work with because of its thick skin and super-tannic structure. It's easy to over-extract during fermentation and, if you do, you're screwed. Bouza seems to have overcome this problem.
CUISINE OF URUGUAY
As mentioned, Uruguay is the land of BIG MEAT. There are four beef cattle for each person. Beef is the principle export. Many restaurants specialize in grilled beef and the servings are immense. In fact, that's generally true of almost every restaurant. The diner should be prepared to be served something like three times the amount of food that can reasonably be eaten at one meal. We ended up taking home a lot of food.
The Uruguayans are much like the Spanish in their tastes when it comes to meals. Spicy foods and ethnically-influenced foods are not available. One thing that struck me as we explored Montevideo was the absolute lack of immigrants from Asia, India and Africa that are found in every major city in Europe and the US. I don't remember seeing a single Muslim. It was a little disconcerting to be in that big a city and not see anyone from anywhere else. Consequently, the entrees tend to be a bit on the bland side. Not much care is taken with salads, either.
We did quite a bit of cooking at home. Paula is a blackbelt breakfast maker! She made excellent breakfast many mornings. We cooked some in the evening, too. Heather, Dave and Paula are all serious foodies so the meals were really good. There was a nice supermarket at the end of the block. We could walk there in a few minutes with our little shopping cart.
Food in the grocery stores is expensive in Uruguay. Especially any kind of processed food. Everything seems to be imported from Argentina or somewhere else. For example, a bottle of ketchup was $5. Meat, cheese and produce aren't cheap. Wine is priced about the same as the US. I would say that, overall, the price of food at the store is about 25% higher than the US. Per capita income in Uruguay is $17k per year versus $60k per year in the US. The folks down there must spend a big chunk of their paychecks on food. Interestingly, most restaurants seemed to be doing reasonable business.
Paula and I (by accident) found a workaround for the high supermarket prices. It turns out there are weekly food markets in the streets of many neighborhoods. We were able to buy eggs, meat, cheese and produce for much less. I suppose that's how many people make ends meet although the market wasn't anywhere near busy when we were there midmorning.. As you can imagine, there was very little processed food on offer.
Yummy melon gazpacho by Paula with a local rosé.
I've always longed to be able to walk to a supermarket.
Doing my best here to look like a real geezer.
Typical street view in Barrio Palermo. Note the abundant parking.
Paula at the street market.
GUIDED TOUR OF MONTEVIDEO
Dave found a guided tour of downtown Montevideo for us. The guide spoke good English and there were two other couples on the tour (one Dutch and one English). The tour started in the Plaza de Independencia which is the spiritual heart of Uruguay. There are several government buildings fronting onto the plaza.
In the middle of the plaza is an equestrian statue of José Artigas, the George Washington of Uruguay. His neo-fascist underground tomb is also there. The tomb was built by the military junta that ruled Uruguay from 1973-1985. Other than those years, Uruguay has been a vibrant democracy. Our tour guide gave us some insight into local politics which appear to be slightly left-leaning. Paula and I got caught up in a demonstration one day in front of the Presidencia on the plaza. Check out this video:
As you can see, there was only one policeman out front to face down the 150 or so protesters. Apparently, the protestors were medical workers demanding higher pay.
We then walked down to the Old Town (Ciudad Vieja). There were a few street vendors and some nice shops. We visited a couple of park-like squares. It was all very low key as there were not many tourists.
Dave with our guide, Jacqueline. She gave some good general info on the city.
Had to take a picture of Heather with this store. We weren't exactly sure what was on offer.
Okay. So the real secret reason I wanted to go to Uruguay was to get away from the cold weather in Texas. As dumb luck would have it, we missed the catastrophic freeze. Although Dave, Paula and Heather had some anxious phone calls home.
There are lots of beaches in Uruguay. The entire city of Montevideo fronts the ocean. There is a paved walkway that runs for over fifteen miles along the coast called La Rambla. It's billed as the longest sidewalk in the world.
The beaches vary a little up and down the coast. They are mostly clean and well maintained. The water temperature resembles the Med in summer. As we say in the old country, the water is "refrescante".
Because Montevideo is on the Rio Plata estuary, the water isn't crystal clear but it's clear enough for me.
None of the beaches we went to were overcrowded. Just like Spain, the people are chill and well behaved. We didn't have any really hot days so it was fun just to hang out.
Hotel Escorial
Ocean front drive and promenade in Piriáopolis.
Castillo de Piriá
¡PIRIÀOPOLIS!
We decided to bust out of Montevideo and head northeast up the coast to a beach resort. The most famous resort town is Punta del Este. We chose the nearby town of Piriáopolis because it was easier to find rooms and a little funkier. It took about two hours to get there in a very nice bus.
The town itself is kind of typically touristy. Lots of gift shops, bars and restaurants. Heather, Dave and I stayed in an older art-deco hotel (Escorial) in the middle of town. It was right across from the beach. Paula stayed at the swankier Hotel Argentino which was built by the founder of the city, Sr. Piriá, in the 1930s. It's grand old place!
The management at Hotel Escorial forgot to mention on their website that the hotel is adjacent to a very loud nightly party for the tourists. The stage was just below my window. It started off innocently enough with some singers at 9:30 pm. After that, there were three hour-long shows for children ending at 1:30 am. Like the Spanish, the Uruguayans don't have any trouble keeping their kids up half the night during the summer. To make matters worse, the shows both nights were exactly the same. It was excruciating. We got through it with lots of wine and a card game called "scopa" which I learned from my friend Silvana.
In spite of the raucous nights, we had a fun three days. We were there at the weekend so there were lots of people walking around and enjoying themselves. One afternoon, Heather, Dave and I took what ended up being a mini death-march out to see a castle built by Sr. Piriá a few miles out of town. We caught the bus back.
View from my window onto the children's show. Yikes!
Hotel Argentino (chez Paula)
¡COMPARSA!
The short film below shows one of the neighborhood Comparsas near where we stayed. A Comparsa is much like the crews in the New Orleans mardi gras parades. People in the various Montevideo neighborhoods get together and practice before Carnaval. There is an official competition between the groups and a winner is selected. The style of drumming is called "candombe" which is based on west African tradition. As you can see, all kinds of people participate.
In both groups we saw, the flag-wavers went first. They were followed by the dancers. The drum corps was in the rear. The group was dressed in street clothes. They will all put on elaborate costumes for the competition and Carnaval parade.
UBANDA SEA GODDESS FESTIVAL
One night we went to a festival just a 10 minute walk from our apartment. It was a Ubanda festival that was celebrated at sunset on the beach. Ubanda is a hybrid religion based on Christianity, animism and assorted other spiritual stuff. There are apparently many forms. The people for this festival waded out into the ocean to release little boats and other offerings to the Sea Goddess. As you can see, the event was well-attended. Considering only half of one percent of Uruguayans practice Ubanda, I suspect that many of these folks just turn out for the party. It was a beautiful evening with the lights of the city reflecting in the bay.
There is a midway just behind Playa Ramirez where the festival was. Paula decided to take a ride.
TANGO IN MONTEVIDEO
When people think of tango, most think of Argentina. Tango actually evolved in both Montevideo and Buenos Aires at the same time. It remains popular. We went to two clubs that featured tango. The first was El Callejón where we saw a tango singer known as Hebert (el Oriental). Tango music has numerous forms. Hebert sings in the traditional style which usually involves love songs featuring heartbreak, disillusion, drama, longing, despair and many other of your favorite themes. Traditional tango music is almost always accompanied by the accordion.
Beer in Uruguay is often served in liter bottles. I'd never seen a liter of Stella before. Dave and I shared the bottle. The show we went to see was advertised to start at 9:30. I made reservations and we got there on time.
We were among the first to arrive so we had the opportunity to observe the social rituals of a tango bar. When arriving at the club, the first order of business is that one must kiss everyone (men and women) once on the right cheek. This is followed by handshakes, hugs and generally hanging onto one another. If you don't like to be touched, Montevideo is not the place for you.
Then, food and drinks are ordered. After everyone has been served and seated, the show starts. Hebert began singing around 10:30. As usual, we were the only gringos in the place.
Please view the video below of Hebert. he has a fine voice and is muy autentico.
Another night we went out to the Baar Fun-Fun which was exactly that! Again, we were the only gringos there. The first show was a traditional tango singer. This was followed by another group of tango musicians.
Then there was a tango dance demonstration by two very talented dancers. The dancers did several songs in different tango styles. They then went out into the audience and danced with a number of patrons. The place was starting to sizzle.
Finally, a band came on and played a bunch of popular South American songs. I could tell the songs were popular because we were the only people in the bar who weren't singing along. Everybody (including us) jumped up and started dancing like crazy. The joint was packed so there was a lot of booty shaking. It was as much Fun-Fun as the law allows!
Here is another great traditional tango singer at Baar Fun-Fun. Please note the accordion player in the foreground.
THE CANDY BAR
Wherever I travel, I like to establish a home base bar or café. Call it the "Cheers" phenomenon. In most Spanish-speaking countries, the local bar is a designated meeting place for the community because most people don't entertain at home like we do.
Generally speaking, you'll become a homey on your second visit. By the third or fourth visit, the waitstaff will know your name, preferences and idiosyncrasies That's one of the many things I love about Latin culture.
The Candy Bar has inside and sidewalk seating. The menu, while not large, was the most interesting and creative I saw in Montevideo. The tortilla (below) was an inspiration. If you go, make sure to try the deep-fried bacon-wrapped dates. Also, the curry cured olives are an inspiration!
The Candy Bar was only a ten minute walk from our apartment so we went there several times. Paulina was our usual waitress. She speaks excellent English with a British accent. She said she picked it up from music and movies. Paulina has a lively personality and we had a lot of fun with her.
A recent "Thing" in the Spanish bar scene is gigantic gin and tonics. It seems the phenomenon has reached Uruguay. I would estimate this one to be just over twenty ounces. If you're not pretty insistent, the bartender will load up your G&T with all manner of extraneous additives (i.e. blackberries, peppercorns, cucumber, licorice and whatever else pops into his pointed head).
Sisters and Brothers, I'm gonna say this one more time. The ONLY appropriate garnish for G&T is a wedge of lime. Otherwise, it's not a G&T!!!
Paulina. Our favorite "uruguaya".
¡MATE!
Mate (pronounced mah-teh) is the national drink of Uruguay and Argentina. It's an herbal tea made from the leaves of a tree that grows mainly in Brazil. There is an elaborate ritual for making and enjoying mate. You also need special equipment. For complete info go to: Mate (drink) - Wikipedia
Heather went all-out native and bought her own mate rig. I was really proud of the way she got into the mate groove. The beverage itself should be described as an acquired taste. It starts out pretty bitter and then gradually smooths out as you replenish the water. Uruguayans enjoy mate throughout the day. It's not unusual to see people walking around with a mate rig.
MONTEVIDEO WINE EXPERIENCE
There is a wonderful wine bar in Ciudad Vieja that features Uruguayan wine. The owner, Diego, conducted a well-curated tasting for us. There were three reds and two whites. One of the whites was a Viognier that had been matured in acacia wood barrels. It was the first acacia-aged wine I'd ever tasted in my (almost) fifty years of wine tasting. As we say in the trade, the wine was "interesting".
There was also a really good Albariño. For the reds there was a Tannat, a Cab Franc and a Petit Verdot. All the wines were good. We shared an excellent charcuterie plate. Diego has a friend who acts as a DJ. We enjoyed the music.
