Last February I went to Montevideo, Uruguay. We had a 5 day break and we found an inexpensive flight.
This trip started at the end of my chaperone duties. I had just spent 12 days in Europe chaperoning our school MUN trip to Amsterdam, the Hague, and Pairs. We arrived into Quito on Tuesday at 3 pm and I flew out at 8pm. Before leaving to Europe, I packed a second bag. My co-chaperone took my Europe bag home with her and my co-Uruguay traveller brought my Uruguay bag with her to the Airport.
One of the most important things with so much back to back travel is a shower. The flight between Paris and Quito was 14 hours and the flight to Montevideo was 8. After checking back in and passing through customs, we purchased entrance to the VIP lounge. I was able to shower and change and then Greta and I were able to toast our trip with sparkling wine and a snack.
We arrived in Montevideo in the Early morning and had to wait a few hours to check into our AirBnB. After February in Paris and the Netherlands, it was nice to be in the warm, humid weather. After we checked in we took a long walk to Cafe Gourmand. It was a fun restaurant with a hearty brunch. We then came back and napped for a few hours. Next up that afternoon was a walking tour. This was a good way to get to know the city. We were the only ones on the tour so it was really personalized for us. We got to learn about the Independence Square and some of the political history of Uruguay.
Plaza Constitución
Independence Square
We wandered and found a bodega, the Montevideo Wine Experience that specializes in wine from Uruguay. The bread, cheese, and charcuterie plate was a nice appetizer.
Montevideo Wine experience
We started the next day renting bikes and we biked the boardwalk by the river (Río de la plata). We biked 11.1 Kilometers from the Ciudad Vieja to the Lighthouse (faro de punta carretas)
our route
boardwalk selfie
one of the many beaches along the boardwalk
The lighthouse
We finished the day at the Bodega Bouza winery. Where I had my most favorite Chardonnay. It was harvest time so we got to see them beginning to process come of their grapes. We also got to taste the tannat and chardonnay grapes. We finished with a multicourse meal pared with the wines produced.
That night we went to Bar Fun for a tango show.
I'm glad we saw the Tango, but it was a tourist show and everything else was only ok. We also had the most disgusting drink. Medio y Medio.
The next day we took a tour to Punta del Este. We were excited to get to see this area, but unfortunately the tour was not what we hoped for. We thought we would travel and see some sights and then get to spend time at the beach. It was a very controlled tour that spent time driving through middle class and upper class neighborhoods where they pointed out houses and living costs. Bizarre. Greta and I made the most of our time and did get to the beach and to see the sights we were interested in. We stopped in Priápolis for the views and we visited Casapueblo constructed by artist Carlos Páez Vilaró.
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On our last day we visited an all female owned winery Artesana. The owners spent time in Northern Califonia wine country before start their vineyard in Montevideo. They have been cultivating Zinfindale from California vines. This tasting experience began with a tour of the vines and then inside to see the production room and storage "cave". We then sat outside on a patio and were served a multi-course meal paired with the wines. It was such a relaxing place and the food was rustic and tasty.
A little over a year and a half ago I learned my friends were moving to Vietnam to teach at an international school. Not only were they taking leave of their teaching jobs in sunny California, they were bringing their 3 children with them. This was my 'kick in the pants' moment. My friends studied in England at the same time that I had studied in Spain. I had always wanted to live abroad again. I had toyed with applying for a Fulbright exchange. I had even thought about teaching at an international school. I was just never able to follow through and make it happen. My friends pointed me in the right direction and a year later, I had signed up with Search Associates and begun my search for jobs. It took me some time to put my application together, I had to write a statement, gather references, and pay their fee. Then began the waiting process. I started at the beginning of the recruitment cycle (August) and I didn't have a serious prospect until November. Each interview i
As of 2:30 yesterday I became officially single. It took the help of my school and a trip to 3 different ministry offices. My school sent a representative to accompany me on my travers through north Quito. At 8:30 we reached office #1 where they asserted that it was not the correct office and they could not help (even though the schools lawyer and various notary offices said it was where we needed to go). They wouldn't let us talk to someone and sent us to office #2. Office #2 let us meet with someone who pulled up my records, however they were my immigration and visa records. The first showed me as single and the second doesn't collect marital status. And my marital status was wrong in the notary system. So off to office #3. Again this office wouldn't move us on to speak with someone because, this time, I was not Ecuadorian and I did not have an Ecuadorian ID. So they sent us back to office #1. At office #1 we again pled our case to the appointment gatekeepers and they
After 2 amazing meals, a chance to have Starbucks and sleep in. We embarked on the exploration part of our summer. We got up early and gathered our backpacks to meet our Peru Hop bus. The premise of the Peru Hop tour company reminds me a lot of a cruise ship. The bus has a tour guide and a bathroom (number 1 only). The bus follows a pre determined route and has stops on the way. At each major stop they have relationships with hotels and the traveller can elect to stay the night or multiple and then pick up the bus to continue their journey. You can prebook tours and hotels on their website or you can pay in cash on the bus for excursions and get their help booking rooms at hotels. We elected to wing it and have the Peru Hop guides book our hotels. There was only one time in the entire trip where we weren't able to get a room at the hotel we wanted. But they were helpful in finding us a room at a like hotel. We traveled with the bus from June 15-June 22. The first day was
The next day we took a tour to Punta del Este. We were excited to get to see this area, but unfortunately the tour was not what we hoped for. We thought we would travel and see some sights and then get to spend time at the beach. It was a very controlled tour that spent time driving through middle class and upper class neighborhoods where they pointed out houses and living costs. Bizarre. Greta and I made the most of our time and did get to the beach and to see the sights we were interested in. We stopped in Priápolis for the views and we visited Casapueblo constructed by artist Carlos Páez Vilaró.
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