Montevideo, Uruguay

Montevideo is referred to as the Europe of South America.  I can definitely see the similarities and some characteristics of the two, but Montevideo is a bit more rundown.  We got into our hostel in Montevideo around 10 a.m. Monday morning.  The 9 hour flight was not near as bad as I had imagined. The flight was only half full so everyone was able to stretch out and actually get some sleep.  

Most of the day Monday was spent exploring the city.  Later, Ana (our professor) led our group to the old town where there are nice markets and older buildings.  The old town had a lot of really interesting shops and vendors, but it is a little more difficult to communicate with the people of Uruguay than I imagined.  Not near as many people speak English as I thought there would be.  For this reason it was hard to barter at the market, or even communicate with the server in a restaurant; however, in the old town I was able to muster up enough Spanish to order my first cup of coffee, a cappuccino.  As to be expected, it was delicious!  Amanda ordered a drink specialty of Montevideo, Mideo y Mideo.  It is a wine made from both green and red grapes.  Together we sat at a cute little café as I tried to convince myself that I actually was sitting in Montevideo, Uruguay in South America.  Amanda napped.  

Later in the evening, before dinner, Ana, Amanda, Jonathan (our other professor), and I sat at a café on the main road in Montevideo and enjoyed coffee.  It was nice to relax and talk to my professors about the trip.  Ana taught us a lot about South American culture as well.  A little later we had a group dinner at a restaurant called Facal.  Ana ordered us three pizzas, South American style, to try.  Es delicioso!  

Everyone headed back to the hostel for showers and bed, but in the spirit of travel, nothing can ever be that easy.  A routine check for bed bugs turned into a nightmare as two of our roommates found bugs.  We notified the management, who handled it nicely.  The bad part is there was not anywhere else for us to stay.  Instead of everyone sleeping on the bottom bunks we moved up to the top for the night.  Apparently the bugs do not migrate, on their own, to other beds.  Between the threat of bed bugs and the loud traffic outside, I got maybe a few hours of sleep. 

Tuesday morning we traveled to Atlantida to visit a famous church by Eladio Dieste.  Iglesia Cristo Odrero is an amazing feat of brick masonry engineering, aka the exterior walls are wavy and made entirely of brick.  I really enjoy modern churches, so I appreciate that I was able to see it.  I continued my tradition of praying in any religious facility I come across during my travels.  Praying in Cristo Odrero was a humbling experience to say the least. 

The second half of the day was spent exploring more of Montevideo.  We walked the entire length of the city, it felt like.  The walk was scenic along the riverfront/ shore of Montevideo.  We stumbled across an architecture school and decided to pay a visit inside.  Their facility is so much more exciting than Ball State.  All the classrooms/ studios surround an open air courtyard, a much more inspiring environment than CAP in Muncie.  A few of us stopped for dinner at a bar/ café.  

The night should have ended with a relaxing pizza and beer, but upon arrival at that hostel a roommate found more bedbugs, in her top bunk!  Again, we notified the management, and this time decided to sleep in the guy’s room with them.  They had exactly 5 extra beds for us!  So everyone but Ana slept in the same room last night.  Hopefully this problem does not keep happening.  I never have enjoyed hostels much.  Despite the unfortunate bed bug situation, Montevideo has been a fun start to the trip.  From what I have been told, it is only a warm up compared to what Buenos Aires has to offer.