montevideo

Day Trip to Buenos Aires

January 21, 2010 by Brian

It was time for us to renew our visitors’ permits again, so we decided to take a day trip to Buenos Aires last weekend. We wanted to make sure we got that taken care of before the baby’s arrival.

We were told by a few expats that as of January 1st, 2010 there is an entry fee for all U.S. citizens entering Argentina. After doing a little digging before our trip, we discovered that the Reciprocity Fee of U$S 131, for now, only applies if you arrive at the Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport (EZE).

However, you only have to pay the Airport Reciprocity Fee once every 10 years and it covers multiple entries. More information about the Reciprocity Fee can be found here.

Even though we found some cheap flights to Buenos Aires, we decided it would be best to take the ferry to avoid the Airport Reciprocity Fee. Last time we went to Buenos Aires, we took the Buquebus ferry direct from Montevideo to Buenos Aires. This time, we decided to take the bus to Colonia and the ferry from Colonia to Buenos Aires.

It actually worked out quite well for us. We arrived at the bus station around 7am and Zoë slept the entire bus ride out to Colonia and was refreshed when we got to the terminal there. She had a blast talking to everyone from her seat on Daddy’s back.

When we arrived in Buenos Aires, the forecast was for sun, but it was raining quite to our surprise! We didn’t come prepared for that. We were headed to a friend’s apartment who only lives four blocks from the Buquebus station, so we thought we’d try walking. Big mistake. The rain was coming down much harder than we anticipated.

So, we decided to grab a taxi. The only problem was that all we had on us were Uruguayan Pesos – we still hadn’t stopped at a Cambio to get Argentine Pesos.

We asked the taxi driver if he’d take Uruguayan Pesos and he agreed, so we hopped in the cab and off we went. He definitely took us for a bit of a ride. Then, when we got to our destination, the total fare was about 18 Argentine Pesos.

Brian handed him 100 Uruguayan Pesos and was planning to give him an additional 20 UY Pesos for a tip if he was honest. By the way, 18 Argentine Pesos equals about 92 UY Pesos… The guy looked at us like we were nuts and asked for 70 more UY Pesos. He really must have thought we were morons. He said that we had to pay for him to return to the place where he picked us up at.

So, Brian told me to get out of the taxi with Zoë and he gave the guy another 20 UY Pesos and said that’s all we have. And, we left.

It’s amazing how some people think it’s okay to take advantage of people that way. We had been warned about taxi drivers in Buenos Aires so we weren’t completely surprised though.

After arriving at our friend Lyle’s apartment, we decided to head out to find a Cambio and then some lunch. We walked over to Florida Street (a big pedestrian street that is a tourist trap) first to find a Cambio.

There were some guys standing out in the middle of the street soliciting a cambio. We grabbed one of the guys and he took us to what looked more like a travel agency, but whatever. We went inside and to the counter. Brian handed the woman 1700 UY Pesos. She did some calculations and gave him 170 Argentine Pesos.

Luckily we are more informed about exchange rates than the average tourist would be, so Brian tried to give the 170 ARS back and the lady acted like she didn’t know what we were saying (they were speaking English when we first came in). After a brief exchange the lady reluctantly and obviously irritated gave our money back to us… She thought she’d just made a little extra cash off of some ignorant gringos. Wrong!

We found another Cambio about a block away and guess what… We got well over 100 ARS for the same 1700 UY Pesos. Moral of the story? Be informed and aware when you’re traveling as a tourist anywhere.

At least we got the bad encounters out of the way early in the day. The rest of the day was very nice. The rain cleared up and we had a nice lunch and good conversation.

Our ferry was headed back to Uruguay at 8 pm, so we got to the Buquebus station at around 7 pm so we’d have time to check in and go through customs. We boarded the ferry and were pleasantly surprised at how nice this one was. There were sections with couches and even a duty free store on board!

Luckily we were some of the first people to board since pregnant women get priority boarding and we were able to get one of the couches. It was great for Zoë because there were some other kids sitting in the same section. She had a blast playing with them for the duration of the ferry ride.

When we arrived in Colonia, we got on the bus and headed back to Montevideo. The bus ride definitely felt much longer on the way back. I think next time we might consider taking the bus to Colonia on the way out, but taking the direct ferry to return, especially so late at night.

What You’ll Find at the Feria de Tristan Narvaja

December 2, 2009 by Brian

The Feria de Tristan Narvaja is the largest open-air market in Montevideo, Uruguay. We’ve visited several times and are always amazed at the wide assortment of goods available there.

You can purchase many different types of animals at one vendor, including chickens, rabbits, birds, puppies…

…and even peacocks!

You’ll find row upon row upon row of used books (in Spanish). If you search through long enough, I’m sure you can find a few gems.

There is also a large section of new items that you would see at a traditional swap meet in the US, like household goods, clothes, shoes, toys, bootlegged video games and computer software, CDs and more.

Then, of course, there is a large flea market section of used goods that fill so many streets I can’t count. This is what the Feria de Tristan Narvaja is famous for.

You can find things like antiques, old engine parts, guns, records, household items, collectibles and more. You can literally wander this section of the Feria de Tristan Narvaja for hours without running out of things to look at.

The produce is about 20-25% less expensive at the Feria de Tristan Narvaja than the produce at the Villa Biarritz feria in Pocitos. I think we paid less than UY$300 for the produce, pasta and dried garlic shown in this picture:

If you’re looking for something to do in Montevideo on a Sunday morning/afternoon, check out the Feria de Tristan Narvaja, located at Tristan Narvaja and 18 de Julio.

For a list of other Montevideo ferias, click here.

Weekend Trip to Punta Del Diablo, Uruguay

November 13, 2009 by Brian

Some Uruguayan friends invited us out to Punta Del Diablo for the weekend. They rented a house a few miles outside of town and knew it was an area of Uruguay we really wanted to explore.

We took the bus from Tres Cruces bus station in Montevideo to Punta Del Diablo rather than renting a car. The bus cost us UY $289 (U$S 14.13) each for one-way tickets. Zoë sat on our laps, which was no problem because the seats were large, very comfortable and reclined. We even had plenty of legroom. Definitely better than airline seats.

The ride was 4 ½ hours, but it was a very nice, scenic drive. Unfortunately we realized on the trip to Punta Del Diablo that Zoë does, in fact, get carsick. Poor baby.

When we arrived at our destination, we got settled into the house and then shared some asado with our friends. It was a peaceful, relaxing evening.

The next morning, we got a ride into Punta Del Diablo so we could explore the town for the day. The beaches in Punta Del Diablo are clean and beautiful.

We spent some time relaxing out on the point, watching the waves.

The town is small, but it’s exactly what you would imagine for a rustic beach community.

We had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the ocean. Corvina cooked on the parrilla is their specialty, so we all had that. It was delicious, but I was surprised at the cost given it isn’t high season yet – UY $440 (U$S 21.52) for a two-person serving of corvina and a salad. I guess that’s not expensive by US standards though…

Overall, Punta Del Diablo is a beautiful little beach town that would be great for a relaxing vacation. I don’t think it’s somewhere we would want to live full time (too many buildings too close together). But, if you haven’t been to Punta Del Diablo, Uruguay yet, we definitely recommend checking it out.

36 Hours in Montevideo, Uruguay

October 23, 2009 by Brian

It’s always neat to see US newspapers running stories on the tiny country of Uruguay that we’ve come to love. Today, it’s the New York Times highlighting Montevideo.

The news story, titled “36 Hours in Montevideo, Uruguay,” gives a breakdown of the writer’s stay in the capital city. It’s a nice story, especially if you’re planning a trip to Montevideo.

He gives some detail about museums, hotels, architecture, food, nightlife, markets, mate and more. For only spending 36 hours in Montevideo, he made good use of his time.

Read the story on the New York Times Website.

It’s Spring in Uruguay… Time to Plant a Garden!

October 23, 2009 by Brian

We typically have a garden of some sort every year, even if it’s just a few tomato and jalapeño plants. Now that Spring is here, I’m getting that urge to plant a garden.

But, we’re living in a Montevideo apartment, so that doesn’t leave us much room for a garden. Our front balcony has three small planters on it so we decided to plant a basil plant, rosemary plant and cilantro plant in them.

We’ve seen a couple nurseries around Montevideo, but we came across one the other day that we really liked, Ciudad Jardin. They have a great selection and their prices are reasonable. The basil, rosemary and cilantro plants ranged from UY$15-25 (U$S 0.74-1.23) each. Large bags of soil (tierra) are only UY$50 (U$S 2.46) each.

They even deliver to your home! If you want to have a small garden, or just need a couple house plants, check out Ciudad Jardin.

Ciudad Jardin is located at Av. Brasil 2528 esq. Brito del Pino. Telephone: 708-0504.

Casa Singer: The World of Spices

October 16, 2009 by Brian

As avid cooks, we’re always looking for new specialty foods stores in Montevideo where we can procure our favorite ingredients. We came across a store in Centro, Casa Singer. Thank you Clara.

Casa Singer carries a wide range of spices, flours, grains, dried fruits, extracts, condiments and ethnic foods. The prices are a bit high, but you’ll find foods and spices here you won’t find elsewhere in Montevideo.

We picked up some dried chilies (52 grams), ground cayenne pepper (62 grams), ground cumin seed (52 grams) and a big jar of mixed peppercorns (225 grams) for UY $680 (U$S 32.77).

For the Spanish translations, click here.

Casa Singer is located at Av. 18 de Julio 1612. Phone: 409-7846.

Pictures of Casa Singer's interior:

Halloween in Uruguay!

October 14, 2009 by Brian

Someone once told us that the closest thing to Halloween in Uruguay was dressing up in costume for Noche de la Nostalgia. We were very pleased to discover that this statement is completely untrue!

While out and about in Centro last week we discovered Superfiestas, a store jam-packed with Halloween attire. From wigs, to “mad hatter” hats to masks to make-up, they had a pretty good selection of Halloween attire.

While Halloween isn’t quite the same in Uruguay as it is in the States, we’re excited that it is celebrated here. So if you’re looking for a Halloween costume in Uruguay, check out Superfiestas. The location we visited was on Colonia 921, but there are also locations at:

18 de Julio 1527
Justicia 2373
Arenal Grande 2425
Colonia 1348
8 de Octubre 3694
Punta Carretas Shopping, L. 322
Maldonado Sarandi 965

Yesterday, we also came across Party Center, another store with Halloween decorations in the windows. Party Center is located at 1717 Constituyente.

If you like Halloween, you should also be aware that Dia de los Muertos (aka Day of the Dead or All Souls Day) is also celebrated in Uruguay on November 2. Most businesses, including banks, shops, the post office and even schools close for the day. Rather than a vibrant celebration, Dia de los Muertos is more of a day of quiet respect for the dead. Typical activities include remembering relatives who have passed or visiting cemeteries.

Does anyone know of any family-oriented Halloween events going on around Montevideo?

Bambu Asian Market in Montevideo

October 13, 2009 by Brian

We’ve been to Bambu a few times now and realized we haven’t written about it yet. Bambu is a small Asian market located in Montevideo where you can pick up a variety of Asian foods, spices and more.

It’s a small store, but you’ll find the staples to make an Asian meal, such as rice noodles, chili sauce, sesame oil, coconut milk, soy sauce, wasabi powder, etc. They also have prepared Asian meals available for take out. And, as unusual as it may sound for an Asian market, one of the things we frequently visit Bambu for is their rice “Cheerios.”

We’ve mentioned before that you can’t get Cheerios in Montevideo (at least not that we’ve seen). There are a couple of imitations at the supermarket, but we don’t even find them edible.

Bambu has private-labeled their own version of Cheerios, but they’re made with rice (instead of wheat) and sweetened with honey. I’d actually say they’re better than the “real thing.” This trip we picked up 4 of the big bags (250 grams each) so that we won’t run out for a while. The large bag runs UY $37 (U$S 1.78).

We also purchased a bag of rice noodles (340 grams) for UY $74 (U$S 3.57), and chili sauce for UY $115 (U$S 5.54)… both for yesterday’s Recipe of the Week.

Bambu is located at San Jose 1290. Phone: 902-7720.

7 Things to Know About Uruguay Driving

September 30, 2009 by Brian

Well actually, these apply whether you plan to drive, be a passenger in a Uruguay auto (including taxis) or simply plan to walk down the street where cars are present.

Driving in Uruguay is a whole different ballgame than driving in the US. I think the funniest joke we’ve heard about the Uruguay taxi drivers is that “They drive like they do because they’re training for jihad…” Okay, that joke is in poor taste, but it’s still funny.

Maybe the drivers are so aggressive because they’re all angry they have to drive a manual transmission through city traffic? I don’t know what the case is, but I have never seen anything like Uruguay driving.

That said, here are the top 7 things to know about Uruguay driving:

Lines in the road are more of a guideline than a rule. Just because there are only two lanes lined out on the road, don’t be surprised to see 5 cars across the road at the stoplight with a moped sneaking up on the far right side to pass the traffic.
Bumpers are for bumping. Seriously. If you need a little bit of extra space to park your car or get out of your parking spot, it’s no problem! Just use your bumper to move the car in front of you or behind you out of the way. I was shocked the first time I saw it, but now it’s an everyday occurrence.
Pedestrians do not have the right of way. Even if the signal says cross, be careful. Just because someone doesn’t have their turn signal on doesn’t mean they aren’t going to make a turn.It seems most Uruguay autos do not observe traffic “laws” they way they do in the US. If they can go, they will, even if that means coming within ½ of an inch of hitting you. This goes for buses too. Keeping the bus schedule is more important than preserving your life.
Look both ways when crossing the street, even a one-way street. Actually, you better watch the sidewalk you’re walking on carefully too because you just might get hit by a motorcycle if you’re not looking. Again, I’m not joking. Nearly every store and restaurant in Montevideo delivers, and the deliveries are made via motorcycle. Rather than going around the block, the motorcycle delivery drivers will just go the wrong way down a one-way street, or even down the sidewalk to reach their destination in the fastest manner possible.Whether you’re driving or walking down the street, be aware.
Horns are made to honk! In Jamaica, you hear a lot of horn honking, but it’s a friendly way of saying “Hi” with a quick “beep beep.” In Uruguay, you will find this to be quite the opposite. A lot of people tend to lay on the horn non-stop for minutes at a time.Note to “The Honkers” – Just because you got stuck waiting for someone to park for an extra 60 seconds doesn’t mean you need to give the rest of us a headache. Really, your time is not that important. There is not enough traffic in Montevideo to warrant 1/100th of the horn honking that takes place.
What’s the speed limit again? Wait, there isn’t one posted. Don’t be surprised to see Uruguay autos reaching speeds of 60 mph (95 kph) on a busy city street.There are 2 types of drivers in Montevideo, the fast ones and the ones who get honked at.A lot of people drive as fast as they possibly can, and then get upset when they have to stop or slow down due to traffic. You’ll often see cars swerve out around traffic, drive down the wrong side of the street and then swerve back over just to get a little bit ahead of the pack. For being so relaxed, Uruguayans sure are in a hurry to reach their destination.
Who’s that guy in the orange vest? You’ll see what we refer to as parking attendants on pretty much every street in Montevideo. They’re there to watch your car while you go into the restaurant to eat.They’re also there to help you park correctly, so you don’t take up two spaces on the street. Or to help you get out of that parking spot when you just couldn’t do it on your own. Yes, you’re expected to tip these guys. $5 -10 UY Pesos will suffice.A running joke we hear is, “That’s not bad to have a little security for your car… That is, if they aren’t the ones breaking into the car.”

We would like to hear your observations about Uruguay Driving… Comment Below…

Via Bar: Live Music in Montevideo

September 28, 2009 by Brian

One thing Uruguay is not known for is its nightlife. Overall, Montevideo is a very mellow city, but if you know where to look, you can find good spots for entertainment, including live music. One such place is Via Bar.

We were introduced to Via Bar by some good friends of ours, Ken and Jan. Shortly after moving to Montevideo, Ken joined up with a local Blues band, the Pablo Traberzo Trio. Pablo is an amazing guitarist… Brian says he’d put him up there with Jimmy Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn. However, no one knows who he is because he’s from Uruguay.

Ken is a well-known harmonica player that has played with all the Blues greats, and both him and Jan have awesome voices. Brian had seen them a couple of times prior (I was always too tired). This past Friday night was my first time at Via Bar. And, I’m sad to say it will be our last time seeing the same show since Jan and Ken just moved to Vilcabamba, Ecuador this morning (we’ll miss you!).

We had front row seats for the show, which meant loud music, but we got to see everything up close and personal. The show was great and we had a lot of fun. It was only the second time we’ve had a babysitter since moving to Montevideo in May.

Although Ken and Jan are gone, the Pablo Traberzo Trio will still be playing at Via Bar every Friday night. If you’re looking for live music in Montevideo, we highly recommend you go check them out. For a small taste of the type of live music you’ll get, check out this YouTube video:

Via Bar is a small, but lively place. They have a full bar and they serve “bar food.” The live music show with the Pablo Traberzo Trio sells out almost every Friday night, so make sure you reserve a table ahead of time.

Via Bar is located at Luis Alberto de Herrera 2751 esquina Monte Caseros. Their phone number is (598 2) 487.9630.

Via Bar:

Ken and Jan on stage:

Pablo the guitarist:

Moyi the bassist:

Martin the drummer: