uruguay

The Value of the US Dollar vs the Uruguayan Peso

April 5, 2010 by Brian

We’ve mentioned in passing that the value of the US dollar has fallen significantly against the Uruguayan Peso since we moved here last May. It has fallen from about a 24:1 exchange rate to about a 19:1 exchange rate.

That’s pretty significant – it’s about a 25% drop in the last year, and that’s before you have even taken inflation into account…

So, the cost of living in Uruguay for US citizens has risen dramatically over the last year. When we arrived, our cost of living was around $1900 per month. Now we’re up to around $2400 per month (just our basic expenses).

I found this website where you can graph the change in value of 190 currencies, and it put it into even more perspective.

Here’s the change in value of the US dollar against the Uruguayan Peso in the last year:

And in the last five years:

When you’re making a decision to move abroad, it’s always a good idea to understand the trends in the currency’s value against the currency of your home country (where your income is coming from).

Right now, the value of the US Dollar against the Uruguayan Peso is the lowest it has been in about 2 years. But, if you look at the trend from the last 5 years, there is only one other dip this low. So, hopefully it will rise again before too long.

For US Citizens currently living in Uruguay, how has the fall of the value of the US Dollar affected you?

Biodegradable Shopping Bags

March 1, 2010 by Brian

We typically bring our hemp shopping bags with us to the grocery store with us so plastic bags don’t overrun our kitchen. But, we do use plastic grocery bags as trash sacks so we like to have a small supply on hand.

One thing we noticed the first time that we shopped at the Disco was that the shopping bags are labeled as being biodegradable. So are the plastic bags at Devoto (one of the other major grocery store chains in Uruguay).

We had never seen that in the States before, so we were interested by it. We checked out the website listed on the bags. Apparently this company makes an additive that makes conventional plastic products biodegradable.

Small amounts of the additive are combined with the plastic during the manufacturing process to allow plastic products such as polyethylene carrier bags to biodegrade in 24-36 months.

We thought it was very cool that a small country like Uruguay is using biodegradable plastic bags, when the major chains in the US still aren’t (as far as we know).

Merry Christmas from Uruguay

December 25, 2009 by Brian

We want to wish all of our readers a very Merry Christmas. We hope everyone has a fun-filled and safe day.

Brian, Chrystal & Zoë

p.s. We'll resume our Recipe of the Week series in the New Year!

Montevideo Restaurant Review: Rocco Resto

December 9, 2009 by Brian

This restaurant review for Rocco Resto is long overdue. We discovered Rocco Resto our first week in Montevideo (since it’s just a few blocks from Punta Trouville, the apart hotel we stayed at when we first arrived in Uruguay) and we quickly became “regulars.”

Rocco Resto is a great place to eat at or enjoy a bottle of wine, whether you’re just visiting or living in Uruguay. The owners Ali and Gerado and the entire staff are extremely friendly (and most of them speak English).

The prices at Rocco Resto are reasonable, similar to other restaurants in the Pocitos area of Montevideo. The atmosphere is casual and they also have a bar in the restaurant where you can watch the futbol match and have a liter of beer.

They have a little bit of everything on their menu and everything is good. Brian’s favorite is the beef stroganoff and Chrystal’s is the chicken curry (sorry, we don’t have pictures of either of these, but they are great!).

The lomo (similar to filet mignon) dishes are also wonderful:

They typically have a fish of the day, and every time we’ve had it, it has been good:

For you vegetarians and vegetable lovers, their vegetables al wok, which is one of the house specialties, are also delicious:

If you’re looking for a good appetizer, try the mini pollo (chicken) brochettes. You can also order them with lomo (beef) if you prefer:

We were just in Rocco Resto over the weekend and found out that they’re having a deck built this week, just in time for summer. So if you’re in the area, stop by Rocco Resto and enjoy a meal or drink.

Rocco Resto is located on 21 de Setiembre and Francisco Vidal, one block from the Rambla.

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.

Jose Mujica is Uruguay’s new President

November 29, 2009 by Brian

Montevideo is alive right now with horns honking and people who support the Frente Amplio yelling “Viva Pepe” in the streets. Fireworks are popping off in the distance and very dark storm clouds are rolling in soon to drench this great city.

“Pepe” is President Jose Mujica’s nickname. As the new President for Uruguay, Jose Mujica will bring a colorful rule to this great nation.

Jose Mujica spent 14 years in prison during Uruguay’s military regime; because he was the founder of the Marxist Tupamaros guerillas. He’s friends with Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez and Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He’s vowed to bring change to Uruguay.

In July Pepe made a speech and vowed to repent “the stupid
ideologies that come from the 1970s – I refer to things like
unconditional love of everything that is state-run, scorn for
businessmen and intrinsic hate of the United States. I’ll shout
it if they want: Down with isms! Up with a left that is capable of
thinking outside the box! In other words, I am more than completely
cured of simplifications, of dividing the world into good and evil, of
thinking in black and white. I have repented!”

Often outspoken and causing controversy with his speeches calling Argentina “a nation of morons”… It’s definitely going to be an interesting ride with Mujica as President of Uruguay.

No matter what happens, I’m sure it will be colorful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 26, 2009 by Brian

We want to wish everyone a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving from Uruguay!

Brian, Chrystal and Zoë

Uruguay and Chile Rated Least Corrupt Countries in South America

November 24, 2009 by Brian

Global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International released the 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) last week. The report ranked a total of 180 countries worldwide, 31 of which are from the Americas.

The countries are graded based upon surveys that measure people's perceived level of corruption in the public sector. Rankings are then given to each country using a scale of 1-10, with 10 being least corrupt and 1 being most corrupt.

The 3 least corrupt countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index were New Zealand with 9.4 points, Denmark with 9.3 points and Singapore with 9.2 points. Uruguay and Chile tied for 25th with 6.7 points.

Looking at our North American neighbors (and many expats’ home countries), Canada ranks 8th with 8.7 points and the United States ranks 18th with 7.5 points (lagging just behind the UK, ranking 17th with 7.7 points).

Other rankings of interest:

Puerto Rico ranks 35th with 5.8 points
Costa Rica ranks 43rd with 5.3 points
Brazil ranks 75th with 3.7 points
Colombia ranks 75th with 3.7 points
Peru ranks 75th with 3.7 points
Panama ranks 84th with 3.4 points
Mexico ranks 89th with 3.3 points
Argentina ranks 106th with 2.9 points
Bolivia ranks 120th with 2.7 points
Honduras ranks 130th with 2.5 points
Nicaragua ranks 130th with 2.5 points
Ecuador ranks 146th with 2.2 points
Paraguay ranks 154th with 2.1 points
Venezuela ranks 162nd with 1.9 points

See more about the Corruption Perceptions Index on Transparency International’s website.

Or read the Mercopress story, which give a great analysis of what the rankings mean for the various countries.

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.

Amazon Ships to Uruguay!

November 4, 2009 by Brian

Zoë received several Amazon.com gift cards for her birthday last year. We had asked for them as one option for gifts for her since we didn’t want to haul any more “stuff” with us on our move to Uruguay (her birthday was the day before we left for Uruguay).

We got an excellent tip from a member of the Exploring Uruguay Forum that books and DVDs are exempt from duties and taxes so we decided it was time to place an order with Amazon. So, we ordered Zoë some new books and a DVD of her favorite show Shushybye Baby(we lost her copy on the trip down to Uruguay).

We weren’t sure how the delivery would work, but it went very smooth! I placed the order on October 14 and received two packages on October 29. They delivered the boxes directly to our apartment. It didn’t even look like they had been opened and one of the boxes was quite large (we spent around $100 on books and the DVD).

You can see Amazon’s shipping rates and transit times to Uruguay here.

If you’ve been wanting to get some new English books or DVDs, we highly recommend ordering from Amazon.com.