Week 34: Montevideo, Cabo Polonio, Colonia; Uruguay, Lujan, Mendoza; Argentina

Monday 9/5:

We woke up to a cold rainy day in Montevideo. We decided we needed a decent hotel room where we could stay warm, dry, and entertained. After a meager breakfast we took an uber to our hotel. I think it was only around $30 which is slightly more than our frigid dorm hostel room had cost. But our hotel room had a huge soft bed, a big tv, private bathroom with hot water, and most importantly, a heater to keep us warm. After a small lunch of tuna and crackers we braved the rain and headed out to explore town. It was pouring rain and super windy so we only made it to the Andes 1972 Museum. This entire museum was devoted to the story of the plane crash in the Andes on which the 90’s movie “Alive” is based. If you’re not familiar, a plane carrying a Uruguyan sports team diverted from the proper course and crashed in the mountains. There were many survivors of the initial crash but due to freezing conditions, lack of supplies, and avalanches, many died. In order to survive those alive had to eat the bodies of the dead. It’s a fascinating story and I recommend the movie. The museum was great and the owner was passionate. His best friend is one of the survivors and thus the museum has many original artifacts from the wreck and survivors. After spending a few hours here we attempted to visit old town but were driven back by the weather. We relaxed all afternoon and ventured out for Subway sandwiches that night. It was a much needed day of relaxation.

9/6: After a wonderful hotel breakfast we walked to the old part of the city. It was not very impressive at all. We bought some groceries and returned to our hotel. After packing we took an Uber to the bus station and barely made it in time for the bus to Cabo Polonio. This is a national park today but was originally settled by a large group of hippies in the 60’s and 70’s.  These people were allowed to stay when it became a park, but are limited in construction and such. It’s right on the ocean, features a colony of sea lions below the lighthouse, and is ruggedly beautiful. It took us most of the day to reach the park and was raining lightly when we arrived. We quickly met a nice woman with a small cabin for rent. It was quite small but very cozy and we instantly loved it. It was only $20 and included a nice kitchen and a propane fired heater. It began to rain harder so we did not leave our cabana. We made a nice dinner, drank countless cups of hot coffee and tea and enjoyed our cozy cabin.

9/7: The next morning we found the weather was even worse. The rain had lightened but the wind was ferocious. We worried our cabana would blow away! After more tea and coffee, breakfast, reading under a pile of blankets, and a hot lunch, we ventured out of our cabana. It was so windy the light house was closed  but we admired the sea lions until we were frozen. We returned to our cozy cabana and relaxed until we made a nice dinner. There were two cats and two dogs that liked to hang out outside and beg for food. We watched lord of the rings on my phone and stayed in the warm bed under a pile of blankets. 

9/8: The next morning we tried to eat the rest of our food. We hiked the nearby sand dunes and the weather began to clear up. We ate some snacks and packed our bags. Finally the clouds disappeared and we hiked to the lighthouse again amidst the perfect weather. Unfortunately it was time to head out and we sat on the second floor seats of the truck that took us to the park entrance. We took the bus back to Montevideo and then after only ten minutes of waiting at the bus station took another bus to Colonia. It was nearly midnight when we arrived and after inquiring at several very expensive hotels we found a decent hostel. We were in bed and asleep within minutes. 

9/9: We woke up for the sunrise and took a stroll around the old part of the city. It was nice but after amazing places like Cartagena, Olinda, and Paraty in Colombia and Brazil we were not too impressed. After an hour we went back to our hostel for breakfast and then took the ferry back to Buenos Aires. We were delayed by about an hour and arrived at 1 PM. We had a big day planned so we took an uber to the bus station, stores our bags, bought overnight bus tickets for Mendoza, and walked to the metro. We unfortunately waited for almost an hour on our bus to Lujan, a city about an hour from Buenos Aires. We wanted to go to a zoo where you can let the lions, tigers, elephants, etc. Unfortunately we didn’t arrive in Lujan until 5 and the zoo closed at 6. Furthermore our bus to Mendoza was at 8:45 and we were nervous about missing it. We visited the famous cathedral instead and then took the bus back to the city. We made our bus but were disappointed to miss the zoo. 

9/10: We arrived in Mendoza at around 10 AM and were excited by the snow capped mountains in the distance.  After checking into our hostel and taking much needed showers we walked around the city. We went to the marketplace that sells all kinds of groceries as well as food. We ate nice Mexican food for a pretty good price. We continued on to the main plaza and strolled around the artesianal arts and crafts stands. We returned to our hostel for the afternoon and then went out to buy some groceries. We bought a giant steak (like 2.5 pounds), potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and two bottles of red wine, all for less than $25 dollars. That night we cooked our steak on the grill at the hostel. It took a couple hours but was well worth it. I made some new friends while grilling and after eating we soon went into food comas and deep sleep. 

9/11: 

During the night one of the German girls in our dorm room fell out of the top bunk. The Chinese guy sleeping underneath was instantly awake asking are you ok. This promoted us to think he’s a ninja of some sort. She was ok and the night was uneventful after that. We slept well and ate an awesome breakfast. Then we went on a long walk (because we accidentally walked the wrong way for a mile or more) to a massive park in Mendoza. We finally reached the park and had a picnic. Then we walked around the lake for awhile and enjoyed the views. We walked past the famous gates that was a present from the French and returned to our hostel. We had walked around 12 miles and were exhausted. We took a nap and then headed back to the main plaza in town. We bought a few pieces of jewelry/souvenirs and then returned to our hostel. We attempted grocery shopping but almost everything was closed. We found a corner store where we bought bread cheese and a two dollar bottle of wine. We ate leftover steak with toasted bread and cheese. The hostel had thousands of movies on a disk drive and we selected the new Star Wars movie which I hadn’t seen yet. It was ok. Then we headed to bed without anyone falling out or other noticeable events. 

It was a great week. I wouldn’t recommend Uruguay, but maybe it was the bad weather. It was expensive even compared to Brazil and Argentina. But we were glad we went if just for a few days and it helped us to appreciate Mendoza even more, which I would recommend even if you don’t appreciate wine. The next week was even better as we entered the Andes mountains!