Reislog Archief:
| The Gang of Four |
| Geplaatst door: Felix |
Tijd in Nederland: 06:56 10/03/10 - Tijd in Colonia, Uruguay: 03:56 10/03/10 |
Goodmorning Europeans,
Uruguay was a blast, but in a few hours I will be out of here (hopefully! see the end of the story)
A short two weeks ago, I entered this country in the middle of the night, to be dropped in the middle of the street, in the lovely bordertown of Chuy (Brasil-Uruguay share a nice taxfreeshopping street there).
Now like a true traveller, I will leave in the middle of the night again, we didnīt book a bed for tonight, but are crashing the hostel couches of the El Viajero in Colonia (itīs a chain of hostels in Uruguay, we stayed with them in La Padrera and Montevideo, so they were nice enough to store our luggage for the day and have us crashing the livingroom).
I say we because I met some wonderful Argentinian girls in the small town of La Pedrera, on sunday I got a ride offered by an Austrian couple who had a rentalcar, so hitchhiking in Uruguay can be checked off the long list now!
La Pedrera was pretty crowded so there we didnīt really hit it off, but when they walked into my Montevideo hostel late sundaynight we had a great time on the rooftopterrace, singing, clapping and playing music together with some more guests.
Monday we walked the streets of Ciudad Vieja, Montevideo, the so called old town, next to the port. Itīs not the safest neighbourhood at night, but during the day it is great, handcrafted juwellery and artworks are sold in the streets, some of which are car-free.
Interesting old buildings, and a lot of restructuring going on make it a really lively place.
Leading the gang, musically, is Coti, on her gitara.
Mother of the gang is Pauli, always taking care of the money.
Pretty woman award is probably shared between Soni and Magda, but to be honest here they are all fair contenders in that department.
At night we went out, fashionably late we crashed a club closeby at 2am, and we left when we conquered the whole dancefloor two hours later.
Cumbia and reggaeton, nothing can stop me & my dancing queens!
Today we went for another small shoppingspree, and we visited the Carnival museum! Great to read about how the African influences combined with the Venetian traditions together created what is now the best partycontinent of the world. Also there were wonderful masks and monsters on display, unfortunately I forgot my camera.
In the afternoon we took the bus to Colonia del Sacramento, a small coastal town, northwest of Montevideo.
I heard from all kinds of people that this town was pretty, but it still managed to take me completely by surprise.
After the busy capital, the peace and quiet here, itīs just amazing. Cobblestone streets (you english people call it that, right? Dutch insiders know this as īkinderhoofdjesī, like in Zierikzee!), but very wide instead of small, with beautiful trees, creating cool shadowy walks, and almost no traffic, itīs oh so nice!
We visited a small art-studio, located in a sweet old house, only one block away from the ocean.
Then we had to hurry because we didnīt want to miss the sunset, and here it was a combination of goodness that made it another truly unique night. A small island right underneath the sun, clouds around for some added light-effects, fastpaced birds flying above us, fishermen busy with the meal for tonight, Uruguayan hunks doing pushups on the rocks to impress my girls, it was all there.
A tasty local specialty, Chivito, for all of us at the end of the night. We wanted to go for a beer because we have to catch the ferry to Buenos Aires around 5 in the morning, but this town on a tuesday didnīt want to serve us anymore. Casino was the busiest place in town, but I spent all my money today so no roulette for me.
The girls are sleeping in chairs, on the floor, on the couch, everywhere somehow possible, and I am writing you dear readers another small story.
I will end with the most important note, going back all the way to Chuy.
Itīs a strange bordertown, it was never clear to me where exactly was Uruguay and where Brasil, so when I arrived in Punta del Diablo later that day, I noticed my passport didnīt have any new stamps (except for my exit one of Brasil). This might turn out interesting when going through customs at the ferry terminal, since there is no proof of me ever entering this country officially. I canīt imagine this being a serious problem, but you never know, right?
So we end with a cliffhanger, will I make it to Buenos Aires by morning, my dear partytownŋ?
Who knows
F
|
|
