Caught the 8.30 bus to Montevideo. They still have conductors on the buses here. After we left the bus station there were a couple of stops to pick up passengers on the outskirts of town and then the bus swung into the countryside and onto the main road for Montevideo.
The consuctor seems to have a cushy job here. Once the few fairs had been taken and tickets checked he settled down to preparing mugs of mate for himself and the driver. They sipped their drinks and chatted away for most of the rest of the journey as there was only one more pick up. Outside I was getting my first real glimpse of South American countryside. We passed through mostly open pasture land with a few cows grazing and the odd short stretch of crops growing.
Across the fields I noticed what I thought at first were wisps of smoke drifting across the tops of trees. They were long vertical cone-like clouds hovering always where there were stands of trees. As we passed closed by one of these clouds it became obvious they were either swarms of bees or flies.
By 11am we were at the bus station in Montevideo. The terminal appeared to be outside the city cemtre by some distance so I left my rucksack at a luggage drop in the station and went on foot in to the city. At first I walked around iun circles going in the wrong direction each time. I couldn´t locate where the station was on the map. Eventually I was put right. It turned out the station was on the very edge of the cemtre. A 35 min walk would take me to where I wanted to go. I got onto Avenida 18 Julio. This street runs straight down into the heart of Montevideo all the way to Plaza Independiencia at its heart. I had picke out a cheap hotel not too far from the Plaza.
Montevideo was warm and busy. It was quite different to Buenos Aires, not as wealthy, a bit rundown looking but humming with activity. There were a lot of street vendors along Avenida 18 Julio. You wouldn´t see this in B.A. The streets were thronged with shoppers. I kept to the shady side of the street otherwise I´d have been soaked in sweat. Ome of the landmark buildings along the Avenida id the Palacio Municipal, the City Hall, an enormous brick building. One of those you crane your neck to look up at in the comparatively narrow avenue. The avenida was lined with tall building complexes but the Palacio dwarfed them all. 3 mins from here I arrived at the door of the hotel Montevideo.
This hotel was run by an elderly couple. I asked for a single room and the old lady showed me a room for 400 pesos. When she opened the door a wave of warm sticky air rushed out. Inside was a tiny stuffy room which i didn´t fancy. She showed me other double rooms which were more expensive and which I didn´t want precisely because of this. I was tired and didn´t fancy looking at more rooms so I decided to take the one for 400 pesos. I said this to her. The old lady took this up as me haggling to get one of the better rooms at a cheap rate. So she gave me one of the doubles for a single rate. Happy Days!!
I didn´t do much for the rest of the day. Happy not to be in a dorm. In the afternoon I collected my rucksack from the bus station and later on, in the evening, went to a chiviteria (a burger bar) for some food. The lady who served seemed to be quite taken by the fact that I was from Ireland. The food wasn´t bad either. Afterwards I strolled down to Plaza Independencia, Montevideo´s large central square. It wasnt the most attractive of Plazas. There was one fine building, the Palacio Salvo which at one time was South America´s tallest building. I strolled down to the waterfront and out onto a pier where groups of lads were fishing. Occasionally waves splashed up over the pier wall, drenching you if you happened to be standing in the wrong spot. An enormous container ship pulled out of the port and glided past the pier out into choppy waters of the open sea. Everything else was dwarfed by its massive size. I went back to the hotel and was asleep by 11.
The consuctor seems to have a cushy job here. Once the few fairs had been taken and tickets checked he settled down to preparing mugs of mate for himself and the driver. They sipped their drinks and chatted away for most of the rest of the journey as there was only one more pick up. Outside I was getting my first real glimpse of South American countryside. We passed through mostly open pasture land with a few cows grazing and the odd short stretch of crops growing.
Across the fields I noticed what I thought at first were wisps of smoke drifting across the tops of trees. They were long vertical cone-like clouds hovering always where there were stands of trees. As we passed closed by one of these clouds it became obvious they were either swarms of bees or flies.
By 11am we were at the bus station in Montevideo. The terminal appeared to be outside the city cemtre by some distance so I left my rucksack at a luggage drop in the station and went on foot in to the city. At first I walked around iun circles going in the wrong direction each time. I couldn´t locate where the station was on the map. Eventually I was put right. It turned out the station was on the very edge of the cemtre. A 35 min walk would take me to where I wanted to go. I got onto Avenida 18 Julio. This street runs straight down into the heart of Montevideo all the way to Plaza Independiencia at its heart. I had picke out a cheap hotel not too far from the Plaza.
Montevideo was warm and busy. It was quite different to Buenos Aires, not as wealthy, a bit rundown looking but humming with activity. There were a lot of street vendors along Avenida 18 Julio. You wouldn´t see this in B.A. The streets were thronged with shoppers. I kept to the shady side of the street otherwise I´d have been soaked in sweat. Ome of the landmark buildings along the Avenida id the Palacio Municipal, the City Hall, an enormous brick building. One of those you crane your neck to look up at in the comparatively narrow avenue. The avenida was lined with tall building complexes but the Palacio dwarfed them all. 3 mins from here I arrived at the door of the hotel Montevideo.
This hotel was run by an elderly couple. I asked for a single room and the old lady showed me a room for 400 pesos. When she opened the door a wave of warm sticky air rushed out. Inside was a tiny stuffy room which i didn´t fancy. She showed me other double rooms which were more expensive and which I didn´t want precisely because of this. I was tired and didn´t fancy looking at more rooms so I decided to take the one for 400 pesos. I said this to her. The old lady took this up as me haggling to get one of the better rooms at a cheap rate. So she gave me one of the doubles for a single rate. Happy Days!!
I didn´t do much for the rest of the day. Happy not to be in a dorm. In the afternoon I collected my rucksack from the bus station and later on, in the evening, went to a chiviteria (a burger bar) for some food. The lady who served seemed to be quite taken by the fact that I was from Ireland. The food wasn´t bad either. Afterwards I strolled down to Plaza Independencia, Montevideo´s large central square. It wasnt the most attractive of Plazas. There was one fine building, the Palacio Salvo which at one time was South America´s tallest building. I strolled down to the waterfront and out onto a pier where groups of lads were fishing. Occasionally waves splashed up over the pier wall, drenching you if you happened to be standing in the wrong spot. An enormous container ship pulled out of the port and glided past the pier out into choppy waters of the open sea. Everything else was dwarfed by its massive size. I went back to the hotel and was asleep by 11.
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