[PART 3] Travel Story: Coast of Uruguay by Bicycle | First Day in Uruguay - Montevideo
Gooood night readers! Giving continuation. Two crazy guys, two bikes, 400+ km riding, 12 days. Check this travel story.
This is the PART 3 of a story a friend and I experienced this past february. We made our way to Montevideo in Uruguay, bought some bicycles and rode them back to Brazil. An amazing experience full of overcoming situations that I'd like to present through this texts.
If you are landing here now consider checking PART 1, and moving from there. Link presented below:
[PART 1] Travel Story: Coast of Uruguay by Bicycle | Planning
In PART 1 I talked about the motivation behind the idea and how simple it was to plan everything. It gives you and introdution to the main idea, preparations and the basic road map for our trip. If you like my work please consider checking that out, it'll be much appreciated.
In PART 2 the initial steps of our trip were presented, how we failed to hitchhike and the solutions we found. I also try to give you an idea on how you can find positivity, always, everywhere!
Hope you enjoy reading this continuation and the ones to come, feel free to leave your feedback down below!
First Day in Uruguay
Feb 13th, 2018. Arrival in Montevideo was strange, after 5 or 6 hours on a bus it felt like we warped to a completely new reality, a new language and lifestyle. I also felt somehow safe, that is a feeling I have every time I go to Uruguay. I forget about the fear of being robbed on the streets, something that is a possibility in the big Brazilian cities if you do not pay attention. I also feel that in Uruguay my life slows down and that I can wander on the streets without any particular place to go. It’s always incredible to feel so light.
Our bus trip from Chuy to Tres Cruces bus terminal in Montevideo was tiring due to the fact that the bus stops on every small town on its way. An influx of people getting in and out or lights turning on and off interrupted our sleep. Nothing to complain, that’s the best we could get for travelling cheap and saving on hostel.
It was around 0530 hour and the weather was quite cold, I was already making fun of André for not bringing a pair of pants, he insisted, in Brazil, that he wouldn’t need because “during the summer it’s always hot”.
- Do you feel that cold air? Where are your pants? – I ironically asked.
- Dude shut up! It’s not even cold! – He said.
But it was cold!
The big Tres Cruces bus terminal, that is also a shopping mall, was filled with people sleeping on the benches, backpackers all over the place, the stores were all closed. There was nothing we could do early in the morning, besides setting the plans for the day, recharge cellphones and try to sleep a little more. I started saving on my maps all the stores we were supposed to visit to buy our bikes and André took notes of our plans list.
- Exchange money
- Buy an international cellphone chip to provide internet
- Find bikes
- Buy more food supply
- Eat and of course drink another Coke/beer
- Organize everything and hit the road.
Slowly the place started to gain some life, sunbeans hitting the windows, workers opening their business, cars on the streets and even the escalators were turned on.
I was getting impatient, being stuck on a bus station for hours seemed stupid, I wanted to walk on the streets and maybe find some cheap coffee, but André was reluctant, he didn’t want to carry his enormous backpack and so I had to accept his claim, I couldn’t leave him behind.
- Dude chill out, all the places we need to go open after 0900, it’s better to wait here. – He said.
- But, but… it’s boring – I said circling around.
He was right. I don’t know why, but in Uruguay business start late, round 0900, some places at 1000, then they stop at midday and come back at 1300. I just could not accept that. And we waited and waited.
First place to open was the Anatel company, where we bought an internet plan, very handy when you are in a foreign country, be it to search for things or send news to our families. Process was quick and simple.
Second place were the exchanges, where we wanted to get some Uruguayan Pesos. For that I marked the best prices on my map using the website DolarHoy and we gained a lot of time by going directly to where we knew we’d get a good deal. No worries.
Now finally we could get our bikes, I could not hide my enthusiasm. I’ve wanted a good bike for years and now it was my big opportunity, I would not just throw my money on the first one I saw, so I convinced André to go directly to the Scott store, that’s what I wanted.
We’ve walked the 18th of July Avenue (Avenida 18 de Julio), one of the most famous streets in Montevideo downtown. Remembering all the places we had already visited when we travelled to Montevideo a couple years back we stopped at a water fountain full of padlocks, It’s one of those places couples put a padlock to make sure their relationship will last. André at that time, of our other visit, had placed a padlock for his, now finished, relationship. He tried to find it without success.
- You see, your relationship didn’t last. Clearly the magic doesn’t work – I could not lose the opportunity to tease him.
- Waste of time, indeed. – He nodded laughing and we continued.
We continued our walk talking and having fun when we finally got to the bike shop, 0945 hour, store would open at 1000, come on!
I took the time to talk to some locals while waiting for the opening, 1000 hour, nothing. No one inside. What now??
- Boys, this store opens usually at 0900, if it’s not opened yet it’s because it’ll not open today. – An elderly local said.
- But why? It’s Tuesday! – I said.
- Yes, but it’s Carnival holiday. – She said.
Of course!!! I’ve forgotten that it was carnival. That explained the crazy business hours, we completely missed that. Travelling gives you that power, to forget time. But not right now, it struck us hard, right when we couldn’t afford to lose time and money. One more day in Montevideo wouldn’t be cheap, but what other option did we have?
We’ve accepted our loss and headed for the cheapest hostel we could find, the need for a hot shower and a cold beer was real, better make the best of our situation.
We ended up at a place called “Acá me Quedo”, a not so cheap hostel in Montevideo downtown. Shower was amazing, bed very clean and the rooftop quickly became our favorite place to hang around.
Some blocks away from the hostel we visited the famous Plaza Independência, where the remains of Gen. Jose Artigas are kept in an underground room underneath the statue. The monument is guarded by a tratitional guard called “Blandegues de Artigas”.
We also visited “Ciudad Vieja” where great steak houses can be found. However, for my sadness my travel partner is a vegetarian, André has some type of allergy to protein that doesn’t allow him to eat any type of animal meat. For that reason, and my lack of money, we avoided the amazing steak houses. How could I go to Uruguay, that has one of the most delicious meats in the world and not eat a single beef? Well I did for the good, and boy I do regret my decision.
Guess sometimes we just cannot have everything, that’s life.
We ended the day eating pizza and drinking Patricia Beer, it was a great and tiring tuesday of Carnival, we had no more energy to go out for the fests and Wednesday would be the “Grand Begin”.
Total route traveled from start.
And you? How to you deal with unexpected situations? Have you ever tryed some crazy adventure?
If yes, leave as comment telling what you have done, I'd love to read. If no, what is holding you back?
I'm Arthur. I blog about Brazil, Travel, Camping & Life Experiences.
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LATEST RELATED POSTS:
[PART 1] Travel Story: Coast of Uruguay by Bicycle | Planning
[PART 2] Travel Story: Coast of Uruguay by Bicycle | D-Day - Going to Montevideo from Brazil