Journey Impressions: Montevideo

Montevideo: Population approx. 1.3 million (2015)
Uruguay: Population approx. 3.3 million
Population growth (2016): 0,27%
People per km²: 19
Gross national income per person in 2016: 15,679 USD


29 January 2018, Montevideo:

During the flight, Kurt was already enthusing about the very good standard we could probably expect from the Belmond Hotel and that it would be similar to what we’d already enjoyed in Iguazu for several days. But after we’d arrived at the Belmond by taxi, our faces dropped. It was a two-storey building, surrounded by a sturdy iron fence and didn’t, in our opinion, look like a five-star hotel. We were given a friendly welcome at reception and insisted on looking at the rooms we were offered beforehand. I came back somewhat crestfallen because these were two dark rooms facing the street with even darker English furniture and mostly pictures of horses. We asked if there were any rooms free on the first storey with a garden view. They did have two rooms, which I also inspected. I wasn’t overly enthusiastic but the two rooms at least had a balcony and no direct view of the street.

Kurt and I decided to take these and were told the internet access was good. Half an hour later we met up and were tossing up whether to look for another hotel.

But we went into town first instead to get something to eat and do a bit of sightseeing. The taxi driver gave us a rough overview so that we could plan in detail what we wanted to do the next day.

We took the opportunity to look at the casino hotel too. It was a vast building with probably seven storeys. We went in and were given a very friendly welcome, particularly by the staff at the vast bar where you can also get something to eat. We chose fish and started to relax a little. We were also wondering whether to move to this hotel.

But in the end, we decided we weren’t there to pamper ourselves, but to spend our time in Montevideo looking at the city and getting to know the country. After all, the hotel is then not quite so important and we decided we could compromise and stay in the Belmond after all.

That was mostly how we spent the first day. The taxi driver gave us an express tour of the entrance to the port and Independence Square with its huge horse statue. We wanted to see everything in more detail the next day.

Good night.


30 January 2018, Montevideo:

After breakfast, we arranged to sort out the pictures for everyone at home and do some work for the website.

At about midday, we took the taxi to Independence Square. We walked around there for an hour, impressed by the hustle and bustle and the green avenues of sycamores and other trees. In the local government building, we also discovered that there’s a tourist bus that goes through the whole city. We took it and gained a lovely impression of our surroundings. While we were looking for the bus station, we came past the theatre and also had a snack nearby. Kurt took the opportunity to look for a little restaurant near to the theatre that he’d eaten in with Aniko ten years ago. But it was no longer there. But we did see Montevideo’s lovers’ padlocks that were attached to a wrought-iron railing. After the bus trip, we called a taxi and returned to the Belmond Hotel. I was somewhat dismayed because taxis in Montevideo have a glass partition between the two front seats and those at the rear. And the guests at the back push their money through a tiny slit.

And of course, this means that you can’t really talk to the passenger sitting at the front. In fact it feels like transporting prisoners. We decided that if we called a taxi or booked a car the next day it would have to be one without a partition.

Good night.


31 January 2018, Montevideo:

In the end, we decided on a car that had no partition between the front and rear seats. Today, we were going to drive overland to Punta del Este and then to Maldonado. Both are located near to or in the direction of the Atlantic. In Punta del Este, we visited the museum, restaurant and home of the artist Carlos Páez Vilaró. Vilaró is like South and North America’s Picasso, but less well known in Europe. However, he was an artist of the same era as Picasso and friends with him and other European colleagues.

Vilaró has property in Punta del Este that is very similar to the white houses on the Greek islands and also has architectural elements applied by Hundertwasser. You can reside in peace in a hotel wing of this wonderful property directly on the coast. You can have something to eat in a restaurant and admire the art in the dedicated areas. Vilaró’s son became well known in 1972 because as a member of a rugby team he survived a plane crash. This dramatic event is also illustrated in the Vilaró house.

After the visit, we continued on with our driver and came past what’s known as the Hand sculpture on the beach. The buried hand is a popular photo opportunity for visitors and beachcombers, so Kurt and I of course had to take some pictures too. We photographed our taxi driver, a lady who was more than happy to pose for us.

Finally, we reached Maldonado. This place has the most unusual hanging bridge that has ever been built. We crossed the bridge and drove to a development on the beach because Kurt wanted to visit a hotel there that he’d been to with Aniko in 2012. He was astonished and disappointed because the hotel was empty and looked very run down. The hotel pool was full of crabs and lots of algae and definitely not somewhere you could go swimming in. How things change over the years. And even if the hotel is no longer there, at least Aniko and Kurt are.

On the way back, we stopped at the Vilaró house again and enjoyed the fish of the day and two scoops of vanilla and lemon ice cream. With our batteries recharged, we headed off home. On the way, we spotted paragliders and hang gliders. And of course I got out and conducted a brief interview with the hang glider. I could just about stop myself flying a hang glider (please note: the ground staff had proclaimed a loud NO!) What a shame, because the wind was ideal. After a while, our hang-gliding friend was off into the skies and Kurt took a few photos of him. So far so good. We arrived in Montevideo again. Our flight plan has been approved and now it’s time to prepare for the flight to Trelew.

Bye for now.