There don't seem to be dogs here in Montevideo, or at least, not the large groups of dogs that are so commonly seen in Buenos Aires. Well, to be honest, I have not seen one dog, but I am sure they exist. Why is that important? No dogshit on the sidewalk. But I did see a pile of something on the sidewalk yesterday. Apparently someone had emptied out their mate and there was a pile of green yerba mate on the sidewalk. So much nicer than dogshit, eh?
Like in Colonia, everyone seems to walk around with a mate here. It is kind of nice. I remember thinking in Buenos Aires how nice it is that people DON'T walk around with their Starbucks or Peet's coffee in a paper cup, even though in preparation for the impending arrival of Starbucks in Buenos Aires, several coffee companies have started promoting coffee to go. Still, it doesn't seem to have taken off. But here, the mate is nice change from people walking around with paper cups. The mates themselves are very nice works of art, everyone has a mate that has been hand made by some artisan, and they look so cool whether people are walking or sitting on a bench in the park sipping them, with steam coming from the mate packed with yerba. I bought a nice mate yesterday across the street from my hotel, but I don't think I will be walking through the streets of San Fransicso with it.
There isn't a whole lot to do here, other than walk around and watch people. I've walked down to the Cuidad Viejo twice and that is enough. Lonely Planet does not really provide a lot of information on things to do in Montevideo and without any kind of personal contact, I am very limited to a surface introduction to this city. I am sure it is interesting and fascinating and if I had friends here who could show me around, or if I were studying Spanish and learning about the city, I do believe I would like it a lot. There are many similarities to Buenos Aires, but it is less crowded, seems less polluted and it is smaller, and of course, it has that time warp feel to it. It is definitely worth a visit, but I would recommend that anyone who comes here prepare well beforehand in order to take full advantage of whatever it has to offer.
Today I walked to an old market near the tip of the old town. It was a beautiful old market with wrought iron work in the ceiling. The market itself consists of about 20 different parrillas all grilling the same meats. I didn't really see what the difference was other that the set up. I chose a place where I could sit in front of the parilla and watch the guys grilling the meat.
I had a chorizo and a piece of lechon, which is suckling pig. I don't know what suckling pig is, but it was really good and a nice change from beef. The chorizo was salty and I wanted it to be split open and grilled more, but ate it anyway. But the lechon was really good. Very nicely spiced and with lots of crispy skin and juicy and sweet meat. There was something attached to it that seemed to be a different part of the pig, like a gizzard (I don't think pigs have gizzards) or something like that (I hate to think of what it could have been). I ate it and could tell it had a different flavor, like liver, and then washed it down with my coke, trying not to think about the possibilities of what it could have been.
That was it. I walked back to my hotel, had an ice cream and took a nap.
Since I am not really finding a whole lot to do here, and since it still seems to be winter, I have changed by buquebus ticket to return to Buenos Aires tomorrow instead of Friday. I am still not sure if the hotel will charge me for tomorrow night. I booked through hotels dot com and e-mailed them to see if I could change the reservation. When I asked this morning at the desk, they told me that is what I had to do. But I don't care. The hotel is only $50 per night and if I stayed an extra day I'd spend more money, so by leaving early, I will be saving money even if I lose out on the 50 bucks.
I thought it would be good to get back to Buenos Aires on Thursday and have a full day to take care of things like getting new seeds in my ear, mailing my absentee ballot and having time to rest up before my Arabic pronunciation class on Friday night. I think I am also going to go to the German Hospital and see about health insurance so that I can see a doctor about the meniere's and perhaps visit some specialists. I am afraid that they may deny me because of pre-existing conditions, but it is worth a shot. Since I have some free time and the German Hospital is only two blocks from my apartment, it would be good if I could take care of this while I am here.
It will be nice to be back in "my apartment" and able to cook and shop in familiar places. Returning to Buenos Aires will be like returning home in a way. Uruguay was nice, but I'll be happy to be back in my over-sized bed and navigating the crowded, broken, dirty sidewalks of Buenos Aires again.
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