Montevideo

I arrived here in Montevideo yesterday morning, and encountered my first problem in Uruguay. The cash machine would not let me take money out for some reason. I tried both cards and nothing worked. There was no need to panic, though, as I still have some traveller's cheques, but I'd like to save those for as long as I can. Still trying to save as much money as possible, I decided that I would have to forgo the luxury of getting a taxi, or even a bus, from the main station and walk to the hostel. It did not look very far on the map, but it ended up taking me about an hour and a half walking in the blistering heat with my big bag. Another problem that I had not thought of was that since I had no Uruguayan money, I could not buy any water on the way either. Needless to say, when I finally got to the hostel - which is located right in the centre of town - I no longer cared what the receptionist had to tell me about the price of a room, or what I got for that price (so much for me trying to be thrifty). I was just waiting for him to point me to the kitchen so I could get water, and the bathroom so I could take a shower.

Once I had all my stuff sorted out, and I felt normal again, I went for a walk around the old city. I was told that there is a lot of touristic stuff to do there, but I think the receptionist is on crack because there is one cathedral and one museum. Obviously, this took me about an hour. There are however a few plazas scattered around the old city. This is where I spent most of my day yesterday, sitting in the sun, listening to some music, and reading about Brazil trying to plan the rest of my trip.

In the evening I met some American guys at the hostel who currently live in Salvador (where I plan on being for the carnival). They told me all about their experience of the event, and gave me a few tips on how to not get robbed (e.g. don't take anything of value with you). We sat on the beach having dinner, watching the sun set and talking about Carnaval.

So after a day of being here, I feel like I've done everying there is to do. I'm probably going to end up at the beach again today, but I don't know how much longer I will stay. I was supposed to meet some friends here, but they're stuck in Buenos Aires (the most difficult place in the world to have to leave). They said they would try to be here by the end of the week, but frankly I don't know if I want to stay that long. I hear there are some much nicer beaches in Punto Esta, so I will probably spend a few days there before making my way up to Iguazu.