Our First Week in Montevideo
Here is what we got up to in our first week in Montevideo, Urugay. Trust us – there is plenty to do! If you want to know why we chose Uruguay, check out this post first.
Settling In
Our trip started with a late night (or early morning) arrival into Montevideo. With a 12:30am landing time, we were out of customs and on our way to a hotel in less than 20 minutes. Kudos to Uruguay for THE fastest passport check I’ve ever seen.
On Wednesday, we checked in to our Airbnb and strolled around the neighborhood. We discovered a classic, old school coffee shop next door, with yummy grilled ham and cheese, plus our first introduction to Uruguayan beer in the form of Zillertal. Good luck pronouncing that one :). After the first grocery store outing, we discovered that no one really speaks English.
We ate dinner at the lovely El Mingus. Typical Americans, we arrived early to dinner at 8:30pm. The wine and food did not disappoint in this cute bar/restaurant with jazz to accompany the meal.
Ciudad Vieja (Old City)
Thursday morning we opted for a free walking tour of Ciudad Vieja to get the lay of the land. The old city is reminiscent of the classic Spanish colony with lovely buildings, plazas, and an adorable pedestrian walk. Second conclusion is that we’re probably the only or one of the few of the Americans here in the city. Our English speaking tour contained a pair of Scots, Germans, New Zealanders, and a few Brazilians. Our guide had a penchant for recent Uruguayan politics. A confusing point for a bunch of tourists, but we enjoyed the sights.
Mercado del Puerto
Lunch at Mercado del Puerto, which is similar to La Boqueria in Spain, brought our first parrilla experience. The grill master magic is real! The all-wood grills churn out amazing cuts of meats grilled to perfection for reasonable prices even in this tourist trap. Liters of beer and cups of wine (8 oz or more!) accompany the delicious steaks for a fraction of the price of their gross American counterparts.
Afterwards, as we wandered along the pedestrian street “Sarandí”, we stopped into a butcher. We were polite Americans and patiently waited for our turn. What we didn’t realize was that we had to grab a number right inside the door. A Uruguayan lady noticed and not only did she give us a ticket, she then went gave us her ticket, which was next! Then she went and got herself another number, putting herself at the end of the line. Uruguayans are unbelievably kind!
The next day, we learned to ride the bus. First, we had a Google Translate facilitated interaction at an “Abitab” store to get personalized refillable cards to use on the bus. This brings the cost per ride from $40 UYU to $33 UYU and no cash is needed for each ride. Once your bus come, hop on quick as the driver will start moving with the door open, taking tickets and giving change while driving (sometimes a manual transmission). Talk about multitasking! We rode over to check out the free Botanical Gardens, then caught another bus to the Mercado Agrícola Montevideo (maM).
Mercado Agrícola Montevideo
The maM is an indoor market with vegetable stands, cafes, restaurants, shops, and food stalls. The exterior is wrought iron and could pass for a train station. Chloé enjoyed her first Chivito, the Uruguayan specialty that is essentially a breakfast sandwich with a thin slice of steak added! Fried egg, ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and steak on a bun.
Ashleigh ordered a Milanesa – the South American version of schnitzel. Sometimes cheese and ham is added on top. We loved trying the local cuisine and checking out the stalls in the market. At this point in the trip were accustomed to seeing Uruguayans holding a maté cup and a thermos of hot water tucked under their arms. Uruguayans are addicted to their yerba mate and are constantly drinking, even on the go!
Las Playas (The Beaches)
Saturday was a beach day. We walked along the ocean on the Rambla – the longest contiguous sidewalk at 22.2km. After 9km, we arrived in the neighborhood of Pocitos. Hungry from traveling on foot, we enjoyed lunch in an air-conditioned restaurant called La Pasiva – they are a chain all over Montevideo. Around 3 we hit the beach, but it was almost empty. The sun is much stronger in South America due to a thinner ozone and no one hits the beach until after 4pm when everyone crowds to the beach with their friends and family to watch the sunset.
Around 6pm, our thirst drove us to walk 15min to the Montevideo Beer Company. Again, we were the only ones there but we got to try four different beers before choosing thanks to a friendly (or bored?) bartender. The patio outside was huge and a lovely way to spend the rest of the evening. We recommend Davok IPA and Volcanic Belgian IPA – both Uruguayan craft beer.
Fería Tristan Narvaja (Tristan Narvaja Street Fair)
Sunday brings the weekly Fería Tristan Narvaja – a street fair/market that stretches about 6 blocks of street Tristan Narvaja. It was remarkable to see all of the good and wares the shopkeepers hauled out onto the street to sell. As if an entire Walmart had been emptied into a farmer’s market. We purchased some groceries and a souvenir mate cup and straw (bombilla) before grabbing some freshly fried empanadas from a street vendor for lunch.
It’s been an incredible week and a fantastic first impression of Montevideo. If you want to hear more, click here to read our these first impressions compared to our expectations of this extremely livable and underrated city.
