ramblings - part three: Uruguay

We'd seen lots of people drinking Mate tea in Chile and Argentina but everybody in Uruguay seems to drink it. In Uruguay it's a common sight to see people walking around sipping on this green tea in special cups with metal straws and a flask under their arm...

Our next stop was the capital city, Montevideo...

Since we didn't have much time to spend in Uruguay we were eager to test out the local food, so we went for a Chivito - a meaty sandwich for two. We accidentally ordered it without bread, but just as well cause this is what we got.... a plate of salad and then two plates piled high with chips, ham, cheese, steak, egg, bacon, some pepper and olive on top...

Since we arrived on a Sunday morning it was an absolute ghost-town....

The docklands market...

Time to try some more typical Uruguayan food...

While in Buenos Aires, we'd debated over whether or not we should go to a tango show. The main reason we didn't was because it was expensive and usually included a dinner with a show which was very touristy. In Montevideo, since there aren't actually very many tourists at all it was a different story. After asking the old lady in our Hospedaje what the story was it seemed like there were loads of tango nights going on, so we opted for one down the road in an old market place. For about three euro in with cheap drink and snacks, we had a great night. It was a really nice crowd, and we met some lovely people who were eager to explain the history of the dance to us - that it actually originated in Uruguay and not Argentina, or at least was developed simultaneously- although most of the dancers must have been about 40 years older than us. At the start they played great old tango records while people got up and danced as they pleased, and then they had intermittent special guests who would put on a performance, followed by a live band. We loved this place.