Today we leave Uruguay, and head to Paraguay. When trying to book a bus out of Montevideo to
somewhere in Argentina last week, we noticed that a bus went to Asuncion, and
when we asked would they be able to drop us off in Encarnation, a city in
Southern Paraguay which was our ultimate destination, they said they
could. So we are booked on an 18 hour
bus ride this morning.
First we get a local bus back the 100km from Piriapolis to Montevideo, which is a nice little journey, and gets us to the big bus station for 10:30. Which gives us a bit of time to do some shopping in the big shopping centre above, and eat a McDonald’s lunch. Despite assurances we will get fed on the trip we aren’t too confident about it. Still we set off at 13:00 and head north to Salto, the second biggest city in Uruguay and the site of a border crossing to Argentina across a big dam on the river Uruguay which is cool to cross. One strange thing happens at the border, we don’t get our passports back, they get taken into safekeeping by the bus conductor so the Argentinians don’t have to stamp us in. As usual on this journey we get the dulce de leche biscuits and films, Avatar and one of the Harry Potters. But the food was probably the worst thing ever presented to me as a meal, so it was just as well we went to McDonalds first. It’s a bad day when McDonald’s is the best meal you have had (but not as good as the one in Argentina).
Because we are leaving Uruguay I’ll do a little summary of the country. We ended up staying 12 days when our original plan had seen us here for just 4 days. It is not because it is cheap though, it is as dear as Argentina, if not a little more so. It is slightly less developed than Argentina, but it is not undeveloped or expensive enough that it would be a struggle to live there if you were on a western salary.
The one thing which Uruguay has in excess of Argentina is mate, the local tea drink. I am actually a bit worried about it, because the locals here show signs of being addicted to it. They walk around all day with a flask of hot water under their arms (although you can buy bags to hold the flasks, nobody seems to use them) and they drink it at every occasion and at every hour of the day. Seeing them drinking it on the beach or in the park is one thing, but you can see them drinking it in the bus station, on the bus, on the street, in their gardens and in work. It is not unusual for you to interrupt someone drinking it if you need service in a shop. But the scary thing is that when they are sitting around drinking it they aren’t talking, often they look as if they are in a trance.
I don’t know if there are any studies into the economic output losses of mate drinking, but maybe it is why their economy is a bit sluggish. Although having said that there is very low unemployment figures here, with job ads in a lot of restaurants and shops. One of the most interesting people we met in Uruguay was a guy from Barcelona who was over here working in a bar. Beating the 25% unemployment over there. Maybe a few more should do that.
First we get a local bus back the 100km from Piriapolis to Montevideo, which is a nice little journey, and gets us to the big bus station for 10:30. Which gives us a bit of time to do some shopping in the big shopping centre above, and eat a McDonald’s lunch. Despite assurances we will get fed on the trip we aren’t too confident about it. Still we set off at 13:00 and head north to Salto, the second biggest city in Uruguay and the site of a border crossing to Argentina across a big dam on the river Uruguay which is cool to cross. One strange thing happens at the border, we don’t get our passports back, they get taken into safekeeping by the bus conductor so the Argentinians don’t have to stamp us in. As usual on this journey we get the dulce de leche biscuits and films, Avatar and one of the Harry Potters. But the food was probably the worst thing ever presented to me as a meal, so it was just as well we went to McDonalds first. It’s a bad day when McDonald’s is the best meal you have had (but not as good as the one in Argentina).
Because we are leaving Uruguay I’ll do a little summary of the country. We ended up staying 12 days when our original plan had seen us here for just 4 days. It is not because it is cheap though, it is as dear as Argentina, if not a little more so. It is slightly less developed than Argentina, but it is not undeveloped or expensive enough that it would be a struggle to live there if you were on a western salary.
The one thing which Uruguay has in excess of Argentina is mate, the local tea drink. I am actually a bit worried about it, because the locals here show signs of being addicted to it. They walk around all day with a flask of hot water under their arms (although you can buy bags to hold the flasks, nobody seems to use them) and they drink it at every occasion and at every hour of the day. Seeing them drinking it on the beach or in the park is one thing, but you can see them drinking it in the bus station, on the bus, on the street, in their gardens and in work. It is not unusual for you to interrupt someone drinking it if you need service in a shop. But the scary thing is that when they are sitting around drinking it they aren’t talking, often they look as if they are in a trance.
I don’t know if there are any studies into the economic output losses of mate drinking, but maybe it is why their economy is a bit sluggish. Although having said that there is very low unemployment figures here, with job ads in a lot of restaurants and shops. One of the most interesting people we met in Uruguay was a guy from Barcelona who was over here working in a bar. Beating the 25% unemployment over there. Maybe a few more should do that.
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