We arrived in Montevideo at 6.30pm and after dropping our stuff off at our hostel La Tatucera we went straight out for dinner. The lady who checked us in recommended a pizzeria on the main street called The Manchester and to order faina to go with our pizzas. We did as we were told and faina turned out to be a pancake type food made of chickpea flour which I thought was pretty tasty on top of my pizza. 

In the morning after breakfast we went out to explore the city and started with the tallest building in Montevideo which let’s visitors in at certain times to look at the view. The presidential palace was nearby so we checked that out too before making our way back into the centre of town to find a car rental for the following day. 

With the car sorted we moved on to the next most important task of the day – finding lunch. Pizza again in a chain called El Mundo which was my favorite pizza of the trip so far – very garlicky. We walked down to the seafront after lunch and found that Montevideo has a very long promenade with distance markers every 500m for walkers and runners. It was gorgeous and we walked along it for a bit before turning back into town to see the Plaza Indepencia which holds an enormous statue of Artigas. The statue sits on top of a mausoleum which holds his remains and is guarded by two guys with swords. 

Back in our hostel one of our dorm mates made a batch of mate which is a tea-like beverage drank in Argentina and Uruguay and can often be quite a social thing. It gets passed around clockwise and you’re not supposed to say gracias when you get it were the only rules I understood from it but apparently it’s a ritual steeped in tradition and there are lots of dos and don’ts when drinking it. Most of the other people in the hostel seemed to be living there somewhat permanently and they were an eclectic but friendly bunch.

That evening we went to a Chinese buffet where you pay by weight and I finally had some vegetables. I’ve been loving the South American pizza but I must admit I don’t feel the healthiest after a week of it. 

Wednesday morning we collected the rental car, swung by the bus station to book some bus tickets for that evening and set off East out of the city. We passed a gorgeous area on the prom with a marina, a beach and rows of sea front apartment blocks which seemed a very nice place to live indeed!
I loved the feel of Montevideo. The people were friendly and although it was more expensive than Buenos Aires I think I preferred it. I’d love to see both cities in summer so I’ll hold judgement until that maybe happens!