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Uruguay

Carnival in Colonia

by Garret on January 25, 2010

Staying with Glynn was like a little slice of home and so it was that I found myself in a little funk when we arrived in Colonia, Uruguay. The bus ride from Manantiales to Colonia turned out to be much faster than we had anticipated. We arrived in town around 6:00pm and it seemed pretty sleepy so Deeanne and I lounged around and finished our books.

The Bay in Colonia del Sacramento

Sunset Over Colonia

We wandered down to the main street at 8:30pm to find dinner and found the street lined with chairs. I asked a gentleman directing traffic what was going on and he looked at me a little strange and said, “Carnival is tonight”. Somehow the stars had aligned and we found ourselves in Colonia del Sacramento during their Carnival celebration.

The Anticipation of Carnival

Uruguay’s Carnival celebration is the longest in the world, with more than 80 days of celebration, generally occurring in January through mid March with five or six large celebrations.  Why limit to one week when you can party for two and a half months? Carnival in Uruguay is famous for its candombe (rhythmic music) and its las murgas (small theatrical productions).

Standard Bearers

Colonia’s  desfile or parade  takes place on Avenida Gral Flores. Apparently it is held the 4th weekend in January.  Groups from all over Uruguay and some from Argentina showed up in Colonia to participate in the parade. The parade was a combination circus, masque and public street party. Each troupe, which is called a lubolo has common elements. Leading the lubolo is a banner announcing their name, followed by men carrying giant flags and then stars, and moons carried by masked bearers. In our case this was followed by little dancing girls and then Gramillero (medicine man) and Mama Vieja (old woman). These two are hilarious and typically gyrate and dance all over the place with more vibrancy than their age belies. They are followed by the escobero who sweeps away any negative energy with his broom and then more mostly naked dancers and the comparsa drummers.

Video we shot (the sound isn’t the greatest).

The entire parade lasted from 9:30pm to 2:30am. What surprised me the most was how much of a family event it was. There were people of all ages; I saw 90 year old great grandma’s down to 3 month old sleeping babies. The other thing that surprised me was that after spending a week on the beach the near nudity of the dancers didn’t seem that shocking. You really can’t wear any less and not be naked, but somehow it didn’t seem that licentious.

Carnival Dancers & Comparsa Drummers

After having a great time and getting to bed around 3:00am we woke up Sunday and wandered around Colonia. Colonia is delightful and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Buenos Aires or Uruguay. It is a former Portuguese town built in 1680, making it the oldest town in Uruguay. It is famous for its historic quarter and street side shops and cafes.

Old 17th Century Street

Reflection within a Reflection

Old Cannon Battery

The Spanish settled on the opposite bank of the Río de la Plata at Buenos Aires which is just a short ferry ride away. Portugal and Spain fought a series of wars with Spain conquering Colonia several times in the 1700s. After that is has been occupied by both Argentina and Brazil prior to Uruguay obtaining nationhood.

Old Ruins and Lighthouse

Old Car in Front of Cafe

We spent the entire day wandering around, shopping, eating ice-cream, and relaxing. We found a great little pizza place Sunday night called “La Bodeguita” and had calabaza squash ravioli and brocolli pizza on a beautiful deck overlooking the bay. It turned out to be the best pizza and pasta we ate in all of South America (don’t take it personally Argentina). The beautiful view over Colonia Bay didn’t hurt either.

La Bodeguita Restaurante

Monday morning we woke up and caught the ferry over to Buenos Aires for our final three days before going home.

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Summertime in Uruguay

by Deeanne on January 21, 2010

The bus ride from Iguazu Falls to Montevideo was even longer than I had thought.  It started with an overnight bus to Concordia, then a taxi to the border (and a lengthy immigration line), then another bus from Salto to Montevideo (with a four hour wait at the bus station), and finally a city bus from the terminal to ciudad vieja, old town.  Altogether, this turned out to be our longest bus ride at 27.5 hrs, and we were extremely happy to check in to our hostel, Posada al Sur, in the heart of Montevideo’s historic old town. Dilirious from not eating any “real” food in the last day and a half, we devoured our meal at the first cafe we found; which happily turned out to be delicious, on the corner of our street, and cheap!  It was so good actually, we ate there both evenings we were in town.

Typical Parilla in Puerto Mercado, Montevideo

Summertime Produce Abounds in the Streets of Montevideo

Amazing Peaches and Tomato Sandwiches

Pineapple Pizza and Grill at Perez 25 in Ciudad Vieja (25 de Mayo and Castellano)

The only real tourist attraction we saw in Uruguay’s capital city was the Museum of Carnival.  Carnival is apparently a huge celebration in Montevideo, though not as well known as the ones in Brazil.  I didn’t realize that the origin of the word Carnival comes from the Christian calendar. In Latin Carnival means “take off meat” or “good bye meet” a practice that is typically performed prior to Holy Week. Carnival is basically a “meat party” that has evolved into a period of licentious behavior not just and all you can eat buffet.  Other than this one quick museum stop, we just tooled around the city on bikes and enjoyed the feeling of summer.

Costumes from Past Carnival Festivities

A Selection of Carnival Masks

Montevideo's Jogging & Biking Path (The Rambla) Stretches for 18 km!

Plaza Independencia Near Centro Montevideo

We learned a lot about Uruguayans from walking around the city.  The first thing I noticed is the amount of mate they drink.  Now Argentines love mate too, but their northern neighbors bring mate drinking to a national obsession.  From my informal sampling techniques, I’d venture that 7 out of every 10 Uruguayans are drinking mate at any given time of the day, wherever they happen to be.  Unless they’re on the bus, in which case they’re not supposed to (see photo below).   I tried mate when we first came to Argentina, about three months ago, and really tried to like it.  But to be totally honest; I’m afraid it tastes like grass to me.  And this is coming from someone who LOVES tea, even green tea.  I have found one great use for the bombillas (straws) that locals typically drink mate with– it’s great for drinking infused water, like the one I made with mint, lemon grass and lime below.

I had to chuckle that drinking mate an the bus was on offense right up there with smoking or spitting.

These Two Men Are Sharing a Mate While They Cool Off at the Beach

Sipping a Chilled Infusion of Mint, Lemon Grass, and Lime Water With a Bombilla

The next think I learned about Uruguayans is that their beaches are a source of national pride.  They are also a magnet for their two big neighbors, Brazil and Argentina, and are completely full of foreigners in January.  We went to a particularly large sandy beach, Pocitos, in Montevideo, and spent a lovely afternoon keeping cool with the thousands of others at the beach.  This is where we also learned that Uruguayans (or at least the people who frequent Uruguayan beaches) like to wear teeny tiny bikinis.  And not just the genetically gifted super model types.  Everyone goes to the beach to enjoy the day, from babies to grandparents, and everyone sports a bikini.  Just ask Garret, who has been taking “cultural notes” on the difference between north american and south american bikinis.

The Popular and Crowded Pocitos Beach in Montevideo

Hanging Out (Literally) at Bikini Beach (source: unknown)

They Sure Look Uncomfortable to Me!

Relaxing on Bikini Beach

The last thing I’ve noticed about Uruguayans is their friendliness and generosity.  A new friend whom we met through our blog, Glynn, invited us to stay at his beach bungalow in Manantiales, near Punta del Este.  We have had a marvelous time relaxing at his home, soaking in the sun and surf at his beach, bikini beach, and cooking gourmet food together in the evenings.  He took us to a local organic farm just a mile or two from his house where we picked up a selection of the freshest herbs and vegetables for dinner. Because Glynn knows the couple running the farm, they dropped what they were doing and walked all over picking out fresh oregano, thyme, basil, mint, lemon grass, parsley, chives, arugula, zucchinis, and kale.  They didn’t even want to let us pay for it, but we insisted.  Then we proceeded to cook up an Italian feast for dinner that wasn’t over until nearly midnight.  We’re becoming good South Americans, just in time to come home in less than a week.

Famous Hand Sculpture in Punta del Este

Hanging out with Glynn

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