Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 (delayed)
To: touring@phred.org
From: “Michael Ayers” <michael@terminalia.org>
Subject: Gondwana - Ultimately Uplifting Uruguay
Hola Phreds,
A desire to get to somewhere new, as well as a dash back towards the warmth of the tropics brought me to, and through, the often overlooked nation of Uruguay.
One of South America’s smallest countries, similar in area to a single province of Argentina or Brazil, Uruguay’s location at the intersection of the colonial realms of Portugal and Spain lead to its frequent use as a battlefield between those two empires, and later between newly independent Brazil and Argentina. The logical conclusion to that situation was that the land went its own way in 1825, at the conclusion of a long independence struggle, successfully led, in the end, by the Treinta y Tres Orientales (The 33 Easterners), a group of rebels still revered as national heroes. Orientales refers to those from the lands east of the Rio Uruguay, and that term is preserved in the official name of the nation, The Republica Oriental del Uruguay. The 19th and 20th centuries saw predictable periods of puppethood to its larger neighbors, as well as participation in the wave of military governments that swept the continent. Today, Uruguay possess a seemingly stable and pleasant society, focused to large extent on agriculture, enhanced by its ideal location at the boundary of the temperate and tropical climate zones.
I was interested to find out whether the country exhibited more similarities to Argentina or Brazil, or blended aspects of both. As it seemed to me after visiting, if one were not aware that a border with Argentina had been crossed, it would be hard to tell the difference between Uruguay and that country. Expenses, food, lodging, business hours, and the design of cities and towns were all similar to those in the neighbor to the south. The only indications I saw that Brazil was close by were a few products in supermarkets not usually found in southern South America, such as Hershey’s chocolates, and the occasional Portuguese translation on restaurant menus.
My route through the country would be a semicircular “coastal” one following, usually at some distance from any actual water, the western, southern, and eastern coasts of the country, along the Rio Uruguay, Rio de la Plata, and Atlantic Ocean, respectively. This is the most populated and most often visited part of the country, and though I would have enjoyed touring the interior, that would have been too much for this time. One especially welcome difference from Argentina (and Brazil) was that the highways there were almost uniformly excellent, usually two lanes, with a good to excellent shoulders, and pleasantly light traffic. Uruguay does not have any spectacular natural attractions of the type found throughout the rest of the continent, is without any significant ancient ruins, and is light on colonial-era historic sites as well. However, as most would agree, sometimes touring in a place that is simply pleasant and easy is just as good as doing so in one brimming over with “destination” attractions.
My entry into Uruguay came by crossing the bridge over the Rio Uruguay between Colon, Argentina and the Uruguayan city of Paysandu. Though only stopping there briefly, the latter seemed like a pleasant enough town, not like a typical border town. In fact it took me a little while to find the only currency exchange place in town in order to unload my Argentine pesos for Uruguayan ones. From there it took just over two days to get to the first destination. Along the way were some pleasantly authentic small towns, and the riding conditions were nice, with a little tailwind and temperatures warm enough that I could ride without wearing a jacket for the first time in months. That brought me to the historic town of Colonia del Sacramento.
Colonia possess the only significant city remains from the Portuguese era in the country, and is the nation’s only World Heritage Site. In the decades after its founding the town evolved into a contraband port, no doubt due to its location between two squabbling realms. I stayed for a day and a half, though it was a little tough to find a room as Colonia is a popular short trip for tourists from Buenos Aires, to which the town is connected by a fast ferry. The historic area is rather small, however, and not quite as beautiful as other similar places, as the modern world has intruded into the old city much more than I would like. There were some interesting things to see, however. One that impressed me was a room in the city museum that displayed an excellent collection of colonial-era maps of South America.
The next stop, the capital, Montevideo, is just under 190 km to the east. I thought that if the conditions, especially the tailwind, were as they had been recently, that I could make it in a day. Of course, the wind shifted, and it became briskly cold again, so I thought it would better to stop at the last town before the city. However, though it looked like a potential riverbank resort on the map, it was actually a frumpy little town with no accommodation. For a metro area of 1.7 million inhabitants, half of the population of the entire nation, Montevideo doesn’t seem to be outrageously hectic. However, the approach to the city from the west is probably the least desirable one as it is lined with what appear to be haphazard settlements, without obvious places to stay, and few, if any, camping possibilities. Consequently, I just kept riding, and after a while I was close enough to the city that it seemed better to go all the way, though the last 25 km were well after dark. The city map that I picked up when entering the country showed only the main arterials, though it wouldn’t have surprised me if there were no useable smaller roads available. At least the main roads were well lit, and though I frequently was not sure if I was heading the right way due to a typical lack of signage, I continued on by dead reckoning and generally went the right way, only making an incorrect turn once. Being a Sunday evening, traffic was not as bad as it might have been, except for a few places, and though the ride in the dark might not have been the safest, it probably wouldn’t have been much better in the light of a busy Monday morning. Eventually, I reached the centro and located the hotel that I had selected, which turned out to be one of the best values of the tour, in a beautifully restored historic building, but with a surprisingly affordable price for a national capital city.
I needed to get my visa for Brazil while in the city, and that is often not a simple procedure for Americans, always taking 3 days for processing. The visa is technically free for Americans, but in response to U.S. Visa fees, Brazil charges a “reciprocity fee,” which at the time was about $140.00. A round-trip airline ticket is also a stated requirement, and when I said I would be using my “own vehicle,” they said that was alright, but I need to show my license, registration, and insurance. After that I explained the situation more precisely, and was told that that it would “probably be OK” but that they would have to confirm that up the chain of bureaucracy. The application also asks some odd questions, paraphrased as; “Were you ever a member of the German Nazi party?” and “Are you an international terrorist?” prompting me to wonder if anyone has ever answered either in the affirmative. Eventually, it all worked out, although since I forgot to ask for a longer term, it was only valid for a 30-day stay, which would become an annoying issue later on. While waiting for that, I did not have much else to do in town, as though the city is nice enough, there are not many attractions there. Instead, I simply relaxed a bit, which was rather needed.
After moving on, the rest of the route was only two fairly easy days north along the Atlantic coast, where a few sightings of the sea were obtained, the first of that particular body since I left Tierra del Fuego. The first day I stopped in Maldonado, an old town adjacent to the modern high-rise beach resort of Punta del Este. The final day in the country was a little grey and dreary through the morning, which made the only point of interest along the way, the Fortaleza St. Teresa, an old Portuguese (then Spanish) fort, which was a little less attractive than it would have been on a sunny day. In the afternoon I reached the border with Brazil, at the town of Chuy (spelled Chui on the Brasilian side). What I had needed more than anything after the often mentally, or physically, taxing first third of the Stage was a period of mostly easy conditions and no additional mishaps. That is what Uruguay provided, for the most part, and it came just at the right time. I also found it surprising that the in Stage up to then I had spent most of the time either out in the middle of nowhere, or in an urban environment, with relatively few locations falling in between, which would have been my usual preference. I was not sure whether that would be changing in the near future, or not.
Chuy/Chui is an open border town and a free trade zone, a situation common with Brasilian border towns. Two parallel streets, lined with duty-free shops, banks, and so forth, run along the border, and one can walk freely between the two countries, which I did several times. Later, after a filling meal, I entered Brasil once and for all.
With that my return to the tropics became much closer.
Gracias,
Mike
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The Tour of Gondwana
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