From Buenos Aires to Montevideo on the Rio de la Plata.
After a long weekend spent in Buenos Aires, we set off for Uruguay to attend this great event called the "Fiesta de la Patria Gaucha." The straight-line distance of about two hundred kilometers between the two capitals is covered in three comfortable hours by buquebus, our ferry. The passport control operations, which are carried out on departure for Argentina and at the same time on entry for Uruguay, are very quick: there are enough officials that long standing waits are not created. The waters of the Rio de la Plata, even at their greatest width, around 100 kilometers, are calm and the journey is comfortable. The "boat" is of Norwegian construction: you can tell from the writing on the seats. There are not many passengers, that is, the vessel does not seem full and one can move around with a certain ease.
Just outside the port we encounter the red side of a container ship of the "Hamburg-Süd" company, with its bow facing the ocean. We also encounter other ships, though it does not seem to be rush hour... We arrive within sight of Montevideo under a gray sky, and the first thing we notice is the skyscraper that appears like a blue sail. At the moment of disembarking we realize that there are more people on board than it had seemed, but the customs operations are carried out in very reasonable time. The taxis of Montevideo have the same color as those of Buenos Aires, black and yellow on the upper part. We have ourselves taken to the "Tres Cruces" bus station, which besides being the largest in Montevideo is also the one from which all the country's buses depart and arrive. The station is modern and very functional, at least so it appears at first glance.
Entering on the left there is immediately an exchange office, and we take advantage of it to be able to pay the taxi, since we had been told it was better to exchange Uruguayan pesos on the spot. We present ourselves at the counter of the "Turil" Company where, through Julian, we had already booked seats for Tacuarembó. Luck had it that he himself was on duty, so we met him in person. After settling a few details we went downtown, to the hotel we had booked to rest a little in the afternoon since the bus left at 6:30 p.m. The hotel is on a side street off Avenida 18 de Julio, the main avenue. We leave our few things in the room and go to eat at a diner. In Uruguay too there are "empanadas" (hot rolls of pastry that can contain meat, vegetables, or whatever else you like), so we go for those, to avoid making a mistake. The beer is good and...
goes down easily, also considering that we are in late summer.
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