Catching up and Uruguay

Greetings! I apologize for not updating this blog recently. The past few weeks in Argentina have been quite busy -- exploring different neighborhoods near my apartment, grabbing dinners with friends, and even taking some trips to nearby cities.

I just arrived in Santiago, Chile this afternoon. My classes restart on Monday morning. So, I wanted to take advantage of this free time to catch up on the blog posts that I missed in recent weeks. I've been jotting down notes in a journal, so I hope I don't overlook anything significant!

On the weekend of March 1 and 2, I traveled to Uruguay, a small South American country adjacent to Argentina. Both countries are located along the ocean, making it easy to take a ferry between them. That Saturday morning, I boarded a ferry for the weekend journey out of Argentina. The ride was pretty smooth, lasting about an hour, and I cleared customs before arrival.

Once we docked in Uruguay, I jumped on a bus for a two-hour ride to Montevideo, the capital and largest city of the country. I had a good time sitting next to a guy around my age on the bus; he was traveling through Central and South America by bike. We ended up chatting for a while and grabbing dinner later.

I spent a lot of my time in Uruguay exploring the street art, architecture, weekend markets, and local restaurants. I even tried a signature Uruguay dish, the chivito, which is a sandwich topped with a fried egg.

Perhaps I picked an interesting weekend to visit since it coincided with a state holiday. Unfortunately, many of the shops were closed. One memorable moment was when I walked past a government building and saw the newly elected President of Uruguay walking out. There was a group of people taking plenty of pictures -- it felt like quite the event.

Overall, I found Uruguay to be a super laid-back place to explore. It has a much calmer vibe compared to Buenos Aires. While I'm unsure if I'd go back again, I'm glad I included it in my travels.