Leaving Salto for Montevideo

Friday, Feb. 18 (Part II)

I bought a cola and walked back to the Museum a la Tradition which reopened at 4:00 p.m. It is a small musuem with various exhibitis related to local life—a school room with books, gaucho items from estancieas, equipment and products from local industries, relics from pre-Colombian times, guns, etc. There were three exhibit halls. A nice young man accompanied me from hall to hall to turn on the lights.

The museum was across the street from the beach. I walked to there and watched the families swimming and sunbathing. Then I found a shaded bench and read from my book and continued to watch people. That allowed the day to progress to where it was not too hot for walking back to town.

I bought some local cheese and some olives to have as a snack in the room along with some potato chips left over from last night. I watched an independent film on TV (Tadpole with Sigorney Weaver) as I ate.

Walking: 35,822 steps (28,649 aerobic steps), 1455 calories, 24.35 km (14 ½ miles)


Saturday, Feb. 19

It was a pretty ride to Salto. There were orange groves, farms, and two thermal spring parks. There weren`t, however, any vinyards. This is the center of the Uruguayan wine district, so they must be north of the city. I will ask at the tourist office.

It was further into town than my guidebook said. My guess is that it was about 25-30 blocks instead of the 15 I expected. Fortunately, I had a map to follow; there had been a tourist desk at the bus station.

My first-choice hotel was closed. My second-choice place was just around the corner and seemed empty. I had no problem getting a room. It is fine, but not as nice as where I stayed the last few nights.

I ran into a bit of a problem getting lunch. The first place i tried was closing at 2:15. A second place took me, but they were closing at 2:30. I don´t know if there would have been another place available. I ate an omelette, since I had to make up my mind fast and thought I should order something quick and easy to cook. I asked about picante sauce to give it some flavor, and I was brought black pepper. The omelette was rather plain with only lemon wedges to season it.

The lady at the tourist office spoke no English. I managed to get information I wanted, however. She explained that there are no tours of wineries in the area. (My guidebook had not mentioned any, so I wasn´t surprised.) She showed me on my map where the beaches are here. She showed me where I could buy my ticket to Montevideo without going to the bus station. And she gave me the schedule for buses to the thermal baths and told me where I could catch them.

I went to two museums and to the beach in the afternoon. The beach was a bust, but the museums were great. The Museum of Man and Technology was a historical museum with well organized exhibits similar to what I had already seen in Colonia and Paysandú. The Bellas Artes Museum was special. The artwork wasn´t the reason; the building itself was. It is housed in a former private mansion. There were two two-story atriums topped by stained glass canopies—one was the central core which served as a living room with a fireplace. The other was the stairwell. Richly cared dark wood decorated many rooms as part of fireplaces, staircases, door frames, etc. Ceilings were 3 times my height. The bathroom had a marvelous shower contraption made out of stainless steel pipes that had about 8 knobs and had shower heads above and on the sides. There was an elevator that was caged in cared wood and cut glass downstairs and in carved wood and steel caging upstairs. Light fixtures were multipronged affairs with Venetian glass cups of various shapes at each tip. It was as elaborate and ornate as any historical home I have visited. Of course, it wasn´t as big as some of the castle-like estates in Europe and the U.S., but it was unbelievably lavish in terms of what it had.

It was Carnival in the evening here in Salto. The main street was set with chairs for blocks. It was somewhat similar to the one in Victoria. There were two parts. At 8:45 there was the Children´s Carnival. Everyone was pre-teenage. They were grouped either by school or barrio. Each carried a number for a contest for the best costume. They were so cute. Some of them were no more than 3 years old and had to be guided by their parents. And some of the costumes were more elaborate than I would have expected. I wanted photos, but they were in constant movement making it impossible to get a good one. I just put the camera away and enjoyed the show.

The main activities began at 9:45. The two big differences in here and Victoria were:

1. There was far less skin exposed here.

2. The costumes were far more elaborate and expensive here.

The pace was rather slow, so I got bored. When a big gap occurred, I walked down the sidewalk toward the beginning of the parade until I had seen every group. Then I returned to the hotel. It was after midnight.

Walking: 26,347 steps (22,721 aerobic steps), 1077 calories, 17 km (11 miles)


Sunday, Feb. 20

Salto is a pretty town. There are many old buildings, and most are in excellent condition. The plazas seem well maintained. Everything seems clean. It is hot here, though. And like everywhere I have been lately, it is dead on Sunday.

I am going to the thermal baths this afternoon. I have decided it will be best to take the bus at 2:30 getting me there around 3:00. I will stay 2-3 hours, I guess. I just have to get there and see what it is like.


Well, it was nice. Termos del Dayman is a large picnic grounds with lots of swimming pools. Most are fed by hot springs with temperatures of 38-39 C (100-102 F). One pool has cool water. This time of the year, it is the most popular. Most people took folding chairs and picnic baskets and found a place to relax in the shade. They tend to stay for hours, going to the pools for a chance to get wet. Even when wet from the hot pools, it is cool in the breeze while drying off.

I stayed for 3 ½ hours. I tried the warm pools and the cool one. Between them, I read. I heard one American accent (but didn´t hear who he was talking to to know if he was with locals or a group of Americans) and a group of Australians got on the bus to travel into town. There are many hotels around the spa, so most foreign tourists probably stay out there instead of town.

The spa operates with wrist bands. As soon as I left to catch the 6:00p.m. bus back to town, I was accosted by young men wanting my wrist band so they could get in for free. At first, I kept it, but then I figured it was the spa´s responsibility to determine if fraud was occurring. Besides, even at the bus stop, I was being bothered over and over by kids wanting my band.

My lunch today was a surprise and a disappointment. I went to an Italian place called La Trattoria. I had a mixed salad which was good. I also ordered a chicken lasagna and that was what was strange. Instead of flat pasta, it was made with crepes. The chicken seemed to be from a can. Between layers was also some bright yellow mixture with kernals of corn and shredded carrots, but I am not sure what the mixture was. On top was a bechamel sauce. I ate it, but it wasn´t what I had hoped to get when I ordered it.

I stayed insdie the room during the evening. I ate snacks I had bought.