Moving Northward toward Wine District

Tuesday, Feb. 15 (Part II)

There is a different atmosphere here than in ArgentinaÑ

1. Everyone rides motorcycles or scotters--even middle-aged women. It´s the main mode of transporation here. Even the Thrifty Rental place only rents motorcycles and golf carts to visitors!

2. Beyond the small historical part of town, it seems suburban here with individual homes with lawns.

3. In Argentina, every town had at least one casino. They all seemed to be rather exclusive looking. The casino here welcomes everyone and is full of people in shorts. I am sure it makes more money because of its inclusive policy.

4. Cars stop for pedestrians crossing streets here. That´s unbelievable for South America!

5. There are fewer bus services here than in Argentina. For Salto or Paysandú there are only two buses per day. They are tourist towns that would have at least 5 buses per day from here if it were Argentina.

6. There is a vegetarian restaurant here. I don´t think I saw a single one in Argentina. A large number of European backpackers are vegetarians, or at least like to eat in vegetarian restaurants regularly. Putting in vegetarian restaurants in tourist centers in South America would probably be a good entreprenurial move.

My guidebook is right. Prices are higher here than in Argentina. One surprise was to find that diet colas cost about 40% more than regular colas here. (I guess I won´t be drinking diet drinks here the way I did in Argentina.) The internet is more expensive and there are far fewer cyber cafes. I want to explore the country, however, to see what is worth seeing. The added costs are not that significant.

I bought snacks at a supermarket--peanuts, olives, wine (Uruguayan H. Stagneri Premier which received a medal for 2004=, and cookies filled with dulce con leche. Returned to the room around 8:00 p.m. for the evening.

Walking: 24,302 steps (18,755 aerobic steps), 980 calories, 16.52 km (9.9 miles)

Spending Update: I was in Argentina for 34 days (through the morning of Feb. 15). I spent a total of $734.47 for a daily average of $21.86 and a monthly average of $655.80.

Wednesday, Feb. 16 (Part I)

I was awakened this morning by kitchen noise at 7:20 and wondered what was going on. Breakfast doesn´t start until 8:00 at the hotel. I managed to get back to sleep. It was nice to relax and not be in a rush. I got up at 8:45 and was at breakfast at 9:15. Later in the morning, I saw a clock in a bank building and it was an hour later than I thought. Ever since I had arrived in Uruguay, I had been thinking it was an hour earlier than it was. I ate lunch at 3:30 p.m. yesterday instead of 2:30. I went to bed at 1:00 a.m. instead of midnight. I almost missed breakfast today, because I really went at 10:15, and they stop serving it at 10:30!

I avoided the most historical section of town yesterday, saving it for this morning. I spent about 2 hours wandering the cobblestone streets and seeing about 7 small museums that have banned together with one ticket providing admission to all.

It is a beautiful, laid-back town. The buildings are well preserved. There are nice trees and flowering plants everywhere. And down every street is a view toward the river. It is possible to get glimpses into private homes, and all the museums are in old homes that give an idea of the architecture of the whole town. Overall, there is such a nice peaceful feeling here.

I imagine that feeling is lost on weekends. There are not enough tourists right now to support all the restaurants, hotels, and other businesses. To make up for the lack of weekday business, the town must boom on weekend. I am glad I came during the week. Although I slowed down some by staying in Buenos Aires for 7 days, I think I needed the more relaxed atmosphere that extists here to truly unwind.

I am writing this as I sit on a bench under shade trees facing one of the beaches on the river. After a lunch of 4 empanadas (3 meat ones that included shredded carrots and boiled eggs and 1 cheese one that included shredded onion) and a cola, I bagan walking to San Carlos, a barrio 5 km away on a curving road lined with a string of beaches. I am probably 2/3 of the way there.