October 27, 2025 . Museums, Metros, Melei, Markets.
We are now up one ATM card and up one jacket… back to ground zero…except minus one international drivers license.
We opted to have breakfast at a little cafe down the street (eggs, medialuna/croissant, yogurt) and then headed to the bank that ate Mike’s ATM card.. We explained what happened and the guy was fairly nonchalant; I think it happens often. We needed to identify which ATM console had the problem and he went in the back… and voila! the ATM card. So Mike is “whole” again. Then as we walked along one of the boulevards we spotted a mens clothing store and Mike bought an inexpensive windbreaker (will probably last a few months) to last him for the remainder of the trip. Good thing, because it suddently got really cold. In the 50s! And this is spring here in Argentina. Seems like it’s going to be like that for the next few days.
From the bank we headed to the metro (Sube) to get to the Museum of Modern Art which is located in the San Telmo neighborhood. We now know the routine so public transit is a snap.
It was about a six block walk from the station to the museum and along the way we could see the remnants of yesterday’s election: lots of signs and posters for different candidates, including for Myriam Bergman, the Jewish Atheist Trotskyite who won reelection by a big margin.
San Telmo is an interesting neighborhood and very different from the Recoletto where we are staying. Clearly lots of artists and political stuff going on here.
The museum, affectionately called MAMBA, had an interesting show looking into the relationship between visual arts and theater, and some other exhibits. And the museum itself is an interesting structure. It’s a small museum, housed inside a former tobacco factory, so it’s easy to navigate.
After leaving the museum we strolled through the San Telmo neighborhood to the 100+ year old market, stopping often to walk randomly on small streets. Naturally we stumbled on murals, small shops, and tango dancing in the park. It is said that the tango originated in the San Telmo neighborhood.
The San Telmo Market must have been amazing in its day. Today, the structure remains, but the interior is filled with restaurants, rather than produce and meat stands. Still it was great to see. And along the way we also found the usual array of “influencers” and wanna be influencers being photographed and doing selfies.
It was now about 4 pm and we hadn’t had any lunch so we grabbed some empanadas at the market and then headed to MALBA, the Museum of Latin American Art / Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, was in a completely different neighborhood, across town. The good news is that everything is open late in Buenos Aires, so we were fine. MALBA is a pretty impressive museum, small enough to feel comfortable and intimate with the work, yet impressive enough to anchor decent exhibits. We strolled through the current exhibit, Tercer Ojo, the Third Eye. The title comes from Frida Kahlo’s work (Diego and I) and focuses to some extent on the obsessions of Frida and Diego Rivera also focuses on the kind of vision that goes into collecting art.
We taxied from MALBA to the hotel and about an hour later headed to dinner at Julia, a small (22 seats), modern bistro-style that says it serves “indie food, which the Argentinians define as experimental, new, not traditional Argentinian food. — “pushing the limits of the minimum”. It’s located in the Villa Crespo neighborhood, which is adjacent or at the edge of the Palermo neighborhood. We had heard about the restaurant somewhere–maybe NY Times?–and booked it from the states. The concierge at the hotel was impressed that we knew of Julia since it is off the beaten path and so tiny. The menu is small and very interesting. We selected the a la carte menu rather than the tasting menu. Started with oysters that were presented as “oysters bloody mary”— spicy with the shell rim having some kind of very spicy salt or maybe a paprika. They were great. Then we had some kind of scallops that were served like a mousse, and then we had carbona cordycep (a mushroom that grows like pasta) which was cooked with some kind of wine or sauce and was seerved with a raw egg yolk on top, making it creamy and delicious. For the main course we shared a flank steak that just melted in your mouth…and we ended with a scoop of curry ice cream and “yellow fruits.” if you’re headed to Buenos Aires, I’d recommend Julia for a special dinner.
By the time we finished dinner it was about 11:15 (some diners were just arriving at the restaurant!), we walked about four blocks to a major street and quickly hailed a taxi. By the way, taxis are incredibly cheap here. Our 20-minute ride cost about $6.00 and there is no tipping in taxis.
OK… maybe too much info on the food for today, but Julia’s was really special. Haven’t figured out tomorrow’s plans but that will come.It’s about 1 am now and I need to get to sleep. Hopefully, not too many typos. I will reread tomorrow and correct.
October 26, 2025 . Buenos Aires . Definitely a City!
Quite a day…. down one jacket and down one ATM card! Crossed 22 lanes of traffic! Tango dancing on the bridge; the Sube (subway/Metro); and more… all on election day here in Buenos Aires.
We started out with the leisurely breakfast at the hotel and then headed to the ATM that was recommended by the concierge—just about three blocks from the hotel. We had absolutely no Argentinian pesos. The only ATM we found at the boat dock wasn’t working, so we took a taxi last night that let us use a credit card. But it turns out that a lot of taxis won’t take credit cards (even from Argentinians) and the use of credit cards overall is not as prevalent as it was in Uruguay (where you could pay for everything by credit card… and I do mean everything.) According to Peter, Uruguay is nearly a cashless society, at least n Montevideo.
By the way, I had two interesting conversations with one of the concierges at the hotel (well more annoying than interesting). I had downloaded the taxi app for Buenos Aires (because the one in Montevideo was so good), but I was having a little problem completing the sign-in because the app would not accept my cell phone number (I guess they only accept Argentina phone numbers), so I asked if she could insert the hotel number to replace my number. She immediately told me I should take Uber. I explained that I refuse to use Uber (anywhere in the world), but she couldn’t understand that at all. Then she told me there was another app called Cabify, so I asked if it was a taxi and she said no. This was their own Uber. Again I declined so she appeared quite annoyed. Eventually another concierge came over and he inserted the hotel’s phone number and I now have a working app to get a taxi. But frankly, there are taxis roaming everywhere.
Anyway, we got to the ATM and I tried using my card, but it kept telling me there was an error. So Mike decided to try his card which is from a different bank. His failed and he tried again (i had tried mine four times in three different machines at the same bank). On the second try after inserting his card, the whole machine went black and turned off —-with his card inside the machine. We tried to call the phone number on the machine but the line was constantly busy. Then all of a sudden the machine came back on but no card, and actually the machine just kept saying it was broken and they were going to fix it as soon as possible (in Spanish). That left us with no cash and a full day ahead of us, and no debit card for Mike. So off we went.
In many ways Buenos Aires seems very familiar; it’s big; it’s bustling; people seem to be in a hurry (even on a Sunday); it’s packed with high-rises—much like NYC. But it’s cleaner and has less graffitti. The density is almost the same as Brooklyn (37,000 people per sq mile); it’s twice as dense as San Francisco and half as dense as Manhattan.
We were heading to el Ateneo Grand Splendid, a huge bookstore located in a former theater. A few things to note along the way… At one point we had to cross 22 lanes of traffic (although it was very organized). That included two lanes for parked cars and two dedicated bus lanes….so a mere 18 lanes of moving cars. There were multiple median strips and two separate traffic lights to get across. Also, along one different boulevard, there were many ‘benches.” At first we thought they were “upholstered” and found them quite odd. But then we realized they were actually concrete made to look like soft cushions. A sort of art piece. And Buenos Aires has a lot of “influencers” or wanna be influencers” that you see constantly taking selfies or having a friend take their photo as they walk around town.
And as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, today is Election Day throughout Argentina. It’s a really important election with more than half of their congress up for election or re-election. Trump is backing the incumbent, Melei who is described as a libertarian. Inflation is at 35% and there are multiple scandals, enabling multiple opposition parties to increase their presence and power. Milei apparently slashed state spending and was photographed holding a chain saw showing him cutting spending (Not sure who was first Elon or Melei). Melei has also visited Mar a Lago; Trump has said that US assistance to Argentina is contingent on Melei’s victory. But Melei is not actually running; this is not a presidential election. It’s an election for Argentina’s congress.
Anyway, we saw lots of people going into official buildings to vote and the ballot was in paper and voting was possible in every public school and other official buildings.
Ateneo Grand Splendid, the book shop, retained the stage and all the “box seats” and essentially the whole interior of the grand theater but removed the seats. According to National Geographic, it is the world’s most beautiful bookstore. It was opened as a theater in 1919 called Teatro Gran Splendid, and includes frescos and caryatids. It had a seating capacity of more than 1,000. In the late 1920s it became a movie theater. and then sometime in the early 2000s it was renovated into a bookstore (using all four floors). We strolled all of the floors and loved being surrounded by so many books. (Alas, they do not have a copy of my book… but oh well!)
From the bookstore, we decided to take a taxi (without any pesos) to our next stop—the big outdoor Sunday market at Plaza Francia, that includes a large craft section. We hailed a cab (just like in NY!) and before we got inside, we asked about credit card payment and he gave an emphatic “NO.” We then asked about using American dollars, because this morning an Argentine guest at the hotel told me that taxis take American dollars as long as they are in small denominations. At first the driver said no, but then he motioned to sit and he took us where we were headed and we did a rough calculation of the exchange and gave him some extra dollars to consider his time going to a bank. It is a huuuuge outdoor market. Must go on for at least a mile and it’s a big circle with multiple rows of covered tables.
Then we walked to Plaza de Mayo, the site where the “Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo,” (Madres de Plaza de Mayo) — the Argentine human rights group organized as a response to abuses of the National Reorganization Process, the military dictatorship of Videla. They worked to find the desaparecidos (the people who “disappeared” without any arrests or trials or legel process. Most are believed to be dead. The Mothers demonstrated continually in this plaza right in front of the presidential palace. They petitioned to have their children returned alive. Eventually the then president declared a state of emergency and the police expelled the Mothers from the public square. The story of the Mothers has been documented widely in film and books. They still function as an organization addressing a variety of human rights.
Today at the Plaza there is a monument and at the base there are hundreds, maybe thousands of stones that people have left, noting the names and sometimes dates of the missing.
From the Plaza we walked to (and crossed over) the Calatrava-designed pedestrian bridge called Puente de la Mujer (Woman’s Bridge). Supposedly the design resembles a couple dancing the tango (??). And true to form, right there in the center of the bridge as we walked across… there were two professional tango dancers doing their thing.
After clocking in at about 15,000 steps, we were pretty beat… and decided to try the Subte (Buenos Aires’ subway system) which looked pretty straightforward. It did however take a while to figure out where there was a station, because the maps don’t show where the stations are, But we did it… Went three stops on the A line and transferred to the C line and then we had about a 7 minute walk to the hotel. It seems efficient, cheap, and clean. But it does involve long walks underground if you are changing trains (sort of like Paris’ Metro). That said, the quality of the stations is a lot like NYC–no grandiosity here.
We had dinner at a Peruvian restaurant, a taxi ride away… upscale, sort of mostly sushi/sashimi. But before dinner we went to an amazing bar for drinks and snack (liquor started being served at 9 pm tonight, because the polls were closed at 6 and they have to wait three hours). It’s called Floreria Atlantico. You enter on street level into a very small florist shop… and then you find a refrigerator door in the shop. When you open that door you go down a steep flight of stairs to a basement and voila! you are in a long thin basement that stretches under the florist shop and under about two other shops… and it’s a bar with very interesting mixed cocktails…one continuous bar. I had something that had chola and ginger and lime. And Mike had some kind of martini (thery have many different kinds).. and we had a snack of sweetbreads (getting my sweetbread fix here since it’s a pretty common dish. In the states it’s rare to find it. At the Peruvian place we had some kind of whitefish nigiri, a tuna sashimi dish, and a shrimp dish. We were totally full when we finished dinner at 12:30 am! Getting to be real Argentinians with regard to our eating schedule.
The results of the election seem to be in from the elections and Meilei’s people got 40%. That means that 60% voted against them but without a clear majority for another candidate.
Argentina’s politics is complicated. So not totally sure what this all means. But more on the elections tomorrow.
October 25, 2025 . Feet and Cars and Taxis and Ferries . From Colonia to Buenos Aires .
What with constant rain and about 50+ mile per hour winds, we took our time packing and tried to figure out a plan for the day until we had to return the rental car (which we really hadn’t used after getting to Colonia, because the rain was so strong yesterday it would have been crazy to drive to Carmelo. At around noon the rain stopped except for some drizzles every so often, so we decided to take a walk into the newer part of Colonia (and to assess the situation ahead of us—returning the rental car, getting gas, finding the boarding area for the ferry, etc. But it started to rain again and the wind was whipping the trees, so we walked about halfway and then headed back to the hotel for a quick salad… and to the ferry building.
One thing I left out from previous days notes: In several situations, staff and others thought I was a Spanish speaker! I guess my limited Spanish might sound better than I thought and I can manage some stuff in Spanish. Anyway, at the restaurant last night, after I asked for our table and said something else… I asked for a menu in English and they brought one out for Mike, but gave me a Spanish menu. I laughed and said it would be better for me in English and the waiter said (all in Spanish between the two of us) that he assumed I would want the Spanish menu! Actually, I can manage menus pretty well, but when they start getting fancy describing the preparation, I’m lost.
As we were headed back to the hotel, I got a message from the restaurant we were headed to once we arrived in Buenos Aires (tonight). They wanted to alert us to the fact that there would not be any alcohol (not even wine) served at dinner tonight. No alcohol from 9 pm tonight until 9 pm tomorrow night, because tomorrow is the election here in Argentina. First it’s interesting that in both Argentina and Uruguay, voting is mandatory! You can get official excuses from a doctor if you are sick and if you are out of the country, but voting is required for citizens between the ages of 18 and 70. !6 and 17-year-olds also vote, but their participation is optional. Similarly those over 70 years old can decide not to vote, but everyone else must vote. There are stiff penalties for not voting and you could be excluded from government jobs.
Tomorrow, Sunday, (elections are always held on Sundays) Argentines will vote for half of the seats in their Chamber of Deputies and a third of the seats in the Senate will also be decided. While the president is not actually on the ballot, his colleagues are. President Milei’s approval rating is very low so this election is important for him and for the future of Argentina. Our friends are convinced that Milei will lose seats and of course Trump has weighed in with great support for the current leader. I suppose there will be a lot of hoopla in the streets tomorrow and tomorrow night the bars will reopen. Should be interesting to see what happens as the ballots get counted.
We sad “adios/hasta luego” to Charco Hotel and filled the tank with gas. Actually, they still have attendants at the gas station, so we really didn’t do anything except wait for the attendant to fill the car with gas. Then we returned the car and headed for the ferry which was literally next door to the car rental.
Although it is a very short crossing, we had opted for the business class seats to ensure we had space for our luggage, and because we remembered the ferry from Tanzania to Zanzibar where only first class passengers can take on luggage and even that was collected if it was too large, but in a somewhat organized fashion and then distributed from a locked area for business passengers as opposed to those in open seating whose bags were tossed and scattered and it was a free-for-all in Zanzibar to retrieve your luggage. Anyway, we didn’t totally understand the Argentinian system, but eventually found our way to the business section (which was only about 25% filled) and had a comfortable journey on the Bouquebus Ferry that left promptly at 5:01 as scheduled and dropped us in Buenos Aires at 6:15. When we exited the ferry we understood the advantage and also the mild humiliation of being in business class. We were all ushered out of our special section of the ferry, walking through the “open seating section” and they all had to wait until we were completely off the ferry. There were ferry personnel holding back all of the open seating folks so that no one could break into the line of business class people. So there you have it. They also serve a welcome glass of wine or champagne but we didn’t partake.
By the time we docked in Buenos Aires, the sun was shining and it was a crisp 62 degrees. We are staying at the Casa Lucia, which seems like a very nice hotel, although we cannot get any news in English–so we’ll have to rely on streaming for information about what’s happening back home. So the big snag of the day—As we got out of the taxi, got our bags from the trunk, and walked into the hotel, Mike suddenly realized that he left his jacket in the back seat of the taxi. The hotel is on a very narrow street and the taxi driver was antsy to move on since stopping in front of the hotel sort of blocked the street. Anyway, Mike ran out, but the taxi was already a block away. Inside the pocket of his jacket is his international drivers license (which we hope we do not need to present when we rent a car for the final two days of our journey; we didn’t need to show it in Uruguay for the car rental). And I guess tomorrow we will be on the lookout for a new jacket. While MIke has very little interest in clothes, he did like that jacket which he bought somewhere in Italy (I think in Orvieto) last year.
We had made a few dinner reservations for our time here in Buenos Aires and tonight we had selected a place that seemed very casual from the write-up and just a 7-minute walk from the hotel. “Nuestro Secreto” turned out to be quite casual as described, but located inside the Four Seasons Hotel. However it was like a small parilla despite being inside the hotel. Food was great if you are a meat eater. We started with sweetbreads that were either cooked in or marinated in lemon/lime or maybe they jjust put the lemons and cooked lemons on the dish after it was cooked. Whatever! It was really good. Then we shared a steak cooked on the grill–what they called “Holando-argentino Baby Beef… that just melted in your mouth. We ordered a side of roasted vegetables which was like getting another full meal–all sorts of potatoes, squash, asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, and more, They also served complementary tiny starters–mnini empanadas stuffed with pumpkin. The meal was great, except for one thing—-you really needed a glass of red wine to go with it.
We strolled back to Casa Luciano which is located in what appears to be an upscale neighborhood and is close to the train station, where we need to go tomorrow to purchase our subway passes. So, English is not common in Buenos Aires either, and unlike Uruguay credit cards are not universally accepted (especially in taxis), so we need to locate an ATM quickly. We’ve mapped out a pretty ambitious day for tomorrow, which might now need to include jacket shopping. We’ll know at lot more tomorrow.
October 24, 2025 . Nearly Rained Out . Colonia del Sacramento.
This will be a fairly short post, as we were basically rained out. We had plans to drive to Carmello–another small town about an hour to the west. But we woke up to torrential rains and thunder. We had breakfast at the hotel and I used the time after that to work, while Mike searched for restaurants in Buenos Aires where we will head tomorrow. We monitored the potential invasion of Oakland and are glad evreyone is now safe… for the moment.
A few more notes about Uruguay:
- Because it is a very secular country, “Christmas” is referred to as “Family Day” (a holiday to honor families) and Easter week is called “Tourism Week”–a vacation time to travel.
- Uruguay gets all of its electricity from renewable sources, mostly hydropower..
- There are more cows in Uruguay than people; three cows for every person.
- Uruguay has one of the highest literacy rates in the world.
- It was the first country in Latin America to establish a welfare state.
- There is a national dish called “chivito” which is a sandwich that includes beefsteak, mozzarella, ham, tomatoes, mayonnaise, and olives, and often also includes hard boiled eggs, and is accompanied by french fries. We have not partaken… I hate mayonnaise! and there are just too many things in that sandwich for me.
Anyway, at around 2:30 the rain stopped or turned into a drizzle so we ventured out for a snack (croquetas) and a short walk in parts of the town we hadn’t seen yet.
Came back to the hotel (relatively dry) and did some work and also some planning for our time in Buenos Aires. And then we decided to head for dinner at a restaurant just down the street from our hotel — Bohemia. It was pretty good. We had sweetbreads and also a tagliolini dish with grilled shrimp. Basically they grill everything.
Hopefully the rain will end by morning.
El Dia Ocho . October 23, 2026 . Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay .
October 23, 2025
After breakfast at Charco Hotel, we headed out to really explore Colonia de Sacramento (“Colonia,” as it appears to be called by everyone). I don’t really understand how it can be called just “Colonia” since there are many other “Colonia de…” here in somewhat close proximity. But, oh well..
Colonia is charming. It’s got cobblestone everywhere–a bit treacherous, especially at night, but does add to the charm and the historic nature of the little city of 32,000 residents year-round. We strolled to the basilica, the lighthouse, the town square, and throughout the entire old section. It is one of the oldest towns in Uruguay and the historic quarter has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Modern Colonia del Sacramento produces textiles and has some kind of polytechnic center.
The basilica was sweet, and fairly unadorned. There was just one parishioner, an elderly woman who tried to talk to us in very rapid Spanish. Maybe she thought we were new members of the church since we were sitting in the pews, because we were tired from all the walking–in the heat (and the church was nice and cool). We smiled a lot as she talked. Eventually we caved and stopped for helado (ice cream) for sustenance and again to get out of the heat.
Came back to the hotel to get some work done (yes, real work!). Mike decided to participate in the age-old Latin American activities for warm afternoons…. Siesta time. A few hours later, I left the hotel to stroll some more and take advantage of the cooling weather. I stumbled on a tiny Origami Museum and went inside. It’s a private operation and I was the only one there so the older gentleman who sold me my ticket ($2.50) was clearly ready for a conversation. His English was ok. Turns out the “museum is his wife’s passion. She’s been an origamist (new word for me) since she was a child, and I’m guessing she’s about 80 now. She personally owns all the pieces and a few were done by her. The origami examples are from all over the world. The couple is from Argentina but they lived in NYC for about 20 years. She’s well connected with the global origamist community (who would know?) and many of the artists have donated their work to her for exhibition. The couple decided they wanted to open a museum to exhibit her collection and they were ready to come back to South America. The wife had spent summers as a child in Punte del Este and in Colonia. It was cheaper to buy a place in Colonia, so here they are. The museum has only been open for about a year and required a lot of renovation to make the building work for this new use.
After an hour or so of more work, we headed to dinner at Casa Viera an Italian restaurant about 5 blocks from our hotel. It was better than we anticipated. They gave us a “welcome drink” when we arrived—vermouth with fresh fruits and ice. Very refreshing. We started with croquettas filled with shrimp, cheese, peppers, and spices. We followed that with raviolis filled with roasted eggplant, sun dried tomatoes, cheese, and a host of spices. We had some Uruguayan cabernet franc. And then we strolled back to the hotel in the dark–taking full advantage of the flashlight app on our phones!
Americans in Uruguay . Day 7 . October 22, 2025 . Montevideo to Colonia de Sacramento .
By the end of 7 nights at Alma Historica Hotel, every item from our suitcases was somewhere in the room. So packing up was a project–a time consuming project. After a quick breakfast (that included the daily rituals of Spelling Bee, Wordle, and Connections), we picked up our rental car and headed out of Montevideo, basically about two hours west—directly across from Buenos Aires. Most people come for the day, but we are actually staying three nights and then taking the ferry to BA. We arrived at around 3:45, after taking a detour to try to find a place for lunch that the rental car guy told us was really great. We had the name and all of our map programs plotted it, but when we got to the location there wasn’t any restaurant. Finally, we decided to head directloy to Colonia and grab a bite once we arrived.
Before going into any first impressions of Colonia, a few points about the social/political history of Uruguay. I’m prompted to think about this given that our hotel has CNN and I’m watching images of the bulldozing of the East Wing and descriptions of the $300M (probably will be about $500M before it’s done) construction of a ballroom, which is beyond belief. The images made me think about what I’ve heard about José “Pepe” Mujica, president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015. He was a guerrilla fighter who spent 14 years in prison during Uruguay’s military dictatorship in the 1970s and ’80s—ten of them in solitary confinement. After democracy was restored, he co-founded the Popular Movement (MPP), served as Minister of Agriculture and then a senator, and ultimately ran for president under the Broad Front (Frente Amplio) coalition.
After winning the election, Mujica ushered in sweeping progressive reforms—legalizing abortion, same-sex marriage, and marijuana; strengthening trade unions; expanded and raised the minimum wage—while presiding over steady economic and social gains, implemented an eight-hour workday for rural workers and required farm owners to provide medical coverage. Beyond this he managed to institute more progressive taxation, support technical education provide all students in public schools with laptops; and invested heavily in public schools,
Pepe, as he was called continued to live on his farm with his wife just outside Montevideo. He never lived in the president’s palace. He donated 90% of his salary to organizations that helped the poor. He drove himself to work each day, in his 22-year-old VW bug. His only security was a local cop and his three-legged dog. Humble, witty, and unwavering in his ideals, Mujica governed and spoke like a neighbor or someone you’d chat with at a bar… not like a politician. According to Uruguayans, he never courted wealth or power, kept his promises, and gracefully stepped aside to make room for younger leaders. In Uruguay you cannot run for consecutive terms, but you can run again after waiting through a five-year term. He seems to be a rare example of integrity, simplicity, and conviction in modern politics. He was proudly known as “the poorest president in the world.” When reporters asked him about this and suggested that it was odd that he was so different from other world leaders, he responded: “Really, I don’t think I’m odd, I think they are odd.”
Mmmmmm does this make you think how a particular American leader would respond to hearing this approach, especially while building his ballroom?
Anyway, quick observations of Colonia, which we will explore in depth tomorrow. HIstorically, it was settled by the Portuguese and is a delightful cobble-stoned town that sits on Rio de La Plata—directly across from Buenos Aires (an hour by ferry). There are a lot of tourists, most of whom come for the day by ferry from Buenos Aires. It has a population of about 32,000.
We are staying in a delightful small hotel called Charco and have a truly lovely room with a private deck in the oldest section of the building.
We had a late dinner at the hotel’s restaurant—a grilled shrimp starter with mango and salsa, followed by a nice salad, and then a fettuccini with fresh pesto and little tomatoes….and then dessert. It was all quite wonderful, and now we are ready to call it a day. It is after midnight.
Day Six . October 21, 2025 . Montevideo in all its Oddity!
Greetings on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 from Montevideo (our last night here in the city)-
We headed out right after breakfast and strolled through the old city yet again, toward the Rambla (referred to by some as the world’s longest sidewalk), which by the way has different names depicting different sections, including some named for different countries and other sections named after important individuals including Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But en route we detoured at the impressive building that is home to the Museum of Pre-Columbian and Indigenous Arts. They had a fantastic exhibit of masks throughout time.
Our real destination was at the Mahatma Gandhi section of the Rambla–about a 90 minute walk. That seemed fine, except it was quite hot today and there’s not much shade along the Rambla so after a while we used the nifty Voyentaxi app and headed (far more quickly) to our destination. The goal was to go to 633 Rambla Mahatma Gandhi–where a bizarre building, created by the architect and self-acclaimed alchemist, Pittamiglio, is located. His “house” (begun construction in 1910 and was supposedly near official completion by 1911 or 12, but in reality it was a lifetime project and he added detail after detail and extensions throughout his life until he died in 1966. The house is squooshed between buildings from the 50s and 60s that sort of dwarf the physical building but not the extreme peculiarity of the building and its designer-inhabitant.
While it seems that there is not that much known about Humberto Pittamiglio (a Uruguayan born to poor Italian parents). As the receptionist said when I asked a few questons in my minimal Spanish–as we were leaving–he was an architect, alchemist, “out”-homsexual, artist, politician (?), visionary, Catholic, impresario, businessman, and more. At the age of 23, he bought the land (not sure how he got the funds) to build a castle.
As the story goes, he was deeply religious, fascinated by the mysteries of alchemy as practiced by a renowned Uruguayan. His name was really Umberto, but he added thee H so that his name would have 8 letters because of some symbolism. The neighbors were afraid of him because at night he would walk around the area wearing a red cape. He died in 1966, single and without children. At that time he owned more than 400 properties that he bequeathed to the state and philanthropic institutions. Supposedly he designed his casket in a way that it could only be opened from the inside (??) and believed he would never die. He was buried in 1966.
We walked in the neighborhood a bit and then decided to go to a plaza where there is a bench with a statue of Einstein talking with a famous Uruguayn philosopher… We walked the whole plaza but no such bench. Then we saw a plaque marking the spot of the conversation.. but no bench. So the “sculpture” must be damaged and being repaired or something.
After a brief stop at the hotel to begin to pack, we headed out to meet Peter at a local neighborhod bar called Bar Ducan. I tried a really nice Uruguayan vermouth called Rooster. And then we walked to a local restaurant to have a typical Uruguayan dinner —meat, meat, and more meat. Jairo was meeting us there, having cut short his rehearsal to join us. We had some more good conversation and wrapped up our visit to Montevideo.
Onward to Colonia de Sacramento.
October 20, 2025 . Day 5 . Ururguay : Ciudad Viejo .
Greetings from Montevideo. We decided to make this an easy day after moving around so much for the past few ddays, and decided to merely explore the Ciudad Vieja (the old city), which surrounds our hotel. We strolled to the port and through several parks, with no real destination in mind. Ciudad Vieja is basically a peninsula at the mouth of the Bay of Montevideo. It was founded in 1724 by Spain. After Uruguay gained independence it becaue a section of the city as the city grew.
The area is the financial center and also the cultural center and has a large concentration of Art Deco and Art Nouveau and neoclassical buildings. Some of the grand buildings were originally residences for the wealthy. Like most cities, this old section becomes very quiet at night, although there is clearly a revival of restaurants and clubs. The neighborhood doesn’t have the residential appeal of the newer sections with modern high rise apartments, although there does seem to be a smattering of artist quarters. We also saw our first two homeless people on the streets here in this neighborhood.
We strolled into the Port Market—a grand 19th Century market building that must have been bustling with locals purchasing meat and fish and vegetables in its day. Today it is filled with small restaurants competing for customers and a few souvenir shops—-as a result of the decline of people living in this area. Still it was great to just see and walk through the building. There’s also some tango dancing at the market, but it wasn’t happening today so no photos of us dancing.
A few things I have not mentioned in previous notes. First, there is very little English spoken in Uruguay. The language that most people know, beyond Spanish, is Portugese, which is what most students learn in school. Since our Spanish is “functional” and not at a level to have any real conversation, our interactions (beyond hotel staff!) is limited. Surprisingly, even restaurant staff do not speak English, so we are on our own figuring out the menu. We also don’t hear any English on the streets so most tourists seem to be from Latin America. I don’t think Uruguay has reached the international destination scene like Argentina has. So maybe we are the trailblazers. I remember when we went to Malta a few years ago, many people were surprised. And now, so many people I know have gone to Malta. So there you have it.
And, if you are thinking—as a result of this travel blog—of moving to Uruguay (temporarily or permanently), especially over the next three years–here’s some information. And it doesn’t seem to be too hard:
- Basic documents (Passport, birth certificate, marriage license—all translated officially and I think notarized; no criminal record for the last five years)…. mmmm, I’d need to do a lot of searching for my papers.
- Proof of income — evidence of sufficient and consistent income—$1,500 USD/month per person–might need CPA verification.
- Vaccination certificates to show you have all the vaccines that Uruguay requires
- Health card (you get that in Uruguay)
- Medical certificate–sounds like it’s a medical exam that you get in Uruguay
- A rental agreement or property ownership (average rent is only about $1,000/month, but a three-bedroom house in an upscale neighborhood could go for about $3,000 to $4,000, And an average apartment price is about $150,000 and larger apartments in better neighborhoods will increase from that… An average house purchase is harder to determine, but certainly is about 50% of Bay area prices—and that would be in a rather upscale neighborhood.
- Visa fee
- And fairly good command of Spanish or you must be willing to pay for translators for any official business.
So, if you’re looking for a haven in a small country that isn’t at war with anyone, that has amazing social welfare programs, has four seasons (in reverse to ours), decent though not exotic foods, a growing number of international restaurants, lots of parks, roadways that are well paved, an “embarcadero” that stretches for about 14 miles, a coast that stretches 310 miles all the way to Buenos Aires, drivers who obey the laws, and close proximity to Buenos Aires and other parts of Latin America—- here it is: Uruguay. Just imagine, no need to listen to the daily comments of the current occupant of the White House. Oh, if you prefer a place like Estancia VIK in Jose Ignacio (as described yesterday), you’ll need to sve up a lot more money before heading to Uruguay!
As we strolled, we stumbled on a large bank-looking building. Mike was a bit further ahead, but I decided to wander inside. Turns out the old, grand bank has been converted into a museum about gauchos and also money (interesting mix).. Anyway, it was interesting and the building was great. A strange setting for the story of gauchos. I should also say that the exhibit was pretty fantastic with huge digitized projections that changed continuously at a scale of about 20′ tall–perhaps making the gauchos overpower the banking setting.
Then we headed to La Farmacia—a restaurant inside an old, 120+ year-old pharmacy that was well preserved and converted into a cafe. It’s a pretty cool interior; we had lunch, and then headed to our next stop. We shared the chicken kabob.
We headed back to the hotel to figure out our next few days and then after a few hours we headed to our dinner reservation at Fogon–a restaurant that pays homage to meat!~– we pigged out on an appetizer of tongue vinagrette which was fantastic, followed by a rack of lamb and a small steak (we shared)… The place was pleasant and packed. Again no english, but after a short time the waiter cam around with a menu in English.
It’s a wrap. All good.
More tomorrow…
October 19, 2025 . Americans in Uruguay . Day 4: 5* Hotels, Wineries, and Celebration of Workers!
Greetings from Montevideo–We followed the NO Kings demonstrations as best we could and thank all of you for participating on our behalf. We were with you in spirit!
Wow – what a day. It’s now Sunday night (around midnight) and we are back in Montevideo at our charming, old Hotel Alma Historico. We began the day in the lap of luxury and modernity, with breakfast at Bahia Vik, and checking out the hotels pool(s). We then met up with Peter and Jairo, and headed out to visit the Bodega Garzon, a winery located about 30 miles from the town of Jose Ignacio, where our hotel was. But on the way, we wanted to see another hotel we had seen online that is also a “Vik hotel” that we had really wanted to stay at but the price was a bit beyond our lifestyle, and it was further from where Peter and Jairo were staying. So we decided to check it out before we left town, and given that we were staying at a Vik hotel, we figured visiting would be easy.
We drove north, about 10 minutes, onto a very long and impressive driveway and there we were — at Estancia Vik, where we met the manager, an energetic woman who seemed full of information and very willing to show us all around. While Bahia Vik was quite wonderful, upscale, and hip… Estancia Vik was beyond description. Just 12 rooms (about 500+ sq ft each, and two that are 900 sq ft) in a main building of about 50,000 sq ft (which includes about 20,000 sq ft of patios, covered walkways, and covered courtyards. The floor of the main swimming pool (65′ long) has fiber optic lights that mirror the constellations in the sky above.
The public spaces are filled with works of art by famous Uruguayan artists at scales that required some rooms to be built around sculptures that would be too large to install after construction was complete. Estancia is a ranch with more than 4,000 acres—complete with stables, private polo grounds, and more. Of course if I stayed here, I’d need to take polo lessons! We got to see two of the rooms—each room was designed as a collaboration between the architect and a Uruguayan artist. Mike has already identified a couch at the end of one of the covered walkways that he feels he could spend the rest of his life at…just sitting and thinking.
But the story of Estancia Vik and all the Vik hotels is also interesting. If I have it right—the owner/developers are a Norwegian couple with ties to Uruguay because his mother was Uruguayan and the daughter of the Uruguayan ambassador to Norway. They initially developed the first property (Estancia) to be their home in Uruguay but then decided to expand the idea and develop a hotel that merged art, architecture, and nature (as the promo pieces say). OK.. enough about this luxurious hotel for the ultra wealthy.
We then headed to Bodega Garzon, a vineyard located near (really not that near) Uruguay’s “riviera!,” Punto del Este. Apparently the soil in the area is among the oldest in the world and this helps the quality of the grapes. The vineyard is huge and includes ancient rocks that protrude into the underground cellars, and form part of the unique architecture. We arrived a bit late, but Peter really wanted us to see the winery and without taking the tour you can only see the lobby and entry area. He and Jairo had already taken the tour during a prior visit. Frankly we would have been fine just seeing the building, but we wouldn’t have been allowed beyond the lobby without the tour. So off we went. The building is pretty interesting and the tour included tastes of 4 different Garzon wines so that made it good. Also we learned about corks versus screw top wine bottles. Beyond that Mike and I mostly drifted around looking at the building–which is very impressive. And the wine was quite good. Tannat wine–made from a grape that was grown historically in Southwest France is now one of the most prominent grapes in Uruguay, and is the main wine served at all restaurants.
From there we headed back to Jose Ignacio to walk across/around the round bridge at the lagoon, which we had seen last night in the dark. It is next to impossible to photograph the bridge without a drone, so if you are interested, I’d recommend you search the Internet for images of Laguna Garzon Bridge. It is said that it is round so that drivers slow down to accommodate pedestrians who can cross to the other side and also for drivers (and bicycles and pedestrians) to take the time to appreciate the panoramic views and enjoy the pristine landscapes of the Uruguayan coast. How civil!
We then headed through Punto del Este and Maldonado to a lovely place for lunch where we had a great view of the sea and didn’t have to actually walk on the sand.
Then we headed back to Montevideo, hoping to join the celebration for the 105th anniversary of the Communist Party! It was held in a big park, and although it should have been over by the time we arrived, in typical Latin time, the event was going strong when we arrived, so we managed to catch the major speaker–the head of the party who is also (I think) the Labor Minister for the country. My Spanish wasn’t good enough to really get all of what he was saying, but he was definitely a powerful and inspiring speaker. We strolled around the event for a while before returning to Hotel Alma Historico… and then headed out for dinner (just Mike and me). We ate at a small restaurant just about four blocks from our hotel called Es Mercat (a fish restaurant) and the food was great. We started with some kind of tuna sashimi with a sauce. The dish was called Tiradot. And our second starter was a roasted squid. For the main course we shared the black sea bass which was very good.. simply prepared but perfect.. And ended with tiramisu. And white wine.. Directly across the street from our restaurant was another restaurant/bar that was packed and very very noisy with live music that spilled onto the street. At first we thought that was the restaurant that we were going to, but fortunately Es Mercat was quiet, with brick lined walls, and no music. At the other restaurant the crowd was probably in their 20s and there was a lot of dancing–but the Uruguayans do not appear to be great dancers, so I’d say there was a lot of “swaying bakc and forth” and an occasional “hop.” Our friends say, the Uruguayans really like to party with Brazilians because they can really dance!
Sorry for the length. It was a packed day.
October 18, 2025 . Americans in Uruguay . Day Three .
Lat night’s dinner at Quinquela showed us a side of the upscale Uruguay and where wealthy Montevideans (and visiting Argentinians) eat. Quinquela was quite good, although I think we should have ordered a different main course. We started with a shrimp crudo topped with caviar and some sea foam. We then shared a small pappardelle that had roasted shrimp sitting on top with some kind of spicy chestnuts and chopped carmelized nuts. It was great. Then we shared the short rib dish which was good, but not fantastic, although the waitress raved about it and said it was the signature dish. We ended with a simple flan which was quite yummy. The other desserts were just too over the top. The waitress then gave us a tour of the restaurant and some private spaces decorated with Uruguayan art. Apparently the owner is Argentinian and has big plans for not just this restaurant but another one that he is planning to open across the street.
Now…. it’s about 6:15 pm and we are on the coast (a short overnight trip with Peter and Jairo).. Greetings from Bahia Vik in Jose Ignacio on the Atlantic coast of Uruguay (more on that soon). I have about 30 minutes before we meet up with the guys so I thought I’d get a head start on today’s meanderings. Peter and Jairo are staying at another place about 5 minutes from us, but we opted for a bit more luxury.
We left Montevideo at about 9 am with Peter driving in his Citroen. We set out for their cabin which is located in the “hilly” part of Uruguay, about two+ hours from Montevideo. Since the country is very flat, calling the area “hilly’ or “mountainous” is a bit of a stretch. It’s probably about 700′ above sea level. “Lower than the Berkeley hills” Peter said, comparing it to where he grew up. We took a pretty roundabout route so that Peter could show us several small towns and parts of his adopted country that he wanted to share. Eventually we arrived at the cabin which they use for weekends and also rent out from time to time. It’s quite charming and Peter worked really hard to encourage the architect to model it on some of the (vastly larger) ski houses his father designed throughout Tahoe. The house boasts a set of original drawings by Mike, which Peter framed and proudly displays on the bedroom wall! The drawings (simple line drawings) depict a series of changes that occur in a town–starting with a forest and then someone takes down trees and builds a gas station and some other facilities and soon a city emerges and the forest is gone; the little general store remains and in each section the protest signs change.. the city eventually disappears as a result of climate change and finally nature takes over and the growth covers the town. The little general store from the onset remains throughout and the last sign on the building is “Eco Resort!”
From the cabin we went to a sweet simple restaurant for lunch, and then we drove through numerous little towns and villages as we meandered our way to the ocean.
Then we headed to the Atchugarry Museum of Contemporary Art which is the largest museum in the country. It’s located in the resort town of Punta del Este. It’s a huge complex with sprawling outdoor spaces surrounding a giant exhibit building with a permanent collection (donated by the Uruguayan artist , Atchugarry for whom the museum is named). It’s my understanding that Atchugarry also put up the majority of the funds for the entire project. The museum is both a showcase of his work and the work of other Uruguayan artists, but it also has works by artists throughout Latin America and a small collection that includes contemporary art from around the world.
From the museum we headed to the town of Jose Ignacio—a fishing village turned into a resort area that is attracting wealthy visitors and even celebrities to its beaches, surfing, and yoga. After settling into our huge room with huge bathroom, we met Peter and Jairo and headed to Parador Huella for dinner,… after a quick spin to the “round bridge” designed by Rafael Vinoly. At the restaurant, Mike decided that it would be good to order a hot toddy (hot water, scotch, and honey—to help ease his lingering sore throat. He ordered one yesterday at Cafe Brasilero — agua caliente con “scotch” con miel— it was great and cost $5.00. Somehow here they asked what kind of scotch and theyt suggested Johnie Walker “azul” and Mike said “fine.” When we got the bill his simple hot toddy was $100. I guess Johnnie Walker Blue is a pretty special brand. And then we ate and I’m now back at the hotel….totally beat.
One thing I keep forgetting to mention—-all across Uruguay, you hear 1970s and 1980s Americn music… sometimes the 60s. It’s sort of funny, and makes you feel like you’ve been here before!
More tomorrow. Hasta Luega.
Fern's Travel Notes 