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Day 11
At 5:30am our surrogate mother, Cecillia, woke us up and we got off the bus. We were dropped off at the side of a motorway so we were relieved to have her there to sort everything out. As we'd been heading furthur south to Uruguay we could feel the drop in temperature and were glad to have taxis waiting for us to take us over the boarder. While we were queing to get our luaggage from the hold Jasmin wasn't listening to the yelling drivers as she turned around and stepped into the sinking mud! Ater loosing her new havianas and a whloe pack of makeup wipes we were back on our way. Once we crossed the boarder we arrived in the small rural village of Salto. Here there were two streets, 1 atm and around 100 inhabitants with, by the looks of things, the average age of 65. But after the night bus and previous busy days we were looking forward to the planned activities; hot springs and massages!
After booking our appointments, I had a facial and full body massage, we went into the spa looking for the 'pressure/power shower type facility. Once we realised the random tortue-esque looking machine was this facility we weren't quite so keen! Despite this I still had a go with the boiling water at very high pressure I quickly jumped out! The tretaments and various hotspring however were lovely with great sunshine aswell!
Day 12
After our relaxing restbite at 5:30am, we headed off to the bus station to catch our next bus to the countries capital, Montevideo. The bus station was so cute, small with an open fire place like someone's living room. An openfire like that would obviously not b e allowed in the UK due to the growing population of scumbags and mentalists so in most stations we can't even have rubbish bins nevermind pretty open fires!
The bus ride was short and after checking in we went for a big traditional lunch then guided city tour. I really liked the city, with Portuguese influences the buildings were very pretty. In the main square we saw the old tallest building in South America, which was cute as it was about 10 storeys high. We also leartn about the president and his socialist views and lifestyle, living among the general public like the general public with no security or celebrity links. We then headed to the old town, here we past markets, locals busking and some quite sketchy characters!
Day 13
Today Faye and I got up early to go to the various attractions for the morning. We headed out to the local art gallery/market where locals displayed and sold various art forms and crafts which were typical of Uruguay. After heading to the old town to the Carnival museum, carnival is a pretty big deal in Uruguay and lasts a motnh, we poped in then went for lunch. Here there s a large meat market-ish area. It is covered with various units all BBQ-ing numerous types and cuts of meat. Faye was in heaven, not so ideal for a vegetarian but I wasn't hungry so got a bruschetta! Faye on the other hand enjoyed black pudding sausage followed by half a cow and salad with a litre of Pilsen to wash it down! After been joined by two others from the group and chatting to the bar man we headed back to the hotel to meet the rest o the gorup for the football game. After getting tickets for the Urugay vs. Venezeuala world cup qualifier we were all pretty excited, even non-football fans!
Like carnival, football is a massive deal in the whole of South America but as the first world cup was held n and won by Uruguay it has a special place in their hearts which as it turns out sends them mental too! With everyone kitted out we joined Cecillias local freind and got the bus with the rest of the fans to the stadium.
Here in the stalls there was a great atmosphere and the sun was out! After a tense game the final score was 1 - 1 so not too disappointed we headed back to the hotel for the next part of the day. We were going to one of the neighbourhoods with the most economic and social issues but with the ost unique culture of dance, music and costume due to the mass imigration. But before that we all were to experience 'Mate'.
Mate is a type of herb that some South American countries live off!It is essentially a tea. They have the herb ground, as you would find in a tea bag, but filled in a decorative leater coated metal cup, then they add water at around 80 - 82 degrees C from a flask (which they always have with them under their arms). You then drink this through a metal straw with a filter at the bottom. But sharing Mate is also a social occasion and with that brings numerous social rules e.g. one pourer (of water), passes round a circle, only pourer can touch the straw etc. So after tasing Mate, which unsurprisingly I didn't like as I don't like tea or coffee, we all set off walking to the neighbourhood.
Here Sebastion explained that the composer of the faous tango song, the only one we probably know, lived on this street and the sibling-esque relationship with Argentina as they biker over and share the ownership of Tango. After a short walk we arrived. Afeter been offered some type of drugs we were greated by who they call 'Big Mamma' who ran a local counity centre and knew everyone in the community. We went into the centre and here we learnt about the history of the area. Here as there were so many people arriving all the people lived in a large complex with each family having one room and a shared courtyard and bathroom, one bathroom for 60 plus families. Here with the african influences many people played the drums in the style known as candambae (not sure how to spell it!). Alongside this came the dancing and traditional costumes which was similar to carnival dress. This community were so strong and due to the large quantity of people the government decided to split them up throughout the city to avoid the risk of revolution. This happened around 30 years ago and the 'Big Mamma' remebers this days as a very sad day. Due to this on the date each year all the people meet at the location of the old complex, which today ironically is a very expensive housing complex, and play the drums. This act is basically a massive f*** you showing they are still a community just relocated. Due to the strenght of the community the drumming style contines to this day with over 150 drumming groups with up to 60 people in each. Every Saturday night the people of the neighbourhood start to meet and walk through the streets dancing and drumming. After learning all this we headed out hearing the drums start to play. Walking in this direction we came across another group drying the skins out. We all felt safe and joined in following the procession, but this was due to bee with the 'Big Mamma' and another local. As the only tourists there I couldn't help feeling I was oversteeping the mark and beginning to pry on their life. This is when we left after giving a contribution to help with the community centre which provides daycare, lifeskills, advice and job help for the neighbourhoods and other people who need it.
Day 14
After a lay in we headed to Colonia, a city further south. This is a more Spanish style town with a beautiful old town, lighthouse and pier. Once we settled in to our cute little Bed and Breakfast we decided to hire a golf buggy to explore the streets, marked and lighthouse. After realising this would mean driving on the other side of the road we headed off. With surprisingly fast speeds we 'tore' up Colonia, overtaking numerous cars! The town was quiet and traditional not yet spoiled by tacky tourist orientated shops and activities.
During the evening we went to a local restaurant with a great relaxed atmosphere. They had a pool table and other various games you could play while waiting for your food or drinking. We all played a game our guide said was very old and common in the area. You had to throw metal coins at a frog which was set on a wooden frame with a network of holes leading to different points. After collectively beating the owner we all won a beat and got a free drink. We enjoyed our food and dinner and stayed for a few drinks before heading back to the hotel ready to travel to our final destination, Buenos Aires!
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