Montevideo, Uruguay

Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, is indeed South America’s most livable capital city. It has the culture of Buenos Aires and Europe, yet isn’t that hectic.

This is a city of contradictions. On the one hand, there are many cultural happenings and delicious food. The first weekend I was there, simultaneously occurring were a performing arts festival, a film festival and a tango festival. The museums are mostly free and the many mansions exhibits were housed in reminded me of Europe. This is amazing as Uruguay is relatively poor compared to Europe and the U.S., yet provides well in the area of culture.

The food consists of simple empanadas (baked pockets stuffed with meat, cheese, or vegetables) to the gourmet parrillas (e.g., steaks). My favorite daily pastime was entering a bakery and purchasing a bunch of tiny savory and sweet breads and pastries. These include cheese croissants, fruit tarts, flan, brownies, dulce de leche (caramel paste) with chocolate.

Another highlight is that Montevideo is blessed with miles and miles of beaches along the Rio de la Plata. Its coastal thoroughfare, the Rambla, is populated day and night with people enjoying the views.

On the other hand, Montevideo has its unsavory characteristics. These include dog feces all over the sidewalks and parks; potholes on practically every sidewalk; and air pollution from continuous car exhaust. There are also run-down parts of the old town that are unsafe to wander at night.

Farewell, Europe!

After 4.5 months, it is time to bid Europe farewell. I have enjoyed my time here immensely and will be back to explore those Central/Eastern European countries in more depth. I will surely miss the food, architecture, public transportation and culture.

I am undecided as to where to visit next. What I do know is that it will be in the “new world”, either Central America or Uruguay.

To Fill in the Gaps

It has been a while since I last updated this blog. What has happened to me since the beginning of March?

Well, I spent the rest of March and the beginning of April enjoying Cape Town, the Western Cape province (both of which is in South Africa) and then taking an overland camping trip through Namibia, Botswana and to Victoria Falls. Along the way, I saw a bunch of wildlife (e.g., elephants, giraffes, lions, cheetahs), sand dunes, river deltas and absolute emptiness.
I must say that the most profound moment of this trip was observing the absolute poverty in Zimbabwe-- people there were begging for clothing. This just highlights the vast inequalities in this world. Most of us have a bunch of “junk” that we could easily give away. This “junk” is another person’s “valuable”. The people there need our help and tourism. Unlike how Western media has portrayed the country, Zimbabwe is a relatively safe country.

I then spent the last three weeks of April in San Diego trying to sublet my place, which still hasn’t worked out but is looking promising for June onwards. Despite all of this, I decided to continuing my round-the-world journey as I knew that this was a golden opportunity to see most of the places I’ve always wanted to see, with the time that I had. Furthermore, I wanted an extended period of time to get away, be inspired and figure out what I want to do with my life. Thus, I decided to embark on the second leg of my trip, a 3-4 month European vacation.