Pretty much every single Uruguayan that I have met has asked me why I am here, why not somewhere bigger or “more interesting.” You might be asking the same question. I will say that my initial logic was both researched and arbitrary. I had to pick 5 cities in 3 countries in a continent I had never been to. That said, I chose correctly.
Montevideo is the capital of Uruguay and is home to nearly half of the country’s 3,000,000 inhabitants. Uruguay, it turns out, is pretty chico. In fact, there are 3 times more cows than people (yes: 9,000,000 cows). Montevideo is also home to La Rambla, a 22-kilometer walkway along the Rio de la Plata (the river bordering Montevideo), which many Montevideanos say is the best part of living here. Recently I have heard it described as Montevideo’s “third place,” which is to say the place people gather outside of home and work. In other cities, perhaps the “third place” would be a local coffee shop or pub (in Seattle, it is Starbucks). Here it is on La Rambla, overlooking the Rio, which depending on the day, appears to be as choppy and expansive as the ocean. Other days it lies flat and brown.
The proximity to the water, I believe, begets a wonderful tranquility in the people and their customs.
Leave a Reply