Anyway, in order to get to Punta del Este from Buenos Aires, one has to take a ferry to Colonia, Uruguay, and then a bus. We could have flown but that would have been very expensive. I must admit that we were completely shocked when we got on to the ferry- I imagined a small boat that would get knocked around by the sea, where we'd need life jackets. Thus, when all of a sudden, we saw golden staircases, bars, slot machines, and carpeting, Mya and I looked at each other and asked: "Wait, are we on the ferry?" We were very confused.
Despite the confusion, we were grateful for the pleasant surprise. Upon boarding, we were handed a fernet and coke, a popular beverage in Argentina. We explored around the ferry, ultimately making our way to First Class, where a few of our friends were sitting. In fact, this group of Americans plus this one bitter middle aged man were the only people occupying First Class. After some shmoozing amongst ourselves, this man got up and stormed out of the area, threatening to call the police because we were talking too loudly. When he came back, he glared at us and said: you f#%@#ng gringos think that just because you have lots of money, you can do whatever you want," at which point, Mya and I casually slipped out of the area back towards our humble seats down below. Apparently, this guy always causes trouble on the ferry.
We got into Punta del Este first thing in the morning, and the first thing we saw upon exiting the bus terminal was the shul- they actually share the same building. So I picked up my food for Shabbat, and then Mya and I went to our hostel. We walked around the city a bit, visiting the famous Fingers on one of the beaches, then proceeding to the port, where we found fishermen hand feeding some wild sea lions there. 1 of the sea lions looked like a creature out of a fantasy movie- it was enormous, had a very human-like face, but just looked so strange. I felt that we had a moment as we were looking at each other for a bit. I was trying to ask him: just what are you, you giant sea lion.
After walking further on, passing some beautiful private houses, we had lunch and then took a bus to an area just outside the city called Punta Bellena. This was definitely the highlight of the weekend. We were dropped off at a lookout point- the views were amazing. We ultimately made our way down to the beach, passing some ridiculously nice houses on the way. We were on the beach for some time, and as we were leaving, we met this man. When we asked him where he lived, he pointed to something that just looked like a rock- when we looked closer, we realized that he lived in a house carved out of rock. We took a tour inside and it was so interesting- a house set up like one pre modern times ( I'm a history major, I know how houses looked back then) but with all of the modern appliances and technology.
We continued our walk in Punta Bellena until we got to Casapueblo, a really cool looking hotel that also houses a museum. Since it was getting close to shabbat, we managed to catch a ride with this Brazilian girl to the main road, where we ultimately caught a bus back to the city.
We got back to the hostel just in time for Shabbat, and in our casual outfits of jeans and tee shirts, we went to shul. A sephardi shul whose members are mostly older and live in Buenos Aires, it remains open throughout the year, because these rich dudes all have places there.
After shul, we went back to the hostel and had a nice shabbat dinner with a Danish girl who joined ( she missed hamotzi but somehow, I don't think she minded).
Shabbat day, Mya and I spent the afternoon at the beach and then took a walk around the city, passing our friends the sea lions again. This time, 1 of them kept on jumping out of the water and walked/waddled/however they move/ right up to this fisherman to get his share of fish. I was no more than 5 feet away from him- really cool.
This wasn't the last we saw of the sea lions. On our way to a bar after Shabbat, we found 2 gigantic sea lions sleeping on the side walk just off the port. Huge, furry, kinda cute, and bizarre. Very loud snoring as well.
Finally saying good bye to our friends, we went to a place with a live saxophonist. It was pretty low key- there really wasn't much going on in the whole city- many restaurants, as well as bars, were closed. It's definitely a lot more hopping in the summer. For example, on Sunday, we went to the handicraft/art fair that didn't exist ( or during the low season, about 3 stalls open up).
Our bus left in the middle of the afternoon, and we returned to Buenos Aires at 10:30. Although we got First Class on the ferry, it was no where near as cool as the first one- it was actually kinda lame.
Some comments:
Especially awesome aspects about Uruguay
1. Amazing weather
2. Everything is really convenient and things seem to work out- the Shul was right next to the terminal, our hostel was only 5 minutes away, and the beach with the Fingers was right across the street as well. It certainly seems that things work better in Uruguay than in Argentina- more organized
Complaints:
1. Constant confusion, especially regarding the time. We never really knew what time it was, as people, as well as computers, were always saying something different
2. No place accepts credit cards- so when I spent 55 dollars on my Shabbat food purchase, I was left with very little money for the rest of the weekend. To say we were stingy for the remainder is an understatement. I was happy to buy 2 peppers and a tomato for the bus ride back.
Looking forward to being back in Buenos Aires for this next week and half
buenas noches
Ariel
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