Lewis and Helen board the coach for Concordia
Lewis the Lion and Helen boarded the top-deck of the big double-decker coach which would drive them overnight from Iguassu to the Argentine border city of Concordia. From there, they would then cross the border into Uruguay. As Lewis peered out the window, it seemed as if he had stepped back in time 50 years or so. There was lots of countryside around them, with some brightly coloured houses breaking up the landscape, some of which were dilapidated. Some of the rusty machinery in fields looked quite basic and many cars looked bashed and well-used. In fact it was no wonder that this was the case as some of the main roads did not have a smooth tarmac surface but were rather like rough tracks and Lewis the Lion felt uneasy as sometimes the bus wobbled and bobbled along. He was just grateful that it managed to stay on the road!
The bus pulled over by the side of the road at 5:45 in the morning. He was met with a cold air that made him shiver. As he got off the bus, he discovered that there was no pavement, just a red, muddy track which got stuck into the grooves of your shoes! The terracotta hue of the earth seemed to match that of the sky as Lewis was filled with awe as he had woken up to such a beautiful dawn. He was surprised that he could still see the constellations of stars and the waning moon, even though morning had broken. The silence of the countryside around him filled him with a deep sense of tranquility.
Lewis the Lion is greeted by the breaking dawn
He was then ushered into a taxi with his friends and was driven to the Uruguayan border check-point. Helen had to then fill in a form and have her passport stamped. That was the third country that Lewis and Helen had been to in South America!
Welcome to Uruguay!
Lewis noticed in the customs office something that made him feel sad. There were lots of photos of missing people. He guessed their photos were there so that the customs officers would recognise them if they tried to cross the border? He prayed that all of these people would be reunited with their family and friends one day.
The taxi then drove them to the fourth largest city in Uruguay, Salto. Although to Lewis the Lion it seemed very small to be the fourth biggest city! The group then had a stop to withdraw money and to go to the toilet. Both were equally interesting cultural experiences! Firstly, Helen withdrew three thousand Uruguayan pesos from the cash-point machine. This sounds like an enormous amount of money but in reality it was only approximately £100. Lewis the Lion joked that he thought it was like ‘Monopoly money!’ (Check out the next blog post where Lewis the Lion will talk more about the Uruguayan currency).
Lewis with Uruguayan Currency
Going to the toilet was a different experience too as you needed to make sure that you took your toilet paper from a roll before you went into the toilet cubicle!
As Lewis the Lion waited for the rest of his friends, he was greeted by a man who looked like he had just stepped off a film set. He was an authentic Uruguayan gaucho, or if you like, a South-American cowboy. Even though it was very early in the morning he was parading around with pointed cowboy boots, a long moustache, a poncho cape and a big sombrero hat. Lewis was delighted to see a man dressed in such traditional clothes.
While Lewis the Lion continued to wait by the roadside, he happily watched the world go by. He realised that the health and safety rules he was used to in England were far from the reality here as he saw a flat-backed truck with three men in the back, one of whom was holding a dog and there were many people driving around without wearing seat-belts. He also observed big billboards promoting university courses and then girls walking to school wearing a school uniform: white shirts with blue ribboned neckerchiefs and skirts that looked like they had been rolled up!
Eventually the taxi dropped Lewis and his friends off at his hotel and Lewis experienced his first Uruguayan breakfast: a type of pastry filled with dulce de leche (a type of caramel sauce) – delicious!
Later on, Lewis and his friends went to explore the local tourist spot: the Dayman Thermal Springs. This was like an open-air water park with a twist: all of the water running through it was warm thanks to its natural springs. It was just like stepping into a warm bath: delightful!
Lewis at Dayman Thermal Springs
However, as you know, Lewis the Lion is a very curious cat so he and Helen and their friend Alicia decided to go and explore the local city of Salto. Be that as it may, their journey into town was not straight forward as at first they waited at the wrong bus stop and then they waited for a long, long time for the bus to pass by but were encouraged by a group of women who promised them that a bus really would pass by at some point! Patience was a word Lewis the Lion was beginning to understand travelling in South America!
Lewis waits and waits for a bus!
The public bus was quite an old, rickety thing with red thinning curtains to shade against the sun. Its windows were thrown wide open to create some breeze as it was hot and stuffy, crammed with so many people. The seats were made of plastic which stuck to you but Lewis the Lion was grateful to have a seat as many people were stood up and holding on to metal poles running along the ceiling.
Lewis travels on a public bus
When you got on the bus, you didn’t buy your ticket from the driver but rather from the conductor who came around to each passenger individually so that they could pay their fare. The conductor was very kind and helpful as she told Helen, Alicia and Lewis the Lion which stop to get off at.
The day seemed to be filled with many culturally different experiences for Lewis the Lion and again ‘patience’ seemed to be the word of the day! Helen had to buy herself a memory-stick but it wasn’t as simple as just going into a shop and buying one. She had to decide on the one she wanted and then tell the salesman. He then had to take the item to a different counter and give Helen a token. Helen then needed to hand the token in and pay for the memory-stick at the catch desk. She then had to wait in another queue to pick up the memory-stick that she had paid for! It seemed like a very long and inefficient way of doing things but maybe it was just part of the South American culture that Lewis the Lion and Helen would have to get used to?
As they walked around the main high street in Salto, they didn’t know whether to look down or up at the buildings around them? Many of the pavements were very uneven and there seemed to be lots of half-finished roadworks. Helen even caught her foot in a exposed track and was just lucky that she didn’t break her ankle! Nonetheless, the buildings and high street did have a certain pleasant charm and the place definitely seemed to have a European influence, with its tree-lined street.
Buildings in Salto
Lewis and a Beetle car on the High Street
Parts of the town reminded Lewis the Lion of certain places he had seen on his previous travels in Spain, especially the church that you can see here in this picture.
Lewis and the church in Salto
The other thing that struck Lewis about his first day in Uruguay was the number of people he saw who were carrying maté pots, straws and thermal flasks. Here you can see him near a maté pot seller.
Lewis and the maté pot seller
Lewis will fill you in on this in more detail in one of his next blogs when he discovers ‘the etiquette of maté drinking.’
The other thing he noticed as he strolled around the town was the number of vintage cars, Beetle cars and motorbikes. It definitely reminded him of being in a European city!
Lewis and the motorbikes
Lewis and a Uruguayan number plate
The good thing about Uruguay was that it seemed to be good value for money after Lewis had been in an expensive Brazil for a month. He went to an all-you-can-eat buffet for his dinner which was very reasonable. (Check out the next blog on Uruguayan money to find out more).
As the night closed in, Lewis had one more happy surprise. As he was out in the countryside, he had the most incredible view of the twinkling stars above his head. It was interesting to think that the stars that he was looking at in the Southern Hemisphere might be different to the constellations he would see above his head in the Northern Hemisphere? However, there was one particular constellation that he recognised: Orion, the Hunter, and in a strange way it made him feel closer to home. Click on this link to find out more about the Orion Constellation.
Which constellations in the sky do you recognise?
