"Montevideo - What a pleasant surprise " a Montevideo Travel Page by ericdharma

The lease was running out on my apartment in Buenos Aires and I had a problem. I had 5 days until the tenant would be leaving the next place that I would rent. I suddenly realized that my 3 month Argentine Visa was about to expire so I decided to kill two birds with one stone with a quick trip to Montevideo. I knew almost nothing about the place and as a result had few expectations. I have to be honest. The trip blew my mind. It was so relaxing and fun and it is so great to have a good time when you aren't expecting it. Buenos Aires has a ton of nightlife, clubbing, etc...so what really captivated me in Montevideo was the contrast.

I did a little research on the Internet and found recommendations for two Aparthotels that sounded too good to be true. One was the Punta Trouville and the other was the Marti Aparthotel. They were both located in an area called Pocitos, were in my price range, and included amenities which I was sure looked good on paper but would fall short of my expectations. When I realized that I was not going to be located downtown in the Centro I started to panic and before I knew it I was dialing the Radisson trying to make a last minute reservation for almost 200USD in an attempt to "salvage" my trip. I have to give God many thanks that they were totally booked and did not have a room available. I decided to go ahead and call the Punta Trouville because I figured that they might not have a room either. Keep in mind that I was trying to arrange this 1 day before I would arrive in January (the high season at which time every Argentine on the planet is headed to Uruguay).

I was in luck. They were able to book a room for me and after taking the Buquebus Express ferry and being dropped off in front of the small, stylish lobby after driving down the beautiful stretch of beach (which was within two blocks walking distance of the hotel) I couldn't have been happier. I spent the next five days sampling great food, getting sun on the beach (great weather everyday), sketching the coastline with a set of colored pencils, shopping, taking in a couple of movies (including Los Infiltrados...What an amazing flick) and getting in touch with the me that is happy, calm, and relaxed underneath the surface agitation caused by crazy BA taxi drivers, buses that sound like jets, and too many people eveywhere all of the time. And of course, based purely on a kind of first world tourist guilt of cultural apathy, I spent the obligatory day doing tourist crap recommended in a guidebook somewhere. It was a mistake and a waste of the day in my opinion.