A Day To Rest and Observe

 Yesterday was sunny and warm with a high of 24C. This morning it is sunny and 16C. Today is supposed to be sunny with a high of 22C. 

Yesterday was a rest day so we started out by going to a cambio to get our money exchanged into pesos. We then walked to the grocery store (called Disco) to get groceries. When you walk you have shop more often. We looked around for the best deals as food is expensive here. We were looking to buy brands made in South America as imported items are very expensive. We need to find a market for fresh fruit and vegetables. 

Once home, we had lunch and then rested. Late in the afternoon daughter-in-law and I went for a walk around the block. We looked at the beach and the water was dark grey with big waves due to the wind. Not a lot of people were on the beach. 

I have done a lot of looking and observing when we are out and about. 

    Many people walk or take the bus. There are at least 5 different bus companies in Montevideo. Taxis are also popular. Having a population of 1.3 million, there are not a lot of cars on the streets compared to if you were in a large North American city. 

    There are no benches on the streets to sit on. I have had to sit on cement walls or shop benches when I have needed to rest. 

    There are few if any garbage cans on the streets. The garbage isn't too bad considering. There are two big dumpsters on the streets going down to the beach which you put your household garbage into. 

    Garbage is not sorted. You put it all out into trash unless you get specific items that are recyclable. Pop bottles need to have a green lid or marking on it to be recycled. So different than home where we sort everything including compost. 

    The people drink mate which is a tea. It is a sociable thing to do. They pack a "gourd" with a stainless steel straw(called bombilla) in it to drink the mate and pack a thermos full of hot water under their arm or the whole thing can be carried in a container. You can buy it all at the grocery store. 

    

    The people are very friendly and will tell you places to see. Some speak English and others will use their hands and speak Spanish. The doorman at our apartment is wonderful. He only speaks Spanish but will speak slowly for us so we can get some of the words. 

    You can get food, groceries, and what ever delivered right to your place. The most popular company is PedidosYa. You see their red boxes on the back of motorcycles everywhere. There are other companies who deliver and most are on motorcycles. 

    Looking at food is interesting. Foods with high salt content are marked. There are a lot of sweet foods sold. You can buy containers of cold and hot foods to take home to eat. At restaurants, you have to ask for salt as there is none on the tables. The fries we ate had no salt on them. 

Today we are going to experience the bus and go to a large store called China King to explore. We will probably have lunch out and get home in the afternoon. I am not sure what else we will do. I will try to take pictures today of what we see. 

Until the next time.....................................................