Montevideo

The bus ride to Montevideo took us through the green, idyllic farm lands with cows, sheep, chickens and ubiquitous cell towers sprouting straight up to the sun from the fertile ground.

We're staying at the Green Hostel, a brand-new place in La Ciudad Vieja (the Old City). The WiFi connection is slow so I'll post photos later.

The Old City with all of its scenic attractions has fallen into abandonment, disrepair and long-time neglect. But, there seems to be some revival including Green. It feels like Old Cartagena must have looked like before it's rebirth.

We'll spend two days here to get our souvenirs. Alisa has been looking for a skirt. I'm surprised to see that prices are much higher and the quality is lower than in NYC.

Alisa generally passes for a local no matter what country she is in, although it's a little harder when she has her gringa mom along (of course, pausing to take the silly photo at a phone booth doesn't help).

But, Montevideo is a small "big city" and people are friendly and it doesn't take long for some of the vendors to recognize us. After walking around the deserted Old Town looking for a dinner spot, we end up at a place near our hostel. My veggie calzone is huge. The cafe is crowded and the staff is short-handed. Thank goodness, they forget about Alisa's order. We both are stuffed after finishing my dinner. We're such cheap dates.

On Tuesday we'll hit the local markets.