After 24 hours of traveling, I arrived on Friday night to a beautiful apartment located just half a block from the beach. Yes, I have an “ocean-view” (although technically it is a river) from my balcony. Once the excitement settled, I went in search of food to find that the fridge and cupboards were empty, but that didn’t matter since I discovered that the gas for the stove is turned off. No cooking for me!

Saturday was about exploring the neighborhood, Pocitos. It is truly beautiful here, with the beach in one direction and a park in the other. The area is considered to be a wealthy one and its inhabitants to be snobby. I walked to the nearby mall to get some money from the ATM...I went to one and it didn’t work so I went to a second and it didn’t work. Ok, don’t panic, there was still one more bank to try. No, it didn’t work with my international debit card. Now I panic as I have $3US in my wallet.

Upon returning home, almost in tears, I ran into my neighbour to whom I told everything. Not only did they lend me some cash to tie me over, but I got invited for lunch the following day. Yay! At night I made my way to a Couchsurfing Party. Although there were many “internationals”, many lived in Montevideo and had near-perfect Spanish. I tried to follow the conversation and contribute but in the end I just got a BIG head-ache. Too much concentration.

Sunday was an action-packed day! I woke up and decided to go for a run (yes, I said run!) along the Rambla. Translation: boardwalk. I got back to the building to learn that there is a leak in the water system of the building. All I wanted to do was take a shower, but the water was turned off. I had to go for lunch to my neighbours and I smelled like an old pair of tennis shoes. Yuck! I had to wash the main parts with mineral water!

Lunch was great with my neighbours, and we spoke only Spanish. I feel like I’m getting better already. Later in the afternoon I met up with a couple of Couchsurfers from the night before to drink yerba mate on the beach. I felt like a true “Uruguaya”! At night I met up with our family friends, a Uruguayan couple that now live in Winnipeg but are visiting. They made a parilla, a true Uruguayan BBQ for all the family. It was incredible!

I just want to apologize for the lack of photos. I packed the camera but couldn’t find the charger for the battery, which is dead! Tomorrow I am going to the center of town to buy one and I will give you a photo update of my surroundings.

Miss you all!