After a great two nights in Lima it was time for phase two of our trip. Our plane landed in Montevideo around 9 PM on Christmas eve. The plan was to get to the bus station for an 11 o'clock bus to Punta Del Diablo to meet Alex's cousin, Sarah, who was already there waiting for our 3 AM arrival. We went straight to the information desk to find out how to get to the bus from the airport. The woman at the desk was quick to inform us that the last bus was at 7 PM and the next bus wouldn't be until 11 PM the following night! We're stuck... panic.
We were fortunate enough to have free wifi access in the airport so we hopped on Skype to tell Sarah of our situation. We contacted every rent-a-car place in town, inquired about a taxi, and I attempted to ask 3 strangers in spanish if they wanted to share the cost of a ride with us 3-4 hours north to the beach. The two Chileans and one Peruvian from Lima politely declined. It was then, that I first learned how difficult it is to understand Chileans. These guys turned out to be incredibly friendly and cool, and we would meet again.
After 3 hours in the airport, it hit midnight and it was Christmas. Alex and I gave up on making it to the beach and her cousin that night. We called a hotel near the airport that wasn't expensive and had a taxi take us there. When we got there, we were hungry, thirsty and stressed. We asked the man at the desk if they had any food or booze. We grabbed a 40 of heineken for me and a bottle of wine for Alex and one of every snack they had. We spent the night watching fireworks from the 2nd floor deck of the hotel and trying to relax.
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| Our dinner at the hotel. Notice the Christmas ham in the middle. Yum. |
The next morning Alex and I headed to the bus station in hopes of finding an earlier bus, as we had learned not to trust information we were given (the website for the buses never mentioned any change in schedule for Christmas). Upon arrival at the terminal we quickly spotted our 3 new friends from the night before in the airport. They were headed to a different beach that turned out to be on the same bus as us. Unfortunately the bus didn't leave until 7 PM so we had some time to kill. We teamed up with the three amigos to wander the seemingly empty city on christmas day.
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| Jean Pierre, Alex, Max and Ruben on the empty streets of Montevideo |
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| Alex and our Chilean friends sharing a laugh and a Christmas Toast on the Beach |
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| Us with Jean Pierre and Max |
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| These churros were not only the only food place open within a kilometer, they were also incredible. |
Simplemente un viaje de maravilla mi amigo !!!...y lo mejor de todo es que creamos un nuevo grupo de amigos que de hecho nunca vamos a olvidar este graaaaaaaan viaje !!!
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