Uruguayan Steppenwolf. Step 1.

By Trapez on 5 December 2016

Uruguay. I had simply plan for that small country – do a circle. First near northern, Brazilian border to ocean and after through beaches in the direction of Montevideo. Small country so I thought that it will be easy. How stupid I was! I didn’t know in what a hell I’m going when soldier on border wished me good journey with big smile and antenna of walkie-talkie fixed by tape…

Border between Argentina and Uruguay is another which you can’t cross walking (simple way to earn cash right?). But situation was different than on similar bridge on border between Paraguay and Argentina and I didn’t need to saying stories to soldier because before border I caught… Uruguayan smuggler! Guy three times per day is crossing border and sell on other side patrol. I’m asking how much he can earn per day. “100$”. 3000 American dollars per month? I know what I want to do rest of my life 🙂

Quick visit on market on other side and I knew that it will be difficult. Prizes are like from Europe! And more on that west side 😮 Extremely expansive! Small, cheapest can of beer cost 2-3$! Prizes like from under Eiffel’a Tower… I started to eat only bread and water.

Jump on the other side of city, I camp my tent and counting stoned sheep falling sleep. Since some time I sleep very vigilantly but in second I can realize that was palm tree or car and I falling sleep once again. But when I’m hearing “buenas noches, policia” I’m focused like a snake ready to jump. We are talking, them (that was classic couple) made a disco in my tent by flashlights and me sleep trying to go out from tent. “What are you looking for?” they are asking. “Exit” I response but I wanted to say “gun, to kill you all”. Finally I’m going out. “Put your hands on sheep”. I thought that we will do some zoophilia porn movie but they just searched me, invited for mate to police station which was few steps further.

Near road smoky burial mound. I thought that thay are preparing here charcoal. But how Jorge who is working here told me they are making here bricks from peat. Producing of one of that pyrimad is taking few hours but they can sell all bricks even for few hundreds of dollars. I don’t know that it’s true or not but view of smoky pyramids is interesting.

Ahead army of stony sheeps I will conquer world!

Next day I’m starting to catch a car and in the same time is starting my horror. Hitchhiking here is walking game. Everybody who wants to hitchhike here should have not a road map but good shoes. It’s really strange country! People here are co closed that I’m wondering that I’m really in South America! One of guy told me how he travelled with backpack and waited 3 days since someone took him (his friend the same distance walked in the same time!). I heard how other foreigners also told that Uruguay is the worst country to travel by hitchhike. I waited on one bus stop 24 hours! Place in the middle of nowhere and nobody stopped to ask me if I have water, food or something happened to me. Everybody is showing me that they will turn and they are waving hands on left and right like a blinds only to give any explanation of theirs behavior. This society is based on fear on which everybody is talking to me trying to give explanation why hitchhike is don’t work here. But fear because of what if it’s the safest country of South America? That’s why that fear without motivation is changing in pure egoism. If every of my bad words can plant tree, Uruguay should looks like a rain forest. I’m so happy that Uruguay is not big as Argentina or Brazil.

Pictures like from magazine “Me and my Home”. Arcticule “How to addapt bus stop for home”.

That was miracle but standing whole day on road I made incredible distance per day – 100km, 200km, 200km, 165km, 95km. I searched, analyzed and changed roads to find the quickest one. I found city Melo (young people in Poland describe in that way huge party), where I tried to drown my bad thoughts on party, but I didn’t found any :.( That was extremely difficult to leave that city of party but when finally I found some car workers of small workshop in front of where I hitchhiked 20 hours, gave me applause and cigarettes 😀 When on next day I through on roadside hope (and a lot of bad words) and I started to walk my 100km to another village two of photographers took me and left on front of police station (where another time police took my data 😀 Inside there was very old pic of police guys who worked here many years ago and they looked like from movie “The Bands Visit” but unfortunately I couldn’t took picture :/ ). From there took me Carlos who had voice and personality like Robert de Niro from Goodfellas. And he stopped for me in brand new cistern from Renault! “Because I don’t care about anything! I’m stopping for everybody”. Like rocket we went through city with strange name “Thirty and three” and we promised that we need to drink beer on south of Uruguay. He went further and I finally headed to… Chuy. In polish it’s have the same description like a very bad word which describe man’s privates.

Uruguayan bread. A little bit like a cake or roll. You can eat it all or peal from next tiers. Traditionaly is selling for kilograms.

Maybe not fresh but that face could be on bilboards of that city 😀

Robert de Niro 10 kg after. That man trully is like a hero from Goodfellas 🙂

And his name is thirty and three. Who is naming cities in that way?!

My police station in the middle of nowehere. And salvation because people easly are stopping near police. Oooooofff course, I’m a vampire who want to drink drivers blood…

Here I go! Chuy!

It’s small city on border between Uruguay and Brazil. Literally because border which is dividing city and countries is lying… on the middle of main street! You just need to walk from one sidewalk to another to jump in magic way to different country. And where is border control? Nowhere? They told me that there is something 4 km before city but I went through that point and I didn’t saw anything. When I left a city through different point I just walked there without any control and nobody ask me nothing.

Spine of whole city is main road. Here are many duty-free shop and a lot of buses with tourist from Brazil is tope here. What is interesting riches of that shop is only for Brazilian and foreigners but not for Uruguayan. Why? That’s some business and political things which I didn’t even wanted to understand. When I had on foot in one country and other one on second I felt that is example of country where I didn’t wanted to stay for night. Everywhere strange guys who are standing on the streets and are looking for something/someone. Strange packs and cash which are transferring from hand to hand, from window to window strange cars. I’m asking people if the are much Brazilian or Uruguayan. “We are from here, we are form Chuy.” Maybe we should add new country on world map? What is also interesting to work on Brazilian or Uruguayan side you need to have papers from that country. Visible, invisible border.