Faith in humanity

Once I arrived in Montevideo (3 hrs ahead) at 2pm, the day went quite smoothly. My cab driver was quite nice, though we could not speak to each other, the hostel is huge and very beautiful, and I spent the afternoon wandering the old part of the city, Cuidad Vieja, and walking along the Rambla (a street along the shore).

In Cuidad Vieja, I visited Mercado del Puerto, which is an indoor market of sorts, just filled with parillas, which are a bit like steakhouses. I circled the place a few times then picked a bar that looked semi busy. The staff did not speak English but were very friendly and pointed to what I should order. I added a beer, and was instantly served up a delicious steak and salad. They later provided me with different things to add to the top of the steak, and showed me by scooping some onto my plate. It was very generous of them. But the most interesting part of my meal was toward the end, when an older gentleman who had been sitting at a table nearby came over to tell me that he was surprised to see a young woman sitting at a bar, eating meat and drinking beer alone. He explained that he had daughters and they would never do anything like that, and that seeing me had restored his faith in humanity. It made me feel very good after feeling rather lonely the past few days.

Another gentleman stopped me on the street to let me know I shouldn't go down a certain nearby street, as there had been thefts there lately. I have to say, Uruguay is quite nice.

It is about 530pm and I am back at the hostel relaxing with a couple from Montreal and a guy from France. They are wonderful to talk to, and now we are going to have a drink :)