More from Montevideo!

Trying some wine at the Bodega

Hello, all!

Look! We have a new friend!

It is a chilly Friday evening here in Montevideo, Uruguay, and we're nearing the end of our adventures here.  Yesterday after classes we had a whole group activity (which doesn't happen too often because of how big our group is!): we left the city and went to the Bodega Bouza, a classy little vineyard and winery!  It was great to get some fresh air, and cool to see the process of how wine is made.  Uruguay doesn't produce as much wine as Chile and Argentina, but it still has a climate that is very conducive to growing grapes.  Since today is the first day of winter here (I hope you're all enjoying the first day of summer; we're a little jealous right now) the vineyard is currently harvested and the plants just look like sticks, but the countryside was still beautiful.  Following the tour we went into the restaurant to sample four different kinds of wine, and of course enjoyed some bread, cheese, and meat with it!  Yum!  We also made friends with the winery's pet--a capybara!  Seriously, this huge rainforest rodent acted exactly like a dog... Pretty crazy.

After-school fiesta!

Today was our last day of classes at La Herradura, our school here in Montevideo.  The teachers gave us a send-off party on the school's terrace after our morning classes, which was delightful.  After school today, we all went on a walking tour of Montevideo's Barrio Sur, a neighborhood that is home to the city's African population.  We saw several important buildings and murals that were painted to commemorate the history of African Uruguayans, then we went to a small parrilla, where we enjoyed some much-anticipated bread and meat with a special salsa, and learned about candombe, and type of music and dance that has its roots in Africa.  Following this presentation, they brought out the drums (the only instruments of candombe) and began to play--the music was excellent and woke us up wonderfully!  We also got to learn some of the dances, which are very upbeat and fun.

Candombe

Tomorrow morning we leave Montevideo bright and early, and after stopping in Punta del Este we'll be heading back to Buenos Aires!  More news to come!

-Erin

Chao, Montevideo!