From Montevideo to Colonia

Welcome to Our Uruguayan Week

Between dorm rooms that smell of adventures past, a Bitcoiners' BBQ on a rooftop under construction, and two kendo sessions that left us with some impressive bruises… we're carrying beautiful memories and made some unforgettable connections.

Saturday, October 18th

We leave our first hostel, Casa Vegana, and make our way to Casa Copada in another neighborhood. Thirty minutes on foot under an already heavy sun, backpacks on our shoulders.

Casa Copada is an old building with a wonky pool table, a kitchen housing three mismatched pots, and a fridge that purrs like an old cat. We book two bunk beds in a four-person dorm. The floorboards creak, the sheets smell of cheap laundry detergent… and we're absolutely charmed by the place.

Today's mission: tracking down the two "Bitcoin" businesses tagged on btcmap.

• Cell Ternier: smartphone repair shop
• Satoshi Crossfit: crossfit gym

Shutters down at the first one, owner nowhere to be seen. At the second, the coach doesn't speak much English. We decide to try our luck again on Monday. Next time, we'll plan better!

Thanks to this neighborhood change, we discover the "modern" side of Montevideo — skyscrapers and wide boulevards. Our stomachs are growling: empanada break to taste the local flavors. Not bad, but you need quite a few to feel full!

We wander the streets afterward and stumble onto "La Llamada del Patrimonio", a parade of dancers and Candombe with its big drums, hugely popular in Uruguay.

We're pretty surprised by the organization… or rather the lack of it! No barriers, no fixed schedule, food and drink vendors scattered everywhere. We'll need to get used to South American vibes, but we already love the joyful chaos.

The Candombe drums thump against our chests, dancers parade past, cars honk as they try to turn around. We grab a "hamburgersa" (bread, steak, egg, cheese, everything piled high) and dance in the middle of a crowd that smells faintly of cannabis — legal here, and clearly nobody minds.

At 8 PM, we head to a rooftop apartment still under construction. After a few messages online, we're invited to an Asado (the classic South American BBQ) for a Bitcoiners meetup. Thomas is in his element — this is exactly how he imagined the Bitcoin adventure in South America!

Great atmosphere, and we even run into the owner of Cell Ternier. We chat in broken Spanish-English about Bitcoin adoption in Uruguay and our fledgling adventure. We get back at 1 AM smelling of woodsmoke.

Back at the hostel, disaster: the towel we'd hung out has vanished! Our precious Sea to Summit technical towel… We barely sleep.

Sunday, October 19th

False alarm! The staff brings the towel back, neatly folded: "We put it away so it wouldn't blow off." Collective kisses all around. Phew!

At 10 AM, off to the Feria Tristán Narvaja, the big local market: a 3 km river of humanity. Fruits and vegetables, vinyl records, mate accessories… everything under the sun. We hunt down two "Uruguay" stickers for the bikes and pick up an old 5F sower coin for 2 euros.

Back at the hostel, just as we're heading out, we realize the locker padlock is jammed. Thomas improvises with a screwdriver and a hammer. An hour later, the padlock lies in pieces. Victory… but the afternoon is a write-off. First setback of the trip!

Monday, October 20th

1 PM: picnic in Rodó Park. We cross the rambla under blazing sun and discover a roller derby track (my heart does a backflip!). The park is nice, but nothing extraordinary. We bump into two French travelers mourning their motorcycles stuck at the port… apparently we're not the only ones.

At 4 PM, appointment at Satoshi CrossFit. Andrès, the picture of a "healthy mind in a healthy body," tells us: "Bitcoin is first and foremost a philosophy." Another great encounter to add to the address book.

At 7:30 PM: our first kendo class in South America at Yamato Dojo – Uruguay Budokan. The dojo is stunning! They lend us bogu and shinai. It's the beginners' class, and we can feel the techniques are still shaky… we're going to collect a few bruises, but we're having a blast! We get back at midnight, still buzzing.

Tuesday, October 21st

This morning, we wake up with aching bodies. Quiet morning: Thomas edits the Satoshi CrossFit video.

Early afternoon, we meet at Flor de Kaffee. We find three fellow motorcycle travelers: Justine, Thibault, and his wife. They're dealing with the same port nightmares as us. We laugh, compare notes on our journeys, and all just want our bikes back!

This evening, we head back to Yamato Dojo for the advanced kendo class: much more precise and intense — a pure joy. We're even invited to join the national team's training session! We're over the moon. We get home at 1 AM and fall asleep dreaming of ippon.

Wednesday, October 22nd

Goodbye Montevideo. We hop on a bus to Colonia del Sacramento.

Before leaving, we drop off a suitcase at Wave, our shipping agent. We meet Rachida, who looks defeated: "Never seen anything like it, a month-long port strike…". Mid-conversation, an idea sparks: let's go to Buenos Aires WITHOUT the bikes.

We arrive in Colonia around 4 PM after a 2-hour bus ride. We're starving! We sit down at a restaurant to try our first Chivito (steak, ham, cheese, egg, bacon, salad, and fries). Sharing one between us is more than enough!

Colonia is a postcard come to life: cobblestones, wrought iron streetlamps, candy-pink walls, vintage cars… Very charming, but very touristy.

In the evening, we have a beer in the garden of the Viajero Hostel. We savour our private room after four nights of collective snoring.

Thursday, October 23rd

Breakfast under the palm trees. We wash our socks in the shower (that's life on the road…). We stroll through Colonia's streets and take a nap on the beach. Life is good!

It's very hot. For our afternoon snack, we order an ice cream… but we're not yet used to local portion sizes: we end up with a massive one!

At 5 PM, a WhatsApp from Rachida: "Bikes delivered November 15th." We do the math: one month's delay. We grumble a little, but put it in perspective. The Buenos Aires program we've put together looks great: kendo, Bitcoin meetups, Halloween party… we won't be bored!

At 7 PM, we try a rooftop to watch the sunset, but the clouds play games with us… The beer is still very much appreciated.

At 9 PM: pasta with ham — a comforting bowl to lift our spirits. We pack our bags and fall asleep dreaming of Buenos Aires on foot.