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Uruguay
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The '''Oriental Republic of Uruguay''' is a country in [[South America]].
More than half of Uruguay's population is concentrated in the capital of [[Montevideo]], meaning a very low population density in the country's interior. In the Uruguayan countryside you will doubtlessly encounter some of the most laid back, friendly folks you could imagine. Humble, generous and curious about anyone passing through, it is the people rather than the geography that make travel memorable in this overlooked corner of the continent. A stable, democratic country with low levels of corruption, high levels of education, and the noticeable absence of the class division, Uruguay is often sometimes called the Switzerland of South America. Check it out. The tranquility of the countryside and the openness of the people will leave an impression on any traveler. Uruguay is a relatively small country, so traveling from the top Northern city to [[Montevideo]] would not take much time. From [[Rivera]] (a border town with [[Brazil]]) to Montevideo is only 520 km.
==Hitchhiking==Regarding hitchhiking and vagabonding, Uruguay is 's a relatively small pretty easy place to hang out. Many Uruguayan locals have hitchhiked through their country, so traveling from the top Northern City to and have had great experiences and good rides. Probably about 1 in 4 cars will give you a lift (outside of Montevideo would not take much time). From Rivera There are many stretches of desolate (a border town with Brazilbut pretty) highway where you'll be lucky to Montevideo see 4 cars pass in an hour. Expect long waits. The coast, from [[Chuy]] to [[Colonia del Sacramento]], is only 520 kmmore trafficked and therefore an easier place to get a lift. Along the way some cool towns, sand dunes, and even sea lions can be seen.
== Sleeping out ==
Montevideo is the only city in the country where it's not recommended to sleep on the street, in the rest of the country you can sleep rough without a care. Football stadiums are recommended. Scale a wall, watch out for night shift workers, and cozy up in a press box. Pretty luxurious. You can shower at just about any service station for a dollar or two. There is no showers in the service stations, as a matter of fact the gas stations won't let you use the toilets. Te cops can be a piss in the city. In Punta del Este the cops stopped me six times in two weeks period, but it's a great dumpster diving place, McD dump up to 40 to 60 hamburgers a night. You can camp outside the city center on the beach, but watch for groups of kids and street folks. In the summer it gets pretty packed and the the prices jump up a 100 percent. Hitchhiking is not fast. In the summer time lots of cars with the whole family but very few will stop for you. I walk most of the time, people don't care for hitchhiker much here. Maybe because the crime rate is slowly going up, or it summer or a full moon good luck. I had some luck rides on scooters on short hitch and one long on. They are a lot of fun, if a bit crazy ride
== Food ==
Don't forget to try ''alfajores'', a cookie-ish delicacy. Opt for homemade ones or the brand Punta Ballena. And to maximize your experience, you'll need to drink a lot of mate. For Uruguayans, yerba mate it is practically a religion. Everyone carries a thermos and a mate gourd pretty much everywhere they go. "''Me convidas con un mate?" '' is a good way to start a conversation and make a new friend. If you really wanna make friends here, point out that Uruguay advanced further in the World Cup than its two football powerhouse neighbors. And of course, Forlan is better than Messi. Chivitos is also an excellent choice in Uruguayan food. More a fast food, Chivitos is huge flattened Sandwich, that consists of 3 to 4 kinds of Vegetables with a huge piece of meat. In towns, the Chivitos will cost around 65-80 Uruguayan Pesos, and in Montevideo or more Touristic Cities, it can range from 90 to 140 Pesos.
Like in [[Argentina]], '''Uruguay''' is also known for their traditional barbecues. Especially in towns like [[Rivera]] or [[Tacuarembó]], barbecues starts from 6 pm and meanwhile everybody drinks, sings and dances until the meat is gone, which will be already 10 pm. Expect to eat huge amounts of meat, especially in towns. One of their favorites is probably the sausage that has cheese inside it. A delicious treat ! Again, like in Argentina, the Dulce ''dulce de Leche leche'' is very widely known.
== Personal Experience ==
''There is very few traffic on the Uruguayan Highwayshighways, hence the fact that the entire country only has 3.5 million inhabitants. We could not hitch a single ride on that day, and so we called it a night after it started getting dark. The next day we walked and hitched, and walked and hitched...until a truck picked us up, and took us all the way to Montevideo. Which was some 490 kilometers from where we were standing. Hitchhiking in Uruguay is definitely better then Argentina. '' -- (Tony Tung)
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