We are staying in multiple places here in Uruguay but our first place is an apartment. Everything has been fine so far except yesterday we became trapped inside.

This apartment uses a Nuki lock and its a digital locked that can be opened and closed with an app on your phone.

The battery in the system had been running low and while we were away the owner came by to replace the battery. When we got back, we couldnt open the door. The owner thought it was a sync issue and after a few tries the door opened.

We didnt think anything of it till we were getting ready to leave for our dinner show. I tried opening the door with the app and it would not unlock. There is a nob on the inside that you can turn to unlock the bolt but it wouldnt unbolt.

The arrow below shows the bolt that kept jamming in the close position and turning the nob would not unlatch the bolt. A locksmith had to come out and disassemble the whole thing.

The pieces of the lock below. The locksmith ended up losing a critical spring during the process of dismantling it and had to cannibalize a bedroom door lock to use for the main door.

Didn’t look good and we had a show at 8:00 p.m. and this all started around 6:30 p.m.

Below was the interim solution and we luckily made it to the dinner and show.

That was all last night, this morning we started the day with our usual walk and came across “a place where good shit happens” and we can’t wait for it to open so we can see good shit happen.

Our first stop after a quick stop at a cafe for a quick breakfast was the Andes museum. This is the historical account of the plane that crashed in the Andes and the survivors had to eat some of the dead passengers. The cannibalization theme continues….

Unfortunately, no photographs are allowed inside so all I can show you are the tickets to the museum. There is a 20 minute documentary show and lots of artifacts and personnel accounts of the events. Sadly, there is no butcher shop inside the museum in case you’re wondering about “tasting” the experience.

After the museum we stopped at another historical museum that was a bit underwhelming. Not much to see here but below are the highlights.

A rendition of “favelas” by a local artist.

After the second museum we did more walking around the plaza to take in the street vendors but there wasn’t anything interesting to buy.

We did encounter the usual “influencers” doing their thing…

We struggled to find an open restaurant to eat lunch at with so many places closed but we ended up at a swarma place and had a good meal.

We did stop by the Teatro Solis to buy some tickets for an upcoming show about Salem Witches.

We also had a local Yerba Mate expert prepare Mate for us so we could experience the beverage. She gave us a long historical perspective on the origins of Mate, the uses, mineral and vitamin composition and other fun facts.

Time to go home and cook some dinner and more adventures tomorrow.

Categories: Uruguay
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I woke up with a bit of back pain and forgot to pack my back brace so we headed out to find somenplace that sells back braces. Along the way to twelve different pharmacies we stopped to see a few things…

The architecture in Montevideo is very interesting and unique.

We also stopped at a few shops and did a little shopping. I picked up the Yerba Mate cup bound by leather on the outside and the proper pipe to enjoy Mate.

A street vendor was selling hand-made jewelry and the piece below caught our eye. It’s an amethyst, the official stone of Uruguay.

And yes, after visiting 12 pharmacies, I found a man-sized back brace. A few pharmacies did have some in stock but they were too small. The last pharmacy we visited had the right size and I picked up the last one.

We picked up some ribs at a grocery store for dinner tomorrow night after we were done with shopping. I’ll post photos of that when we cook it.

Later this evening we have dinner and a show. Not sure if they allow photos in there but if they do I’ll upload some, if not, you’ll have to come down to Uruguay yourself to see the show!

Addendum – Show photos,

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We took a walk early this morning to get our bearings. We stopped at this statue of the Queen of Spain.

After that our first stop was Santander bank in ciudad vieja to get some cash. The currency rate is $40 Uruguay pesos to $1 and we were limited to $5000 pesos withdrawal ($120 USD). Luckily, most places here have taken our Visa or Mastercard credit cards.

Next stop La Pasiva where we had an amazing breakfast

This giant sandwich, enough for for two, features bacon, mozerella cheese, olives, palm hearts , pineapple, tomato, ham, boiled egg and generous mayo.

It was the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had! We had ordered two but the waiter warned us to eat one and if we were still hungry he could bring another.

If you’re in the area, it’s in the corner of one of the plazas.

Next stop was this old cathedral from 1748

Very nice cathedral with interesting history.

After the church we walked around to the ciudad viejo square in Montevideo.

There are small enclaves of artists quarters in this area so if you’re in the area they are worth checking out.

We stopped at a grocery store to buy some of that famous Uruguay beef. The cut of beef below is labeled Colita de Cuadril. Translated it is tri-tip or bottom sirloin flap meat.

We took the meat and cooked in the oven at 220 c (425 F) for about 30 minutes, came out great. Paired it with Don Pascual Reserve wine and it was an amazing combination.

We have dinner and show plans for tomorrow so stay tuned!

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After an 11 hour flight to Buenos Aires (delayed by 45 minutes – thanks United), a two hour wait for a ferry, then a two hour ferry ride and a two hour bus ride, we finally made it to Montevideo!

It’s been an exhausting journey but we finally made it to our rented apartment in old town where we’ll be checking out the city.

Our first stop were two underwhelming grocery stores that were more like bodegas with limited selection of times. We were so tired that we opted to buy a frozen pizza and a couple of frozen to toss in the oven for a quick dinner. We also bought some other food staples like eggs, bread, orange juice and canned beans for the week. We’ll only have a kitchen for this week then switch to hotels so stay tuned!

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