Backpacking South America

Rivera is a long detour from the well worn traveler’s path through Uruguay, but it was where we could relax and celebrate the holidays with friendly and familiar faces. My good friend Katie’s parents live in Rivera, Uruguay. So, of course, we’re on the same continent so we just had to see them. Please, we have all the time in the world. They graciously hosted us for Christmas and allowed us to stay as long as we wanted. Emily, her sister, was visiting after completing a semester in Buenos Aires. We felt so lucky to be welcomed into their home.

We had a great time in Rivera. It is small, but not so small, town directly north of Montevideo in Uruguay (about a 6 hour bus ride), but on the border with Brazil – which is why the locals call it the “frontera.” Upon arriving in Rivera, we decided to drive on the Brazil side of the border, because we could. For an American to cross into Brazil, they must secure a visa and pay an entrance fee or $130, which is a reciprocal fee that America charges Brazilians. (Note: this is the case when flying into Argentina now). However, in Rivera, there is a neutral zone that extends 15km on either side of the border that does not require documentation, so we are free to cross in and out of the country without a Visa.

Dividing the city of Rivera from its twin city in Brazil, Santana do Livramento, is the long Parque Independencia. In the park, there are countless vendors where you can buy fresh juice, exchange money or chomp down a hot dog.

What is very interesting about this area is that they speak 2.5 languages. Brazilians speak Portuguese, Uruguayans speak Spanish, but they all also speak Portenal – a mixture of Spanish and Portuguese. It is not uncommon for Brazilians to speak to an Uruguayan in Portuguese and the Uruguayan will reply in Spanish. The mixture of languages and cultures happens quite often. Brazilians often shop in the Uruguayan side of the border because their currency, the Real, goes much further. In fact, many shops will greet you in Portuguese and then go to Spanish when they realize you’re not Brazilian. One day, we walked into Brazil to get a soft serve ice cream cone, because we had seen that they had chocolate and vanilla twist cones. How could I resist. In Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, all we had seen were dulce de leche and vanilla (even at McDonald’s)! Unfortunately, when I asked how much it cost in Spanish, he answered me in Portuguese, which of course I did not understand. The fluidity of the languages and the constant changing of languages makes it extremely difficult to carry on a conversation. Both cultures understand each other, but refuse to speak each other’s language – it seems to be a matter of pride.

Our most difficult task of the week was to source 3 kilos of meat for Christmas dinner. This usually would be simple; however, we were trying to get tenderloin, which is completely unavailable in Rivera, despite being a major meat exporting country. We visited 7 meat markets; none of them had tenderloin, so we settled on sirloin.

However, it must be said, one observation: the mannequins must all be made in Brazil, as they all have the Latino booty:

Rivera is a long way from ever being on the tourist map, but we were thankful to get the opportunity to spend time with friends and experience a culture that is unique and diverse and moving to its own rhythm.