15th of November 2016
We wake up on the beach. Wild camping on the beach is romantic – or not. (A week later I’ll finally clean all the sand out of the tent.)
We tackle the Interbalnearia, the road connecting Montevideo to the beaches. It gets very busy, but at least we have a shoulder to ride on.
We meet the first “bicycles prohibited” sign. We ignore it – there’s no alternative. Later there will be more – just nonsense, because there’s still no alternative.
The traffic gets busy. The road is hot and dusty, lined by service stations, industrial sites, shops. We’re surrounded by a mix of modern and incredibly old cars. They don’t seem to care much about cyclists. Do their brakes still work? Better be careful. It’s the law of the strongest.
Finally we arrive in the outskirts of Montevideo. We leave the big road and find our way through residential neighbourhoods towards the city centre. It’s not much more relaxing, but at least there are no trucks.
Early afternoon, we’re hungry. And we have some time to spare before we meet our Couchsurfing host. There’s a restaurant, in we go. They have cold beer and Wifi, great.
We order Chivito. Sort of an Uruguayan version of a hamburger. The perfect cycle touring food.
The day is saved!
Enjoyed reading this? Here’s the full series of Diary of Last Year.
Or else, browse other posts about our trip here.