I love visiting Uruguay whenever I can. It is a great place on its own, or as a side trip from its neighboring country Argentina, which is the focus of course here on About.com Argentina Travel. If I want to explain to people the difference between Argentina and Uruguay, I tell them Argentina is like the United States – big, bold, brash, and throwing its weight around. Uruguay is like Canada – almost the same culture as the United States, but quieter, and a little less aggressive.
Uruguay, just across the Rio de la Plata from Argentina and easily visited by using BuqueBus
and other forms of transportation, is also known as a very liberal
place. In fact, it recently made lots of headlines because it had
changed its drug laws to be extremely relaxed regarding the consumption
of marijuana.
I remember when the laws changed and you could see people even puffing up on the steps of the Intendencia, the imposing government building on Avenida 18 de Julio.
It seemed kind of crazy, and something you would
never see in the United States, but then this was Uruguay. Clarin, the
Argentine newspaper, has also written about Montevideo’s gourmet marijuana clubs.
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Well even crazier might be new food rules in Montevideo, the country’s capital, and other parts of Uruguay.
In
an effort to improve the health of everyone, they are trying to stop
over consumption of salt and fat and other items. So that means you
won’t find certain condiments anymore on your table. You have to ask
your waitperson for them, as if it is something clandestine. Just like
Argentina, Uruguay loves meat. And we all know, meat loves salt.
Here is an article on Fusion about this new rule change. Among the things the article says is the following:
“The
move is part of an aggressive anti-sodium campaign underway in
Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo. A cattle-growing nation with more cows
than people, Uruguay is home to some of the world’s most enthusiastic
beef-eaters. And Uruguayans love nothing more than sprinkling a dash (or
two or six) of salt on their barbecued beef, or just about any other
food for that matter.”
The article then goes on to say, and it seems Americans are a bit to blame:
“But
health officials say all that extra salt, plus an explosion in the
consumption of American-style processed foods, is taking a huge health
toll in heart-related illnesses, child obesity and hypertension. Nearly
40 percent of Uruguay’s 3.4 million population now suffers from
hypertension, according to the Ministry of Health.”
Wow. That is a
lot of high blood pressure. And I thought Uruguay was a relaxing place
with a slower pace, especially compared with its neighbor.
[post_ads]Well,
where can you go in Uruguay whether you want to smoke marijuana or avoid
salt? We have a few articles on the place, including this one looking
at it as a side trip, here on this link and on this link,
as the article was in 2 parts. Also, we had a guest posting from
Richard Klein looking at both sides of the Rio de la Plata for his trip
there. This is also in Part 1 on this link, and Part 2 on this link.
Don’t miss our other great articles here on About.com Argentina Travel. Take a look at our article on hotels in Buenos Aires, and compare prices, neighborhoods and styles. Here is a guest article by Irvina Lew looking at Mendoza and exciting things to do in this wonderful world wine capital. This is one of my favorite articles, looking at things to consider that are great about Buenos Aires that you might not know,
from how walkable the city is to the amount of great nightlife, to all
the free museums all over the Argentine capital. One of our newest
articles also looks at Visit.org and their new offerings on interesting things to do in Argentina, and other parts of South America.
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