Last full day in Montevideo






 The temperature suddenly dropped to 50sf, so I wore smart wool under layer and down coat to take a bus to the Montevideo Botanical Garden. I  accidentally crashed a pre-booked tour for the green house by waiting in line with some locals. It was so hot in the green house plus the tour was in Spanish, so I bailed out after 25 minutes. 








I also visited two gardens next to the botanic garden, one has a rose garden centered a water fountain, and the other leads to a nice event venue on a hill with a small lake.








After the gardens, I walked 1.2 km to the Museo Juan Manuel Blanes which unfortunately was closed to the public to host a private event. Nevertheless, the museum has a very pretty Japanese garden blooming with spring flowers like wisteria, azalea, peony, nemophila (baby blue eyes), iris, etc. South America is now heading into spring. 





I took another bus from the museum to the Mercado Agrícola de Montevideo. I was expecting a traditional market, yet it turned out to be a restaurant center similar to Mercado del Puerto but not as nice. I took my lunch break and charged my phone in the food court. 

Then I walked to the Palacio Legislativo and saw a protest. It hosts the national parliament, the first one in South America and an iconic symbol of Uruguay´s long lasting democracy


My last sightseeing stop included two museums in the same complex being renovated from an abandoned building: Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo and Museo Nacional de Historia Natural. 


I then started hunting for ATM to get USD for Bolivia which black market exchange rate is almost twice the official exchange rate. Therefore, everyone tried to exchange using USD cash instead using credit cards. I tried one local bank ATM which displayed only Spanish while an ATM in a casino displays English but only exchanges pesos. I will try in the airport with worse rate but some USD.


As a foreigner, I got from an Abitab a free Montevideo's STM card, which can be shown and paid for in cash on the bus for a discounted fare. I top up my STM 200 pesos for today’s rides; but I might simply show it and pay in cash to receive the discounted fare for my ride into the airport tomorrow. The prices for a "Común" ticket decreasing from 61 pesos to 49 pesos (as of September 2025). The STM card also offers 1-hr  transfer period.

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