Why you might visit Uruguay Urgently but postpone visiting Paraguay

Map of Uruguay from Wikipedia. See Fray Bentos on the left. 

URUGUAY
Why would you or I go to Uruguay? When I heard that Fray Bentos pies are named after a place in Uruguay, I was intrigued. I love Fray Bentos steak and kidney pies.

Sure enough, Uruguay has a Fray Bentos Museum. The old Fray Bentos factory no longer operates but the decaying buildings and machinery are a Unesco heritage site.  They shipped the goods out from the port on the river, making pies named after the place, and Oxo cubes.

That's number one on my list. I am sure anybody would find it fun. Maybe not if your group includes vegetarians.

Most people on Tripadvisor enthused. Tours take place twice a day. One reader travelled all the way from Colon in Argentina especially to take a tour.

Photo by DeCausa in Wikipedia.

Second visit? Also to visit, the museum of the artist who makes human figures with animal heads.

PARAGUAY
Skinning Snakes For Snake Snacks
What about Paraguay? Their biggest novelty is snake skinning lessons. Wiki warns that you must beware of two-headed snakes. One head can bite you whilst you are dealing with the other one.

That is a novelty. I have eaten snake in Shanghai, so I don't need to go to South American just to say I've done that.

Paraguay Procrastination
Another discouragement is their relaxed attitude to time. Your plane home is unlikely to take off on time. Just as well if your taxi is late, and so is your breakfast.

I understand procrastination. I understand being late. I don't mind others being late. If I have to wait, I can write a poem draw a picture, take a photo or learn Spanish or Portuguese.

However, it has taken several decades for me to learn to be early instead of late. I don't want to undo that effort.

As for language and practising your languages, Spanish is handy - or Portuguese in border areas, or a mixture of the two creating new words, a new dialect a new 'language' ... maybe I'll get around to describing that, some time - more later.

Travel Checklists

Useful websites
Visit Uruguay official tourist board:
https://turismo.gub.uy/index.php/en/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguay

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Uruguay (From the Wiki people, without ads.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fray_Bentos_(food_brand)

http://paisajefraybentos.com/pc/publico-y-visitantes-en-el-sitio/
Their website, mostly in easy to read Spanish, as you see the bit I copied reads 'public and visit to the site', with the occasional surprise of a line in English.

More will be added later. I am on Paraguay time.

Here's some more:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Uruguay

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.