How they roll

It’s 6 PM on Sunday, January 1st. Normally I would cross the Ruta Interbalnearia. However, it’s time for everyone-at-the-same-time to leave the beach (other side) and return to Montevideo (to the right). I didn’t manage to catch the traffic, but there are lots of cars, also heading to Montevideo, coming from further east.

In this photo there are nine cars in the crossing, one more waiting on the far side of the far lane, and one more on this side, also waiting to turn right.

It was very tempting to wait and watch them all sort out this clusterfuck, but I wasn’t feeling patient.

Traffic increase in Montevideo, ~10 years

Parking Montevideo, then and now

Montevideo Rambla, Ciudad Vieja. When we arrived here, late 2009, it was rare to see even a single vehicle parked along this stretch of road.

Consumer credit comes to Uruguay! At least that’s one explanation.

Car prices have fallen recently. This may involve poor budgeting by people new to credit, buying cars for only *so much* a month. Perhaps they don’t think about fuel (2.5 times the cost in the USA), maintenance, and insurance. Then enough of them figure out they really can’t afford a car, and try to sell it.

At any rate, it’s distinctly more difficult to find a parking place in Montevideo than a few years ago, to the point that I usually don’t even try, and head to a parking garage instead.