Locks Fountain

The other day Mari and I headed into the downtown area of Montevideo to walk around and visit some of the old city.

Near La Ciudad Vieja (the old city) there is a beautiful old fountain, covered in lovers locks. In spanish its adequately named "The Fountain of the Locks", but the english translation clumsily refers to it as "Locks Fountain".

When I visited Montevideo over the winter vacation two years ago, Mari and I bought a lock for this fountain. We used red finger nail polish to paint on our intials, possibly with a big red heart in the middle. Then made a special trip downtown to lock it onto the fountain, participating in the downtown ritual.

Unfortunatley, we cannot quite remember where we placed our initial lock. We had a rough guess, but were unable to locate it. I think this is due to two problems. The first is our lack of an exact memory as to the precise location of the lock. I could guess in a general area, but I wasnt exactly sure. The second problem is that this time around, two years later, there are many more locks than there were before. I cant remember exactly what it looked like two years ago, but I can tell there are a lot more lovers locks on the gates than there were before.

I know we took photos of the lock and its placement two years ago, but all my photos are sitting on my computer back in Seattle, which is now safely packed away in a packing box and locked in storage. Guess we will have to wait a bit to try and solve the mystery.

If you are heading to Montevideo, be sure to buy a lock and place it on the fountain. The best ones on the fountain prepared ahead of time, having their locks engraved in fine lettering with names, dates, what city they were traveling from, and possibly a little message of love. To me, its truely a unique fountain that stands out in my travels around the world. It helps ingratiate travelers to this city, and makes me wonder why Seattle doesnt have anything like it.

I think its a wonderful idea to construct something within a city that both locals and travelers can participate in. The more people participate, the more interesting it becomes. This fountain is really a sight to behold.

Now, if anyone is looking for a great business opportunity during their stay in Montevideo, I say build a stand next to the fountain that sells different types and styles of locks, colors of finger nail polish, and possibly, on the upper end, personalized engravings. I cant believe there isnt one already.

T

Portraits

Mari and I arent big on setting the camera on auto-timer, or asking other people to snap a pic in order to capture a photo of ourselves in front of some marvelous site or other. Typically, which ever of us that has the camera sneeks in a quick pic here and there capturing the other. Realizing that most of the pics on this site dont actually contain images of us, I figured I would throw a few up especially for the folks back home.


Mari in a coffee shop in Granada. One of the greatest things about Central America is the amount of liquados, or batidos that are available everywhere. Liquados and batidos are fruit smoothies, made with either milk or water and whatever fruit they have available. A typical banana and milk batido here costs about 20 cordobas and is absolutely delicious.

Travis eating lunch Volcan Masaya. Mari prepared some great cream cheese and roasted chicken sandwhiches for us to enjoy on our day trip up the mountain. We are sitting eating, enjoying the breeze and the wonderful view spread out before us.

Mari on the ferry from san Jorge to La Isla de Ometepe. The waves were strong when we set off, and waves pounded the side of the boat splashing water up over the edge and onto the vehicles on the back deck. Mari was a bit worried at the beginning, here in the picture, but soon the waves calmed and the ride was enjoyable.

Travis on the ferry, with Volcan Concepcion on La Isla de Ometepe in the background.