Uruguay Info
Joined: 01 Dec 2006
Posts: 17
Home Country: uruguay
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 Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 4:04 am Post subject: SHOPPING IN URUGUAY / URUGUAY SHOPPING GUIDE (MONTEVIDEO) |
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SHOPPING IN URUGUAY (MONTEVIDEO)
Uruguay is a predominantly rural country, and Uruguayan goods reflect that reality. A substantial cottage industry of hand-knit sweaters is built on the backs of Uruguayan sheep and the fluffy wool they produce. The wool yarns are hand-dyed then knit into sweaters in interesting styles and in nuanced colours not represented on a Pantone chart.
In 1968, a group called Manos del Uruguay began harnessing the traditional skills of rural craftspeople building a chain of stores around their carefully-edited handmade textiles including sweaters, scarves, capes, gloves and tapestries as well as some wood items and leather goods. A cleverly run, non-profit cooperative, Manos insists that the merchandise continuously change in style as well as seasonality. So, they avoid the limitation inherent in selling traditional goods.
Leather items, especially leather coats and jackets, represent the second major specialty consumer category. Shop upon shop offering leather clothing in soft antelope, rabbit and more standard skins and pelts line the streets near Plaza Independencia. But the design and tailoring are inferior to the quality of the leathers themselves. Montevideo style falls into two camps: traditional or Texan. Still, the prices are so low that it's impossible not to buy at least one. Given the abundance of raw materials at hand, leather manufacturers would do well to venture back to the old country and import some design talent from Milan or perhaps from across the river in Buenos Aires.
Uruguayans like paintings on their walls. Montevideo's art dealers are rich stores of information, and, despite heavy foot traffic through their galleries, tend to be generous with their time. The quality of tourist art--culturally representative works priced from US$200-US$3000-- is among the best anywhere in the world.
Shopping hours
Mon-Fri 0900-1200 and 1400-1900, Sat 0900-1230.
Currency
Peso Uruguayo (UYU) = 100 centécimos. Notes are in the denominations of UYU2000, 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5. Coins are in denominations of UYU10, 5, 2 and 1 and 50 centécimos.
Currency exchange
Visitors are advised to buy local currency at banks and exchange shops, as hotels tend to give unfavourable rates. Inflation in Uruguay, though less severe than in other Latin American countries, leads to frequent fluctuations in the exchange rate.
Credit & debit cards
American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are the most commonly used. Check with your credit or debit card company for details of merchant acceptability and other services which may be available. ATMs may reject European or US credit cards.
Traveller's cheques
Sterling traveller's cheques can only be changed at The Bank of London & South America; visitors are therefore advised to carry US Dollar traveller's cheques (US$50 and US$100 denominations only).
Currency restrictions
There are no restrictions on the import or export of either local or foreign currency. |
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