NYE in Montevideo
I spent the New Year’s Eve in Montevideo, Uruguay
- with my Fujifilm GFX100RF
Uruguay wasn’t on my travel list for long - it was only after watching Bayona’s La Sociedad de la Nieve that I started researching it. I was hooked upon reading the first article that promised good vibes, beautiful buildings, delicious food & coffee, mate, and great beaches. I won’t bore you with traveling details, because there are bloggers that are actually writers and can offer better insight. Instead I’ll show you how I documented the last day of 2025 with the help of my beloved Fujifilm GFX100RF.
I started the day with a stroll in the old town. The streets were quite empty, the air was humid and hot, and every open door was an invitation for a cool down. My first stop was a church with an architecture reminiscent of what I was used to in the old continent: tall pillars, stained glass windows, and impressive arches. The two notable differences were that this one looked like it needed some love, especially in the upper part of the walls and ceiling, and that this church had a lovely gentleman that greeted me with warmth and a desire to make the church’s history told one more time.
As I continued my walk, the streets were starting to get filled with papers that were occasionally getting swept by passing cars. This is one of the best NYE traditions I’ve heard of: people tear up their old agendas or calendars to make way for the new year ones; they then throw out the windows the shredded papers to the passersby’s excitement. One thing you have to know about Montevideo's people, is that they don’t usually stay home during the end of the year holidays. Most of them enjoy some days off either on the beach (Punta del Este is a preferred destination) or camping in the rural parts of the country. So you can imagine how empty the town is during these days; but this surely doesn’t stop the ones remaining from having a great time!
I almost missed this lady-in-action, and in my haste to get the shot, I didn’t do a straight composition - luckily for me, the Fuji GFX100RF is quite forgiving and I managed to do a decent crop & straighten in post. It’s still not my favourite shot, but I think it adds to the story so indulge me in keeping it here.
Moving along with the NYE traditions - another way to have fun is to soak or get soaked. No one was safe from harm. If you were walking in the old town, you were getting wet. And as a tourist… I had to be twice as careful.
I love this shot! You can perfectly tell the tourists apart by how fully clothed they were; and if you look closely, you can also tell that theirs were the dry clothes.
The closer I got to the port market, the bigger the water containers were. No more itty bitty water balloons or bottles. No siree! These were buckets, or sometimes a hose connected to unlimited water supply. Things were starting to get serious. And I’m not sure I was prepared for what was to come.
By the time I got to the port market, the water had turned into cider. Why be soaked when you can be soaked and sticky? Somehow, I was still dry as a prune.
The cider was cheap, cold, and not all that bad tasting. Thus, I got myself a bottle and continued my quest to become part of the tradition. I figured I wasn’t going to keep my clothes dry for much longer, so I headed into the market with a cold cider bottle by my underarm.
It was at this time that I realised I wasn’t actually prepared for the main event. I could handle water on my camera - it’s waterproof so long I don’t drown it. But something acid and sticky? No way I was going to let that happen to my baby! I unfortunately had to listen to my own reason and hide the camera in my backpack, praying that it would remain unharmed by the nasty sidra.
After a few minutes I got a bit overwhelmed with the crowd and decided it was time to enjoy a different type of activity - eating. I stopped to get some lunch just a few blocks away from the party. I craved something fresh and ended up at a Mexican restaurant. To my surprise, my table neighbours were Americans. We chatted for about an hour or so about their life in Uruguay as immigrants and about the country’s social values and love for the arts. It’s crazy to think that these guys left the States behind in the search for a better life, when a lot of my fellow citizens go to the States for the very same reason… After a quick nap and some refreshing of the body and soul (I honestly thought I wasn’t going to make it out of the port), I rushed to catch the last sunset of 2025. Unfortunately, I arrived at the exact time the sun finished hiding below the horizon. I was a bit mad at myself for not being out of the house faster, but quickly got over it after I realised my favourite hour had just begun: the blue one!
People were chilling on La Rambla, enjoying the beautiful colours the sky was painted with. Most were sitting on the classic-for-them foldable chairs, drinking their mates and gossiping about who-knows-what; some were drinking beer, enjoying a bit of solitude; the most courageous were still swimming in the warm waters of Rio de la Plata.
This couple was hugging for a good half hour. In Montevideo, time seems to be moving slower. People don’t just stop to watch the sunset on holidays. Oh, no. They do it every single day! They take their time to aplaud the sun - the day may be ending, but they got through it and that’s what matters. Their favourite drink is, you guessed it, el mate. But the mate doesn’t come without its best friend, the thermos; because the infusion is similar to a tea and at the same time very much different. The yerba mate dried leaves have to get soaked in hot (but not boiling!) water little by little, and the liquid has to be sipped while hot. So as you can imagine, historically, this process could only be done at home. But see, Uruguayans really love their mate. So they figured out they could use a thermos and drink their infusion on the go as well. Because mate time is precious time; and wouldn’t you know, Uruguayans love taking their time! And I strongly believe that is the reason Uruguay is considered the best South-American country to live in.
With each passing second, the sky was getting darker and darker; soon, the storm was dominating the horizon. Branches of powerful energy started peaking through the heavy clouds and the stars were shining just as bright.
I was in awe! Such a beautiful natural spectacle was unfolding in front of me and I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I also couldn’t stop taking photos - I was frenetically shooting, thinking I didn’t want to miss a single stroke of lightning. As you might know, the Fujifilm GFX100RF is a medium format camera with a 100mp senzor that creates huge files, so I had to be thoughtful in how I was filling up my cards. And so I took one last shot of the rain curtain, and with a bottle of wine on my right and the camera on my left, I began my countdown to 2026.
Some people were throwing fireworks quite close to me, and I decided I wanted to frame them in front of this lovely couple. They kissed at midnight and held each other until the end of the show. I’m always happy to document love, even when I’m on holiday heh.
Everyone and their mother was out by the river to watch the fireworks. I didn’t feel like I was a tourist; I felt embraced by the Uruguayan version of dolce far niente. I usually don’t like fireworks, especially in places where a lot of stray animals roam the streets. I don’t know how, but this time I allowed myself to just stop caring. I was truly happy! That doesn’t happen often, so I took it all in, wishing upon all the stars that 2026 would be a better year.