Montevideo Uruguay
The ship docked early this morning in Montevideo. We’d signed up for a tour of the city. I will confess the start of the tour didn’t convince me I’d ever want to return. The main square has a mash-up of many different architectural styles. I don’t think they’ve ever heard of a planning board. Compared to Buenos Aires it appeared drab.
Once out of central city it became more interesting. The city has a long shoreline on the Plata River (it’s 140 kilometers to the Atlantic Ocean). Along the river there is a pathway for walkers, bikers and runners that goes for over 20 kilometers. It was heavily used, especially considering it was mid-day on a Monday).
We saw dozens of epic sculptures, but I couldn’t tell you who or what they signified. The tour took us to slews of different neighborhoods, old, new, poor and wealthy. It’s quite diverse.
I would have said the city lacked vivacity until the end of the tour when we got off and entered the city market. There were many restaurants, loads of people and the energy was palpable. We had the best meal since arriving in South America, salad, steak, fries and a bottle of local red wine — $20 for the two of us. Our waiter was a hoot, wanting to be as helpful as possible.
Next door to the city market was a Carnival Museum. I wish we’d had time to visit but the ship sailed at 3:30 so it wasn’t to be.
We’re now heading towards the Atlantic.