Jan. 26 Montevideo Uruguay





Sunrise 6:15 Sunny, high 26C

We visited Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, on our last cruise. The population of Uruguay is 3.4 million, with over half living in Montevideo. Most stores are closed on Sunday, giving the city a tired and run down look. The store fronts are shuttered with metal doors when closed. The doors are covered in graffiti or look dirty. Sunday is the day that the flea markets open and block after block were closed to traffic. 



We opted to take the hop on hop off bus to get an overview of the city. We drove through the old town with its many beautiful neoclassical and historical buildings. We hopped off at Independence Square, the site of the mausoleum and statue to Artigas, the Uruguayan hero who led the emancipation from Spain. 
Our next stop was the historical Mercado Agricola. The market today houses more shops and restaurants than it does produce and meat. Many restaurants here and at the Port Market use huge wood fires to cook huge steaks. 

Back on the bus, we drove through many poor neighbourhoods before getting off at the Botanical Garden. We were underwhelmed by what we saw. It had a very uncared for look - the gardens were full of weeds instead of flowers and many of the signs identifying the trees were broken. Its only redeeming feature was a playground full of families enjoying a Sunday outing. 


Most of the families we saw had a carrier for their mate (pronounced maw-tay), an herbal tea that is heavily caffeinated. They have a special cup that they fill with the leaves, then they pour in a small amount of water. The mate cup comes with a spoon shaped straw that filters the liquid.

The last portion of the bus tour was around Rodo Park and along the waterfront. The park has a lake, amusement park, disco and theatre.

The area around the ship was bustling with activity when we returned. The restaurants and cafes were open as were the souvenir shops but we were content to get out of the heat and board our ship. 

Sunset 7:54

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