March 06 – Montevideo Uruguay

Last night we left the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires, and sailed to the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo.  It was a smooth trip with little or no turbulence. As we were sailing into the port, we passed a ship graveyard just outside of the harbor. There must have been at least ten boats in various stages of sinking into the Rio de la Plata.

Montevideo has a population close to the size of Toronto.  But about a third of the entire population of Uruguay lives in Montevideo or its suburbs.

In the morning we took a tour of the city.  It seems to me that Montevideo can rightfully claim the title of one of the greenest capitals in the world.  It appears that every major street is covered in a canopy of trees.  It has a large number of parks, many of which are equipped with exercise equipment, so that people can use it to get and remain fit.

The traffic in the city doesn’t seem anywhere near as chaotic as Buenos Aires.

Our first stop was Constitution Plaza.  Here there are many fine buildings, some of which include the Canadian embassy, the Opera House, and some government departments. The main hotel in the plaza has a very unique bell tower that dominates the downtown skyline.   

Standing outside of the Canadian embassy

Constitution Plaza

From there we travelled across town to the Uruguayan parliament buildings. It also has an amazing bell tower that is classical Roman in nature.

After this we drove through some of the exclusive neighbourhoods, including the president’s official residence and his actual private home.  We finished off the tour but driving along the Rambla, which is Montevideo’s shore line drive.

Back on board our ship, we went to the theatre to watch a song and dance show dedicated to the music of the seventies.  I must admit that when disco started to dominate the radio ways, I turned my radio off.  I could count on the fingers of one hand the number of discos I attended during that era.  Strangely enough though, I could remember all the songs.  Marg on the other hand knew all the songs, the lyrics and was having a wonderful evening of nostalgia.

For dinner Marg had lamb in a pastry shell, which was very salty.  I had a steak.  It was OK, but after Saturday’s tasty BBQ treat I think I’ll never enjoy a regular steak again.