Montevideo, Uruguay

I must tell our dear friend Jorge Crosa that he was right on the mark with his recommendations on what to do in Montevideo. We left the ship and crossed the street to follow a walking tour of the Ciudad Vieja:  the Plaza Zabala, the Catedral Metropolitana, the Puerta de la Ciudadela, the Plaza de la Constitución and more . I loved the architecture – the doors especially – and the colorful street life. The weather was wonderful.  After completing the walking tour we negotiated with a taxi driver to give us a city tour of the more modern parts of the city, starting with a drive along the Rambla. It’s lovely to have such clean public beaches available to the city residents. I was intrigued with the urban architecture. Houses, or buildings, of different epochs and very different styles are built wall to wall. An old house may eventually be replaced by a tall building and small dwellings often remain surrounded by larger structures. Every one of the connected buildings on a given block might be from a different decade, or century.  We also enjoyed seeing the school children in their white smocks and blue scarves getting back to classes.

We finished up our visit at the Mercado del Puerto where we browsed the markets and then ate at Don Tiburon. We sat at an outdoor table to enjoy our meal and were surrounded by San Benito type drums and other music. And yes – we tried the Medio y Medio. It was just the thing to accompany the delicious chorrizo.

Then back to the ship. Tonight we have the Captain’s Toast and a formal dinner. Tomorrow Punta del Este.