Looking Back: Montevideo, Uruguay

January 20th - Montevideo is very much like Rio in that you see the modern city amidst the tattered remnants of their colonial pasts.  

Fanciful architecture

Some of the old architecture is amazing, however most of the buildings are simply falling apart from neglect and lack of funds.  I liked the feel of Montevideo - it seemed comfortable and laid-back - though we were there on a Saturday and that may explain everything.

Palace Trancato

I escorted a walking tour of Constitution Square, Palace Trancato (a museum), the Metropolitan Cathedral, and Teatro Solis
. 

After I dropped off the tour paddle and changed clothes, I decided to head out on my own and walked back to the square we had toured earlier in the day.  As we were in the Southern hemisphere (their summer), it remained daylight until almost 9:00 pm.  At the Metropolitan Cathedral, which bordered one end of the square, a huge wedding let out and I stopped to watch all the beautifully dressed people.  I then went to a lovely restaurant named La Corte located in a grand, historic building, Club Uruguay.  

Club Uruguay

Carolina, my waitress, spoke English very well and we had a nice chat as I drank tannat wine (a Uruguayan red wine), ate and people-watched out the window.  We were scheduled to leave the port at 1:00 am and so at 11:30 pm I decided it was time to take a cab back to the ship.  The exchange rate is so favorable that I was able to eat (a lot), have a couple of glasses of wine, dessert and coffee, purchase two bottles of the tannat wine, and be driven back to the ship for around $50.00 - not a bad deal for a Saturday night.  It was really nice to actually be able to spend an evening in a port since we usually have to reboard the ship at 4:00 pm for a 5:00 pm departure.