 |
| Plaza Independencia-Montevideo's main plaza |
It's a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Punta del Este, Uruguay to Montevideo, Uruguay, but why drive when you can go by ship? We departed Punta del Este as the sun was starting to set, cruised slowly overnight and arrived in Montevideo shortly after the sun had risen. We were no longer cruising in the Atlantic Ocean but on the Rio de la Plata. Depending on the source of information, the Rio de la Plata is referred to as a river, an estuary, a gulf or a marginal sea. For this blog we'll go with what is most common, which is that it is a river. It's not real long, only 180 miles long, but at its widest, it's over 140 miles wide, which makes it the widest river in the world.
Montevideo is the capital and largest city in Uruguay. Around 1.4 million people call Montevideo home, which is roughly one third of the country's population. Since 2005 Montevideo has held the distinction of being the highest rated city for quality of life in Latin America, according to the Mercer Quality of Living Report. It doesn't take long to see how Montevideo earned this lofty ranking.
The city is busy, but not too busy, and very clean, safe and easy to navigate. The port is located near the city center and just a short walk from Sarandi Pedestrian Street. We were off the ship early and enjoyed an early morning stroll along the pedestrian street before many of the shops and restaurants opened. From the main plaza (Plaza Independencia) we headed toward the promenade along Rambla Gran Bretana. The promenade was busy with walkers, joggers and bikers enjoying the sunshine and great views of the Rio de la Plata. Our walk took us as far as Playa Ramirez (beach) and to the edge of Parque Rodo, a large city park named after Jose Rodo, a Uruguayan writer. We walked through a small section of the park stopping frequently to enjoy watching the families and people of all ages laughing, talking and generally just having a grand time.
 |
| The Sarandi Pedestrian Street was still a bit sleepy on a Saturday morning |
 |
| Plaza Zabala |
 |
| Plaza Constitucion |
 |
| Along the Rambla Gran Bretana |
 |
| Not our usual place to stop, but this McDonalds was conveniently located with a great beach view (Playa Ramirez) |
We enjoyed the riverside walk on the way out, so we mostly retraced our steps on the way back. Thankfully, we turned up a different street a few blocks earlier on our way back. We passed a busy neighborhood cafe named Bar 36 that was serving up what looked and smelled delicious. We walked past, but quickly made a U turn and took one of the last outdoor tables. The menu was all in Spanish, and our friendly server spoke about as much English as we do Spanish. We quickly worked things out and had a couple of amazing local sandwiches called Chivitos, which happen to be the National Dish of Uruguay. We got one with beef and one with chicken. Both were filled with ham, mozzarella, tomatoes, and a fried egg. They were both really tasty, but we agreed that the beef one was our favorite and that we could have done without the egg.
 |
| Bar 36-We were lucky to get a table! |
 |
| Chivito's and Sangria-Lunch of Champions! |
Bar 36
With full bellies, we slowly made our way back towards the ship. We stopped to spend some time in the Plaza Independencia, Plaza Constitucion and Plaza Zabala reminiscing about our previous visit to Montevideo, as well as expressing our gratitude to be back in such a wonderful city. A Traveling Idiots Life is a pretty good life!
 |
| By Saturday afternoon things had become a bit more lively. We were told because this area was a business district many of the shops and restaurants would not open on a Saturday, which happens to be when we were visiting. |
