Montevideo, Uruguay

 

Hurry! Our car and driver will soon be here to take us on a tour of Montevideo, Uruguay‘s capital city. Never thought I would say something like that in my lifetime…“My car and driver will soon be here”. Rather pretentious, huh?

But on second thought, not really pretentious. More practical I would say. Hiring a private car and tour guide works best for us this time. We know renting a car is quite expensive here. We are both a bit tired so driving in areas not familiar to us might not be a wise thing to attempt today. We could have taken a bus from Punta del Este to Montevideo (the bus system is very good) but that would mean once we got to the city we would have to walk and navigate our own way around. We could have taken a packaged bus tour (and almost did) but today we want to set our own pace. So a private tour with our own car, a professional driver, and local tour guide was the way to go.

Let’s meet Israel, our tour guide.

It is raining as we drive through the countryside from Punta del Este, passing through agricultural areas with large pastures and grazing cattle. The roads are paved and well maintained. Israel has prepared some matte which he shares with us. (Read more about our matte experience.)

It is so nice to have a local share his knowledge about, and his pride in,  a country that we know next to nothing about. We learn so much. The Rio de la Plata is part river and part ocean.  There is a huge cross on a hill near here that you can go inside of to get a view of the countryside. On the return trip we see the cross but right now it is raining too much.

Rain…another good reason that we are not driving ourselves, right?

Having paperwork in order is very important in Uruguay. We learn a car can be impounded for years if papers are not in order. (Oh dear, that sounds a bit drastic.) There are parts of the city that one should not walk in…at night, never! (A most compelling reason not to set off on one’s own.)

There are beautiful homes along the coastline. What intrigues me is the variety of architectural styles seen. Some show Portuguese influence, some Italian, some Arabic, and even one that definitely looked Irish! We learn that all these cultures have played a role in Uruguay’s development.

The naval museum is brightly coloured and stands out along the shore…even though it is raining so much that the harbor is barely visible.

Fortune may be shining on us though as the clouds seem to be parting and the sun is trying to peek through. We park near a lovely (very busy) plaza and tour an impressive church.

Then on to a museum (did I mention I love museums?) Museo Cabildo de Montevideo is Uruguay’s oldest. It  has seen a lot of the country’s history and preserves many historically significant artifacts. The museum’s fine collection of period furniture impresses me.

There are also displays of a practical nature, such as one that demonstrates how wooden barrels were made.

Sometimes the most insignificant things capture ones attention. I had noticed small plastic drinking bottles hanging from the branches of some bushes. Asking about this I learned this is a local way of trapping insects that might be harmful to the trees.

 

As we exit the museum we discover that the rain has stopped and the sun is out. Interesting how weather is the same…no matter where you are in the world.

So let’s do some exploring while the sun shines. Onto the Old City…La Cuidad Vieja.

 

 

These gates ((Puerto de la Ciudalela) are all that remain of the original star shaped fortress that once protected Montevideo. It is reinforced by a new concrete backing but the stones are original.

Can you imagine yourself standing in the same archway where the original founders of Uruguay stood hundreds of years ago? where conquerors paraded? where revolutionists marched? This is a big reason why I love to travel…being in the same spot that significant historical events happened…experiencing the local flavour.

Have a look at the tall building in the background. That is Palacio Salvo, once the tallest building (at 26 stories) in South America. Our guide had interesting tidbits about the personalities involved in making it “the tallest”.

 

Plaza Independencia, Montevideo

Walking through the gates, we are now in Independence Plaza (Plaza Independencia). There is Palacio Salvo again. The statue is of Artigos, Uruguay’s liberator. A tourist booklet we picked up in Montevideo describes in great detail how, in 1811, Artigos lead a revolutionary movement that defeated the Spaniards at the Battle of Las Piedras.

The black marble steps (bottom left hand side) lead down to a beautiful room underneath the statue.

Let’s go down the steps and visit the Mausoleum of Jose Artigos.

The large room is silent, cool and dimly lit. It is all in marble…black marble floors and grey marble walls. Two uniformed soldiers provide an honor guard for the bronze bowl urn that is housed under a grand glass case.

I must say a special thank you to the staff at the Radisson Hotel on Plaza Independenicia. We were not staying there…we just walked in off the street… and were given a VIP tour of the hotel. If we are ever back in Montevideo again I know where we are going to stay!

Our day also included lunch at a converted train station, walking some of the streets and looking in shops, driving past the Legislative Buildings (which has a Parthenon type of roof line), seeing Montevideo’s obelisk, seeing a typical school and uniformed students and teachers, and so much more. We will just have to come back again and see even more.

It was a wonderful day, was it not.

Let’s do it again another time.

Touring Montevideo

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Flying to Montevideo

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Where is Uruguay? you ask

 

See more of Uruguay with us…click here.

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Happy travels!