Buenos Dias amigos y familia,

Montevideo, Uruguay is our first city to visit in this our second country this trip. It is the capital city of the country. We are staying in one of the crumbling grand 19th century neoclassical buildings, a real vestige of Montevideo’s colonial past.  Our Hotel Fuerte is in the old Town and historic center. The outside and inside of our hotel is so similar to hotels we have stayed in while in Italy. The old elevator, marble staircases and large rooms with huge ceilings that are entered with doors that are two stories high.  We have a balcony overlooking old Town and a view at the end of the street of the Rio Plata, the widest river in the world we learned. ( 120 miles wide!)  This arch is what is left of the entrance to Old Town. Here are some photos of our hotel.

Walking through the arch you arrive at Plaza Independence with the statue of their hero and liberator, Artigas, on horseback. He is buried underneath the equestrian statue in a huge mausoleum. At the end of the square is a very pleasing building which was once the tallest building in South America.  Today much of the lovely oldbuildings have been replaced by modern glass and steel structures.

Heading out toward the port, is the huge Congress building.  It is a very ornate structure. Nearby is an office building we thought looked a lot like a structure you would find in Dubai. We took a very informative city tour and were taken to the local market with fresh food, restaurants, and other stores selling all types of goods.  One traditional item is a different cup with a silver spoon straw that has a filter at the end and in the cup, people put their tea.  Then they carry around a thermos which has hot water and they continually refill the cup with the hot water to make tea as they walk along the streets. We were curious about this tradition and felt that it is a lot of trouble to carry around these items, but the people in Uruguay like their tea.

Of course we visited the soccer stadium and the bronze sculpture of the colonial period in the country. Then we took a drive to Poscitos, the beach area where there were lots of nice looking apts. and lovely expensive homes. Since it was a nice sunny day, there were lots of people at the beach, some swimming.  We were told it is very cold water in the Rio Plata.

At the end of our city tour we were left at the Port Market to explore.  We began by doing some wine tasting, then went into the old port which has evolved into wall to wall restaurants with grills everywhere. We had lunch at a counter as it was very crowded but the food was great and we had a bottle of Tannat, a grape exclusively from South America. The wine is a very hearty thick red with a great after taste.

On our full day tour to Colonia, the old city, we made a stop in an interesting farm.  A 71 year old man has been collecting key chains, pencils, perfume bottles, ash trays, etc all his life.  His son, who was our English speaking guide said his dad began collecting key chains at 10 years old. His collection used to be the biggest according to the Guinness World Book of records, but today, he has been surpassed by a key chain collection which is larger in Washington, D.C. His pencil collection however, is the largest in the world so holds the Guinness World Book Record. The farm also makes jams ,jellies,  and cheese to sell.  Quite a different place.

Colonia del Sacramento is the first capital city of Uruguay.  It was founded by the Portuguese in 1680 to smuggle goods across the Rio Plata to Buenos Aires. Later the Spanish took over the country and established Montevideo as the capital.  Today Montevideo has 1.4 million people but Colonia has 23,000 people. The entire country of Uruguay only has 3,200,000 people. Today Colonia is a UNESCO site.  You can amble on the winding cobbled streets and see the Portuguese houses and the old Spanish houses.  The Portuguese streets would drain in the center and the Spanish streets would drain on each side. Most of the old houses today are museums or restaurants with a large portion being art galleries and shops. We entered the old town through the old gate.  The restored 19th century lighthouse is in the middle of the ruined 17th century Convent of San Francisco. The oldest church in Uruguay, Iglesia Matriz was nearly destroyed by fire in 1799 but was rebuilt . Our walking tour ended and we chose a small restaurant to have lunch on the cobbled stone street.

After three days of touring the capital cities, we enjoyed an excellent bottle of Uruguayan wine on our balcony. We will leave the capital city of Montevideo tomorrow and go north to the small beach town of Punta Del Este, where the Rio Plata and the Atlantic ocean meet. Until then, remember to be good to yourselves.  Happy Martin Luther King weekend.

Cheers,
Susan and Jim