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After more than 24 hours of travelling, I finally arrived in Montevideo. The bus ride from the airport to the hotel was long, however it followed the coast line which was very scenic. It was quite windy that day so we drove past a lot of people kite surfing, which is always an impressive sight.

Given that I only had the rest of that day before joining the ship the next morning I decided to go out and explore. I had booked a city tour prior to arriving in Montevideo and the bus came to collect me at the hotel. The first stop on our tour was the Plaza de Independencia. It is the main square in Montevideo, and it separates the old town from downtown. In addition to the big statue in the middle there is the Solis Theatre and the building hosting the office of the President of Uruguay.

Montevideo 1, Uruguay

Plaza de independencia

After a quick stop for pictures we continued on with the tour. We drove past the Estadio Centenario football stadium. The stadium was built to host the 1930 FIFA World Cup, where Uruguay ended up being the champions. Then we had a quick picture stop at the Parque Batlle to see the ox statue.

Montevideo 2, Uruguay

Estadio Centenario football stadium

 

Montevideo 3, Uruguay

Parque Batlle

It was then time for a small coffee break at the local market. Even if I opted out of the coffee, I did very much enjoy the market. It is one of my favorite things to do abroad after all! There was a beautiful selection of local handicrafts. Not to mention all the fresh fruits and vegetables, oh and the ice cream looked amazing.

Montevideo 4, Uruguay

Market time

For the last part of the tour we drove along the coast to look at all the houses lining this beautiful beach. There were some beautiful works of architecture along the way spanning from modern apartment buildings to houses looking like they belonged in the Swiss Alps to the stunning Hotel Carrasco. When then got to see some of the more central neighbourhoods on the drive back to the various hotels.

Back at the hotel I met up with some friends from the ship. We decided to head to the Port Marked for some proper grilled meat. What we did not know what that the marked closed at 5pm, but luckily for us one of the restaurants connected to the market was still open. I had the most amazing steak and melted provolone cheese, and some very nice wine.  The evening ended with drinks at the local Irish bar before heading back to the hotel.