Our first port to visit was Montivideo in Uruguay. This city was really easy to navigate around and there were many local people there to ensure you did not go a stray. Before the cruise, we researched each of the areas that we would be going to visit and decided which tours we would book as guided tours and which places we wanted to tour on our own. In Montivideo we had decided to do our own walking tour.The picture below the maps is a picture of the port. The cruiseline had a map in there newsletter that we used to help us navigate to the areas we had chosen to visit. Montivideo is the largest city in Uruguay and the capital. It was originally a Spanish fort.
Leaving the port we first approached a area of vendors - what a wonderful area of fresh fruits and vegetables. There were also some booths set up by local artisans. We were heading to two local park areas with historic monuments.
The first area we saw was the Plaza Zabala. In the middle of the park, there was a monument to General Zabala. One side had a sculpture depicting the common people and the other the a shepherd herding his sheep. It was pointed out to us that the sheperds held an important place in society here at one time.
The next stop was the Plaza Independencia where the tomb of the Father or Uruguay, General Artigas is located. Like the monuments in Plaza Zabala the sculptures were just incredible and full of detail. Montivideo is a beautiful city that combines the old with the new. There were many modern buildings around the square and yet many streets filled with older houses. A truly marvelous mix.
We thoroughly enjoyed our walk back and stopped for lunch.
Near the port there was a large indoor market and here we found a magnificent artist. We purchased one of his works and will write and see if we can arrange to get a few more pieces shipped home. The one that we chose to purchase was a picture of the market. After that it was time to head back to the ship and bid farewell to Montivideo.
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