BLOG 27 / Montevideo - Uruguay

On Sunday we use it for a trip to Montevideo. The high-speed ferry "Francisco Papa" (Pope Francis) takes us to the capital of Uruguay at a top speed of 105 km/h in 2.5 hours across the Rio de la Plata. This ultra-modern car ferry is also environmentally friendly and runs on liquefied natural gas.

The city already reminds us of Buenos Aires, but everything is on a smaller scale. “Only” about 2 million people live in the greater area. The history is similar to that of its "big brother" Argentina, and so you can find magnificent buildings here - some of them in need of renovation - and newer ones, but often particularly hideous ones. We take a guided tour of the city - we are impressed by the dynamics of the Carreta monument in memory of the first settlers.

It is also beautiful on the Rambla - the street runs for many kilometers along the banks of the Rio de la Plata. Here we can also admire the architecture of the parrots that artfully build and expand their "multi-family nests" in the trees.

On Sunday, there is very little going on - almost all shops are closed, but there are markets - especially the "Mercado del Puerto" next to grocery and souvenir shops, there are a number of very good restaurants - we can confirm that there are also excellent steaks in Uruguay.

Sunday we use for an excursion to Montevideo. The high-speed ferry “Francisco Papa” (Pope Francis) has a maximum speed of 105 km/h and so it takes only 2.5 hrs to cross the Rio de la Plata to Uruguay's capital. Environmental friendly, this ultra-modern car ferry is propelled by liquefied natural gas.

The city has some similarities to Buenos Aires, but everything in a smaller scale since only 2 million people are living in the capital region. History is not much different to “Big Brother” Argentina’s. Therefore you also find beautiful palaces - several of them would need refurbishment urgently - newer buildings, several of which are especially nasty.

We have a guided city tour - we found the dynamics of the Carreta monument to be quite impressive - a memory of the first settlers.

The Rambla is also quite nice - this street runs for several kilometers along the shore of the Rio de La Plata. In the trees here we can admire the architecture of the local parrots - creating "Multi Family nests'.

Sunday is a quiet day in Montevideo - most of the shops are closed, but at least some markets are open. So we can visit the famous "Mercado Del Puerto" - beside food and souvenir shops you can find a number of very good restaurants there. We can confirm that steaks are excellent in Uruguay as well.