Sunday 25th January
Montevideo
Early this morning we sailed into the Rio de la Plata and into the harbour of the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo. We are here for two days as this is the end of the first sector of our cruise. The city was fairly quiet today as it is Sunday. We went on a city tour that started with the old town. Our first stop was at the Plaza Constitucion, a small square by the cathedral. We then went on to the main square -the Plaza Independencia. This square was built to mark the end of colonial rule. In the centre is a large statue of General Artigas mounted on his horse - he is Uruguay's national hero. At one end of the square is the Puerta de la Ciudadela which is the original gate to the citadel of Montevideo. We drove on to the parliament building which is built in marble and went up lots of steps to enter the main hall. Soldiers guard the entrance to the building. The inside was very beautiful. The photo shows the entrance to the Senate Chamber guarded by two soldiers. Opposite this was the door to the Deputies Chamber guarded by another two soldiers. In the centre of the hall was a large wooden box that contained the Uruguayan constitution, this is also guarded by two soldiers. After we left here we drove out to two of the city's parks to see some sculptures. La Diligencia - a stage coach being pulled out of the mud and La Carreta - a covered wagon. We also passed a monument to the last Charruas Indians. Our morning finished with a drive through the some of the wealthier residential areas and then passed the beaches on the estuary. By the time we got back to the ship at lunchtime the temperature was up to 36. Later on we had a wander around the shopping area near the ship but it was too hot unless you could find some shade.

Monday 26th January
Our second day in Montevideo and we decided to walk through the old town again. On the way we found another lovely square called Plaza Zabala and then went on to the Plaza Constitucion which we visited yesterday. Today it looked so different we didn't recognise it. Yesterday it was very peaceful but today it was full of people and tables for the cafés. This is where Montevideo cathedral is, so we went and had a look inside. Outside it is quite plain but inside is very ornate. We strolled on through some pedestrian shopping streets until we walked through the old city gate at the end into the Plaza Independencia. The day was gradually getting hotter so we retrace our steps back to the area near the ship where there were lots of bars. We sat outside one of them in the shade and tried the local beer. After a long walk in the heat the cold beer was very welcome and very good! Again the day was too hot to do anything but return to the ship and find a shady spot. We sailed out at 6 and the captain had to turn the ship with the help of a tug which pushed us round as it was very tight in the harbour.