Day 14 - Tues 11th Nov - Montevideo

After what felt like another lifetime of travelling and another early start we arrive in Montevideo about 3pm. Montevideo is the capital of Uruguay bit it is not really that large. It has a very European feel to it, old architecture, lots of plazasm cafe culture etc.

When we got there we went for a bit of a stroll for a couple of hours round the old town area and found some markets and an antique markets in one of the plazas. It was quite a nice walk and we covered most of the old town area in that time.

We went out for dinner to a bbq restaurant which are very popular in Uruguay - more steak!

Day 15 - Weds 12th nov - Montevideo

Headed to the beach today with the girls, but after another stroll round the markets for a few purchases.

The beach is not the ocean but is actually the river that separates Uruguay from Argentina so the water was not as nice as its been everywhere else. The beach was at the opposite end of the city so we took the bus there and got to see a bit more of the city along the way.

In the evening we went out to an Italian restaurant and I actually managed to order a meal without red meat and cheese (chickemn & rice). I actually managed to get through 3 and a half consequtive days without any cheese, which I think was a group record.

Montevideo actually turned out to be less save than Rio which surprised me (not one of us had any issues in Rio). When we were walking back from the bar on the first night (a group of us including tour leader) we had a guy follow us down the road asking us for money. He kept following us, then our guide saw police on the other side of the road, went over to talk to them, and the next minute they then came and arrested the guy. Meanwhile two of the girls were walking ahead of us and got parted from us when all this commotion was going on. They then had a guy jump out of nowhere at them, they jsut ran off. Everyone was fine, just wasnt what I expected from that city. There were also numerous reports of people having handbags stolen, with guys going past on motorbikes and snatching bags. So if you go to Montevideo you have been warned!