What a difference sleeping in the hotel in Montevideo made. We had a really good night’s sleep especially after our late night out for the tango evening.
Yesterday we had been bitten by mosquitoes when out walking and when we woke up some more were buzzing around us in our room.
Our expedition voyage on Hurtigruten’s MS Fram would take us from Ushuaia to Antarctica, to South Georgia, around the Falklands and then onto Montevideo.
Wednesday 15th March was our second full day in Montevideo and we spent it sight seeing along the promenade and then back into the city in the afternoon.
Second morning in Montevideo
The day started with blue skies and some blue skies. It was with some anticipation that we went down for breakfast. The restaurant was very busy and looked rather the worse for wear. The breakfast was not the best with cold scrambled eggs and empty bowls where fruit should have been..
We crossed the road outside the hotel and walked along the promenade.
Street art along the shoreline
We were soon among lots of street art painted on the sides of old buildings.
Here’s a collection of some of the street art.
This one was partially covered by some sacks.
Further along the promenade
We met fellow passengers off Fram, who were staying at a different hotel, and they told us that they’d seen Fram sailing out Montevideo in the middle of the afternoon yesterday.
The promenade was very popular with both joggers and cyclists. Other ex-Fram passengers were walking or cycling past us and we all caught with things to do in Montevideo. The promenade had plaques recounting the River Plate’s history, such as this one with dinosaurs.
We stopped to watch birds on the shoreline as well as locals paddling with their dogs or just sitting out on deckchairs in the warm sunshine.
Other folks were were fishing off the jetties and one was catching small fish in a net. He would spread bread crumbs (or something) wait five minutes or so then dip in his net by the rocks and then lift out all the little fish that had gathered.
At the first beach I went onto the sand to see the murals painted on the sea walls.
Here there were a few dunes left from all the development of the city and were protected. Very few people were in the water. Most people were simply sitting or lying on the beach. the temperature had now risen and it was time for us to have a sit and to have some cold drinks. The nearest place was a McDonalds over the road.
After a Diet Coke we decided to take our Canadian friend’s advice and visit the Montevideo sign further down the coast. They were on mountain bikes and told us it was ‘quite a way’ down the coast.
Taxi ride to the Montevideo sign
After several unsuccessful attempts to hail a taxi, we were told by a kind soul where the nearest taxi rank was.
The drive to the sign did indeed take along time along the promenade past a never ending row of apartment buildings. Some of the buildings had shops or even car showrooms on the ground floor. Squeezed between two apartment blocks was a restaurant that looked like the bow of a ship.
At the sign we were lucky to be the only people there and then the taxi turned around to take us all the way back to our hotel.
This was a very much more expensive taxi ride than the previous evening. Back at the hotel we had to dive into reception to change even more US dollars to pay our fare.
Here are more images of the street art from our second day.
Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands: Street art from our second day in Montevideo