Can you smell what the Uruguayans are cooking? Montevideo, Uruguay

Stats:

Destination: Montevideo, Uruguay

Number of Days: 1

Times we took the: Boat/Ferry - 1 Bus/Minivan - 0 Train/Subway - 0 taxi/car - 0

Where we stayed: Star Princess

Favorite Restaurant: n/a

Best of: Strolling around the Mercado del Puerto was a feast for the senses with sausages and steaks smoking on grills and creating the most amazing smell!

Worst of: We arrived on a Sunday and all of the museums were closed.

Our cruise was off to a fantastic start! The day after we sailed from Buenos Aires we arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay. We left the ship and took advantage of a "free" ride to the nearest leather factory...or can you say Tourist Trap? Shockingly we didn't purchase anything, I can't even say we were tempted by the $350-$400 leather jackets...do people actually buy these things? At least we got a free ride into town. We then made our way into the deserted Ciudad Viejo, it being a Sunday there were very few people in town and all of the museums were closed which was a bit disappointing. We made the most of our time wandering around the old city visiting the Plaza Independencia, Mausoleo Artigas, the Teatro Solis (theater), Constitution Square and the Iglesia Matriz.

We followed our noses to the Mercado del Puerto which we feel is the "gem" of Montevideo, at least on a Sunday anyways! Locals and tourists alike were feasting on platters of meat with goblets of wine at their sides while the chefs manned the grills. The aroma of grilled steak was almost too tempting but we resisted as we were still in time for our already paid for lunch on board the Star Princess...sad I know. We consoled ourselves thinking that we will be back in Argentina which is a carnivores paradise! After boarding the ship, grabbing some lunch and sneaking in some much needed pool time we sailed for the Falkland Islands in search of PENGUINS!

To see more photos of Montevideo please click here!