Day 37 – Montevideo, Uruguay

Hmmm… what to say about Montevideo 🤨

We went ashore at 9.30 am and, it being a Sunday, found ourselves somehow apparently transported to the set of The Walking Dead. Absolutely nothing was open, all shops and cafes were shuttered down and not a soul was in sight. Garbage and putrefying matter cluttered the walkways and graffiti was everywhere you looked. We persevered, marching to the central Plaza de Independencia – so impressive in the holiday brochures – so underwhelming in reality. We strolled along the ‘promenade’ and stared sadly at the filth and refuse floating in the sea, and the gulls sifting through all the floating plastic, shoes, carrier bags, bottles and even a floating mattress in the hope of securing a meal. We couldn’t help noticing how dirty the deserted streets were and we were just about to give up and return to the ship when we discovered the undercover eating complex by the port; a melting pot of open fired meat restaurants, all clamouring for our business. The saving grace of the city. At about the same time the sun came out, a number of charming little gift shops miraculously opened and all was well with the world once again. We definitely wouldn’t return, but we managed to find a few pockets of charm amongst the almost post-apocalyptic environment we initially found ourselves in.