Montevideo

Left Montevideo later than planned because a thunderstorm would have played havoc with the navigational equipment so vital for negotiating the narrow and very busy River Plate channel. Some vessels passed so close you could see what was written on the t-shirts of those on deck!

MV was a very tranquil city - more like Cadiz than Madrid or Barcelona. Again we were impressed by the courtesy, kindness and friendliness of the people we met. We didn't need the Policia Turista posted on just about every corner of the city especially to look after the the 2 cruiseline lots of passengers visiting. Just about everybody was one-handed anyway - a flask of hotwater tucked under their arms and a gourd of maté being sucked through a "bombilla" - a silver straw with a filter at the end. (This afternoon, on deck, we're going to be shown how to prepare and drink maté from all the souvenir gourd + bombillas we've bought!) Pity the tourist police had been employed the night before to stop thieves removing all the drain covers from the main pedestrian street in the city. We found and made use of some wonderful aresania markets but everything in the city shut down at 2pm except for the Port Market where they were barbecuing what seemed like the entire contents of the city's butchers' shops. Amidst tables groaning under the weight of incinerated cattle flesh, there seemed to be the remnants of Uruguay's month-long Mardi Gras "carnaval" going on.

Sea a bit rough last night. We watched first film on-board: Slumdog Millionaire. Really great!!
Today, we've just finished a 5km charity walk for breast cancer: 12 times around Deck 3. Going for a shower now! Bill