Overnight, we crossed the estuary of the River Plate and were docked by 9am. We had no organised excursion, so as we got off the ship, we grabbed a city map from the tourist office which had a self guided walking tour and set about following the route.
Unlike Buenos Aries, Montevideo is a small, compact city with very few high rise buildings, and thus easily walkable. It is also somewhat poorer than its Argentinian neighbour and this is clearly in evidence when just walking through the streets.
Our route took as past a monument to the Graf Spee, a German battleship that was sunk by the British at the entrance to the River Plate during one of the first naval engagements of the Second World War, and then up through the city streets to Independence Square. We stopped off at the cathedral for a few moments of peace and quiet and listened to a small congregation singing at what must have been a private, new year service. After much wending and meandering, we completed the walking route and stepped in to the local market, but this was a market unlike any we have seen before. There were no fruits or flowers or vegetables on sale but instead the whole market was an indoor barbecue restaurant. All kinds of meats, but especially steaks were cooking on huge grills fired by red hot coals, the smell was mouth watering and every single seat was taken by the locals, all enjoying a hearty New Years Eve meal out.
Being here on the last day of the year also meant that we were involved in (or should I say tried very hard not to be involved in) some of the local traditions. One of these appeared to be an ongoing water fight as buckets of water were being thrown out of balconies and on to unsuspecting passers by. Another was to tear up 2014 calendars and diaries and throw the pages out on to the street, so you can imagine that by midday, the main street resembled a very soggy ticker tape parade. (We assume that both of these traditions have something to do with throwing away the old year and making things clean for the new one). In addition, boys were letting off fireworks in the street exploding everything from penny bangers to things resembling sticks of dynamite.
It was also interesting seeing cannabis openly on sale, it having recently been made legal for residents only.
These local celebrations, the intimate feeling of the city and the smells and scents all combined to make the stay in Montevideo hugely enjoyable, despite the threat of an unexpected soaking!
We picked up a couple of souvenirs and made our way back to the ship for a late lunch. By the time we had boarded and sat down to eat on the terraced area at the back of the ship, the skies had turned an ominous shade of black. The waiters came over and advised everyone to move inside, which we did, and just in time too. The heavens opened, the wind blew up to what seemed like hurricane force and within a few minutes, the back of the ship resembled a disaster area as chairs, sun beds, tables and towels were tossed around by the wind. A few things ended up in the harbour, sun beds were wrecked and how nothing got smashed through the glass windows I will never know. The bridge called for the emergency mooring teams to get to their stations and closed the watertight doors on the lower decks and shortly thereafter a tug came on station to help keep us pushed against the pier and ease the strain on the mooring ropes. The gangways were unsafe and all passengers either had to remain on the ship, or on the shore until the tempest passed.
Thankfully nobody was hurt and within an hour or so, the storm passed and the sun returned although there was a much fresher feel to the air. We went out on deck to watch the last stragglers running down the pier before departure deadline time and then it was time to get ready to party the night away.
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