February 1, 2026- Day #28

 Our second stop in Uruguay is at the capital city of Montevideo. This city is the country’s primary port and the hub for commercial and political activity. Our balcony is on the dock side of the port, but we are looking at a wall, bummer. The sky line only has a few skyscrapers and seems similar to Des Moines. Excursion for today is a bus trip to several sites for photos. We got lots of information from this tour guide and I will share a portion of what we learned about this city and country. You will see some photos today from the indoor Montevideo Mercado Agricola, where the locals go to get their fresh fruits, veggies, cheeses and meats. Also photos from Independence Square of their national hero, Jose Gervasio Artigas, the Presidential Offices and a government build that got turned into condos. Most of the country is farm or ranch land. Although you think of gauchos in Argentina, this country also has them as part of the local lore and there is a gaucho museum, but we did not visit this site. San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo overlooks the north shore of the Rio de la Plata where the water of this mighty river meets the Atlantic Ocean. At first the site was a small Spanish military fort built in 1714 as a way of countering the Portuguese expansion of Brazil. The early port, over several decades, grew into, and remains an essential link for trade between the “Old and New World”. It should also be noted that this city has European charm with wide streets, sidewalk cafes, and only a few skyscrapers. Just like their neighbors they love their beef and BBQ and on Sundays will get together for eating and drinking from noon until 6:00 pm. Our guide eluded to this causing some lackluster work productivity on Monday mornings. The final stop on our tour was at Matute for beer tasting and tapas. The four beers were IPA, Lager, Scottish, and Stout ( two light and two dark). They are all made in house. The tapas were bruschetta with beef braised for 16 hours in mist beer and criollo sauce, Angus beef skewer with onion, bell pepper and Dijon mustard. We also had spiced peanuts, and finished with a crispy meringue with red fruits, passion fruit ice cream, praline and mint. As you know, I do not usually takes pics of my food, but this was an exception.