Biking in Montevideo, Uruguay

Day 43 was a fun but very tiring day! Here's our view as we pulled back the curtains this morning.

pulling into port, Montevideo

 

In order to meet our guide for a bike tour this morning we had to leave the ship around 8:30 a.m. What was supposed to be a 2 hour bike ride ended up being a 3.5-4 hour ride. Thankfully, our group was small (our guide, Ronnie, a lady from Ohio and myself). I haven’t been on a bicycle in many years and am undeniably out of shape. However, saying I’m out of shape implies that I was at one time in shape, which is a stretch. Let’s just say it was a long ride and I had to take 2 muscle relaxers and a 2 hour nap after we got back to the ship!

I had booked the ride through our travel agent (not a ship excursion) and I’m glad I did, as some of the ship groups were huge. It was nice with just the 4 of us and being able to stop fairly often for him to explain what we were seeing or to adjust my gears. As it turned out, our guide was from the US (Virginia) so naturally he was very easy to understand, and we could not have asked for a more beautiful day, weather wise. 

Statue of Bruno Mauricio de Zabala

Montevideo, established in 1724, is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. People who live here make up about 1/3 of the population of entire country of Uruguay. It has a huge port and is the hub of commerce and higher education in Uruguay. It is home to a number of museums, many of which are government sponsored with no admittance fee. I'm sorry that we didn’t have the time to walk through some of the museums or cathedrals. There are also many beautiful monuments here but I could not snap photos and stay upright on the bike at the same time.

market area near port

Plaza of Constitution

a little history with tour guide Mike

 

The city of Montevideo is very bike friendly. I managed to only run one red light (I was already into the intersection when our guide yelled “red light!” but it was too late; I was committed and thankfully made it safely through). There are many monuments around the city and naturally I could only grab photos when we were stopped for our guide to tell us what we were seeing or on the way back to our ship after we had put the bikes away. I would have loved to spend more time just browsing through the shops, but we were pooped, hungry and ready to get back to the ship. I snapped a few photos of vendors on the streets selling their wares as we passed through on our way back to the port. I also noticed (as we rode and walked) many people sipping mate in just the way it was described.

Monument to General José Gervasio de Artigas, Independence Square

Although very pleasant in the shade it was fairly hot standing or riding in the direct sun. I’m thankful I wore good sunscreen today and have Tylenol to help with muscle soreness. Our first stop was Independence Square where we learned about national hero General Jose Gervasio Artigas who is regarded as the father of Uruguayan independence.

standing guard

 

Montevideo's theater building

Holocaust Memorial

railroad tracks leading up to Holocaust Memorial

located on the shores of the River Plate

Proverbs 24:16 ... for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

homemade wooden tricycle in market

fresh produce sold here

lots of places to eat

get rice here, get married at city hall (left)

friends & family throw rice when couple emerges

walkin' the dogs

market area

local artist selling prints

different flavors of gelato

mate cups are sold everywhere

yerba mate bombilla straws

bombilla straws filter the mate herbs

empty cigarette carton caught my eye