I loved Montevideo!

Having a wonderful guide, Patricia, and driver, Julio, and having absolutely perfect weather added to the magic of the capital city of Uruguay.

We started at the Plaza Independencia centered by a monument to their revered José Artigas, a leader in their struggle for independence in the early 1800’s.

We saw charming old buildings, high rise apartments, luxury homes on tree lined streets, beaches, and just some of the many, many monuments in the city. We also saw Burger King and McDonalds. I was especially pleased to see Blockbuster Video. My own neighborhood Blockbuster closed a few months ago, and I had not found a new one yet.

My favorite part of the day was our lunch at the Mercado del Puerto. Beef is a major part of their diet, and they take their barbeque seriously.

We walked past several barbeques cooking all kinds of meat, and for lunch Patricia and I split a sampler of beef, chicken, pork and sausage. No barbeque sauce as we know it in Texas, but the mixture of olive oil, herbs and garlic they use as a garnish was very tasty.

I also enjoyed a Montevideo favorite beverage, clerico.

Montevideo was comfortable and charming. Proud of her heritage and independence. Gentle. Unassuming.

Serenity sailed out of port at 6:00p and I went to the very top of the ship – the sundeck on deck 13 – to watch our departure and take one last picture.

Tonight we cross a time line and move our clocks BACK one hour. Tomorrow we see Buenos Aires and go to the special Virtuoso "tango" dinner.