Lewis in Montevideo’s main square – Plaza Independencia
Early the next morning, Lewis the Lion had to wake up to head to his next destination, Uruguay’s capital city, Montevideo. Luckily for Lewis and Helen their friend Alicia was able to wake them up in the morning as unbelievably their alarm clock did not go off!
Thank goodness for Alicia!
They were again awake in time to see the breaking dawn as they waited for their coach to take them to Montevideo. It was late by about half an hour but Lewis the Lion was beginning to understand that that was just the way things seemed to work in South America. In the meantime, he observed another stray, skinny cat who was scavenging for food.
It was approximately 500 km to Montevideo from Salto which took them roughly 5 hours to get there. As the coach drove into the capital, Lewis breathed in a sense of the familiar. Montevideo reminded him very much of some of the cities in Europe, e.g. Barcelona or Madrid. It was no wonder really as the majority of the inhabitants of Montevideo had either Spanish or Italian origins. That was clear too from the number of Italian restaurants serving pizza and pasta. Lewis the Lion also spotted a familiar looking American restaurant chain – MacDonalds! They seemed to be everywhere in the world, only here they served ice-cream sundaes with dulce de leche (a type of popular caramel sauce eaten in South America).
Lewis outside a familiar looking restaurant!
The taxi driver seemed to drive in a crazy fashion, darting from one lane to another, accelerating and breaking suddenly at changing lights. But as Lewis the Lion looked around at the traffic, this just seemed to be normal way of driving here. He was only glad to be wearing his seatbelt!
Lewis with a Uruguayan taxi
Lewis and his friends were staying in a hotel in the central district, and after they had dropped off their luggage, they went for a very pleasant walk around the elegant city of Montevideo. He could have quite easily have imagined that he was in Italy with pedestrianised avenues, open squares with central statues or fountains, flanked by chique buildings or palm trees. Here is a photo of the square where his hotel was based, Plaza Cagancha.
Plaza de Cagancha
Indeed at one point he felt like he could have been in Italy as he listened to opera in an open park by a fountain!
Lewis listens to opera by a fountain
It was obvious that he was in Uruguay though as right beside him, people were sharing maté!
People sharing maté in the park
Indeed, this was evident throughout Uruguay from the maté street sellers as seen in this photo, to people carrying their thermal flasks of hot water around with them.
Maté stalls in Montevideo
By the time he reached the port, again he was reminded of previous visits to La Boqueria market in Barcelona, Spain. He had come to the Mercado del Puerto (The Port Market). Similarly, there was an undercover market with lots of eateries where you would sit at bar stools at and eat at a bench.
Mercado del Puerto
As Helen and her friends had lunch, they were entertained by musicians in the background. You can get a sense of the atmosphere in Mercado del Puerto by clicking on the words to see a short video clip. Lewis has more information on Uruguayan food in his next blog!
Later on that day, Lewis the Lion and his friends went for a walk down to the beach and the port. It was a lovely sunny day and they enjoyed absorbing the relaxed atmosphere of the Uruguayan capital.
Looking out to sea
They noticed decorative street art on their way
Street art in Montevideo
and observed a big billboard of the Uruguayan national football team.
The Uruguayan Football Team
Indeed, football plays a big part of Uruguayan culture as it was here where the first Football World Cup was held in 1930 which Uruguay then went on to win! They therefore weren’t surprised to find football matches being played on sports fields by the coast.
The particular weekend that Lewis the Lion was in town, there was a big banking convention so there was a heavy police presence. The police officers were very friendly and posed for a photo for Lewis.
Lewis meets some Uruguayan police officers
Lewis the Lion didn’t think there would be much trouble though in Montevideo as this city definitely had a very chilled and relaxed feel about the place. Lewis the Lion thought that it was a wonderful place to spend a few days. People even played chess on the streets as you can see in this photo.
People playing chess on the street
Chess is a strategy game played between two people.
Do you know how to play to play chess? If not, can you ask your friends or family about how to play it or do some research on the internet? If you do, can you help a friend to understand how the different pieces can move around the board?
