Monte Video - Mon 26/3/07

The ship left Buenos Aires about 6:00 pm and cruised all night before arriving in Monte Video in Uraguay early monday morning. All we had done was actually crossed the river Plate. The old town adjacent to the docks was old, poorly maintained and looked deserted it was quite a shock and not a good introduction to a city that we eventually found to be beautiful. Three quarters of the city fronts the river which has all the appearance of a sea beach with white sand and a very mild sea. The promenade abounded with joggers and walkers and extended for many kilometers. On the land side were continuous high rise accomodation units, rather like Surfers Paradise but not so tall, on the other side were trees and lawns before the beach. Behind the high rise were beautiful suburbs the elegant houses. The city contains many statues to their heroes and the people are very proud of the cohesive mix of their citizens and the standard of their free education. The country became independent in 1860 (30 years after Perth was founded).