Our next visit was to Uruguay's chief port, capital and largest city, Montevideo. We took advantage of the free shuttle buses provided by the leather factories, and spent so much time admiring the glove soft, fur lined jackets and vests that we didn't have much time left to explore the city! We had no intention of buying anything so didn't bring much cash with us … however they obliged by driving us back to the ship, and waited while we went to our rooms to get money!! Among the other happy shoppers were Roman and Svetlana, champion ballroom dancers -- and instant costume change artists --who performed on the ship.
We walked through Independence Plaza and admired the 19th and 20th century architecture, and along the main shopping and arts street, Avenida 18 de Julio, which commemorates their national Constitution Day. We also browsed through two handicraft markets on our way to see the anchor from the German pocket battleship, the Graff Spee. In 1939 this ship was trying to stop trade and battle ships from getting through to Europe and after being damaged in a battle with the British, was ordered to be scuttled. It sank just off the coast of Montevideo, and its remains are marked in the channel.
Since a Holland America sister ship, the Veendam, was also in port, the crew decided to have a friendly basketball game -- I didn't hear who won, but the crew looked happy as they returned to the Prinsendam!
The people are mostly of Spanish and Italian descent, and there is some African influence. They have a passion for gauchos, and their Gaucho Museum is one of the city's most visited, and they are world famous for their beef.
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