Tuesday, 7 October 2014
I woke up this morning at 5.30 am (ok, so maybe taking the 6.45 am bus to Montevideo wasn't the best idea) and at about 6.15 am started walking to the bus station. I didn't get much sleep last night thanks to my phone which kept ringing in the middle of the night, I suspect some bloody bank is trying to sell me something, and this is not the first time this is happening. I think you would be able to know from the ring tone if a person was overseas, so there is really no need to insistently call, again and again. Besides, I resolved not to answer any phone calls whilst on holiday. I contact my friends and family using wifi, and that's good enough for me. I couldn't switch off my phone because I use it as my alarm clock.
So as soon as the bus started moving I fell asleep, and only woke up at about 9 am when we were already in Montevideo. I had a headache, I think it's a combination of lack of sleep, lack of water and over exertion. I also notice a trend, whenever I am travelling without Panadol is when I get a headache. The bus arrived at the bus station at about 9.30 am. There was a tourist information centre in the bus station, and from there I obtained a map of Montevideo as well as of the Old City, the historic quarter of Montevideo. Then I took a cab to the hotel, which was on Avenida 18 de Julio, the main avenue in Montevideo. When I began my self walking tour, I found out how strategically located my hotel was, and for this I was thankful.
After checking in, I took some time out to figure out what to do first, and I decided to explore the Old City first before doing the city tour on the bus. The Old City was about a 20 minute walk away from my hotel. My legs were still feeling sore, and my head was still aching, but I was only going to be in Montevideo for a day so I ignored my bodily woes and began my self walking tour.
Montevideo is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. Uruguay in itself is an extremely small country, from one end to the other is about 500 km. And then it's Brazil. It has a population of about 1.5 million people. Montevideo was founded by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala. The foundation of the city dates back to the years 1724 to 1730, a period when the fist settlers from Buenos Aires and the Canary Islands began to arrive. Until the end of the 18th century, Montevideo remained a fortified area, today known as Ciudad Vieja or Old City. In 1833, there were plans to expand the city, and the new city was built by 1861, and continues to grow.
I started at the Montevideo port. It is a large port bustling with activity and movement. Then I walked to the Mercado del Puerto or Port Market, passing by the River Ferry Terminal on the way (I got a bit lost - I needed time to adjust to the map!). The Port Market was an indoor market full of shops, cafes, restaurants and stalls selling mainly food, but I did also see some shops selling handicrafts and souvenirs. It was built in 1865 to 1868. Right outside the market there were many outdoor restaurants. By then I became familiar with the map (who would have thought??) and I walked through the Perez Castellano Pedestrian Street to the San Francisco Church. I did a quick tour in the church, which was built in 1864.
From here I walked to the Taranco Palace, which was built in 1907 to 1908, and is now the Decorative Arts Museum. It was closed for restoration works. Then I went to Zabala Square, which was the original site of the Governor's House and warehouses back in about 1878. Here there was an equestrian statue of Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, the founding father of Montevideo. Then I passed by a building built at the end of the 19th century and was used as the Headquarters of the Montevideo Waterworks Company. Now I think it's a government building of some sort.
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