Montevideo and Buenos Aires

  On Tuesday 25^th we berthed in Montevideo on a clear and very warm morning. This was one of the very few places where we could leave the ship and walk straight into the city in a very few minutes.

  First impressions were of a clean and well ordered city with many similarities to cities in Spain. In fact the 1.8m inhabitants (half of Uruguay´s population) are almost entirely of European descent, mainly Spanish and Italian stock and the country is only the size of England and Wales. It is sometimes called the Switzerland of South America because of its high standard of living and its unique welfare state.

  We spent 4 hours wandering round the streets and admiring the sights as it got hotter-a maximum of about 32C. The main centre was the grand Plaza de  Independencia with Government house and its Opera House the Teatro Solis. We had to have a coffee break in a wonderful leafy square with a gorgeous fountain and ended up for a lunch break near the ship in the wonderfully restored Mercado del Puerto which is no longer a market but a collection of restaurants mostly serving barbecued beef. We came across our friends Mick and Mavis there and had to join them and sample the local beer which arrived in a 1 litre bottle named Patricia! Also a couple of huge barbecued sausages that were delicious!

  On the way back to Aurora we passed by some relics (an anchor and a gun rangefinder) salved from the German battleship Graf Spee which was scuttled outside the port in 1939.

  By 1730 everyone had returned aboard and we sailed away for the 125mile crossing of the Rio de la Plata to Buenos Aires.

  On Wednesday morning we arrived in the city of Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina and home of the tango. Cleansed by overnight rain we were lucky that the next 2 days would be dry and very warm and allow us to explore this famous city.

  The current city originated from a Spanish settlement in May 1580 named Nuestra Senora Santa Maria del Buen Aire. The city declared itself independent from Spain in 1810 and became capital of the United Provinces of Rio de la Plata 6years later. By the beginning of the 20^th century the city had grown in size to nearly 700,000 and 70% of these were immigrants from Europe. Nowadays greater Buenos Aires has a population of over 13 million, more than a third of Argentina´s total and it certainly has the feel of a very large city. Argentina is 11 times the size of the UK and is on the same latitude as Adelaide.

  Argentina is of course famous for President Juan Peron and his wife Eva who reigned 1946-1955, for the Tango and for being the beef rearing and eating capital of the world. The period they want to forget is 1976-83 when the military appointed General Jorge Videla as President and anyone who opposed him was killed or just disappeared. In 1982 the failed invasion of the Falklands resulted in his downfall and things have improved ever since. Was it coincidence though that there was no BBC or Sky News on the ship´s TV while we were there?

  As there is no cruise ship berth we and the other 2 ships (4 on the next day) were berthed on the container terminal and shuttle buses had to take everyone to a new reception terminal where we transferred to shuttle buses taking us into the city. At times the queues were horrendous as you can imagine. However we made it OK and started our exploration of this very crowded and busy city at the Marriot Hotel and made our way along Avenida Florida, a pedestrianised shopping street where we were immediately accosted by street sellers offering Tango shows and dinner. This must be such big business. Avoiding them was fun and after much walking we arrived at the Plaza de Mayo which is the sight of the original settlement and also of the Casa Rosada where the Perons lived. There was a political rally going on there so many police in riot gear were in the background and firecrackers were being set off. We explored the Cathedral there as well before having a coffee break at a pavement café on Avenida 9 de Julio, a grand avenue based on Paris´s Champs Elysees. The city was certainly impressive and we enjoyed our trek and ended up  sitting outside an Irish Pub with a pint!

  Back on board mid afternoon we needed a rest and then prepared ourselves for our 7pm muster to go to a Tango dinner organized form the ship. This really was a highlight of the trip so far. First a 3 course meal served perhaps a little too fast for our liking but of excellent quality including a massive steak cooked to perfection. The wine flowed freely too! The restaurant was decorated like a wine cellar with a stage at one end and as soon as the meal was cleared the show began and continued for about 90mins. There was a five piece orchestra including a wonderful squeeze box, 4 elegant couples who danced some wonderful tangos, 2 solo singers and a couple of soloists, one who played an instrument called a Charanga I think, a bit like a mandolin. The other is difficult to describe but there were hard balls on the end of his ropes and he twirled these around and over his head and hitting the balls on the floor in time with the music-it was amazing. The show was over all too quickly to a standing ovation and we were whisked back to the ship by about 11pm.

  Luckily the straddle carriers´ warning sounds stopped during the night so we were well rested and up early on Thursday, beat the rush and were in the city for an open top bus tour at 1000. We started off by covering some of the city we walked to the day before including the main square where shrapnel damage to one of the government buildings was pointed out. This occurred when Peron was overthrown. We continued past grand buildings through areas called Monserrat and San Telmo and ended up not far from the football stadium at La Boca, the home of Boca Juniors. A little time was spent there in the many souvenir shops-very arty too and reminiscent of Camden Market. We returned to the city via Puerto Madera which is the old port area where warehouses have been restored and skyscrapers built. This was very impressive. Many great restaurants there too but no time to try them! The trip lasted 2.5 hours and unfortunately we felt there was no time to do another loop before our 4pm deadline so had refreshments before returning to the ship without queuing!

  Two days were good in Buenos Aires but not enough. About 1730 we drew away from the quay and headed out into the River Plate and turned south towards Port Stanley in the Falklands another 2 days steaming away. It was 30C today and expect it to be only 12C there so out will come the woolies again!