Tuesday 27th January, Montevideo, Uruguay, 24degrees

We woke up to be overlooked by three enormous cranes as we came into Montevideo. It is a big port.

No walking this morning except to breakfast and although the Captain had told us it was going to be a fine and sunny day, the skies looked ominous and it did start to rain as we were finishing breakfast. The bus was waiting for us on the quay. We have booked to go for a day in the countryside just outside of Montevideo.

The name Uruguay is an indigenous word meaning ‘River of Painted Birds’.

Montevideo is said to have the highest quality of life in the whole of South America. Of the cities we have visited, Montevideo felt prosperous and safe. It has a population of 1.7 million which is half the population of the whole of Uruguay. The Portuguese set up a small garrison at Montevideo initially but that was soon taken over and the City was founded by the Spanish. It is in fact not a port on the Atlantic but it marks the entrance to the River Plate,

Whilst it was founded by the Spanish it has a lot of British Influence. In particular the British built and ran the Railway which they eventually gave to Uruguay to pay off UK debts after the 2nd World War. We were getting (and still do get) beef from Uruguay – Fray Bentos corned beef is probably the best known. Frey Bentos is actually a town named after a popular priest….. but to get back to the railway, the Uruguay Government ran it for a bit and then let it lapse, so although there is a typical Victorian Train Station there is not a passenger railway any more and only freight goes by train. Passenger trains stopped in 1987. People travel by bus.

The City is very modern but there are a number of grand Art Deco buildings.

It also has an opera house and museums. Despite the Captain’s assurance as we were looking at the local sights it started to pour with rain.

Interesting fact: Montevideo has a promenade 22 Kilometres long. There is one tree to every three people in the City.

The big social drink of Uruguay is mate (pronounced matae) a herb based drink initially used by the indigenous people of the country. It is a bitter drink and quite an acquired taste, but high in caffeine. People tend to start drinking it at 16.

Beef is the main export to the USA, China, Europe and Japan. The average Uruguayan eats 220lbs of beef a year

What struck us particularly was that although we passed the ministerial offices and the parliament building, there was not a policeman in sight. A very different feel, even in the UK there is at least a police presence on these sort of buildings.

We then set out on the motorway for the countryside. Luckily by the time we got there the sun had appeared and it was the lovely day advertised.

The Farm was amazing. It has been run by the same family for many years. The first generation who bought the land in 1943 came from the Basque Country in northern Spain and they have gradually built it up. The current Grandfather is one of 6 brothers who jointly run the farm. The wealth is obvious. It is very much a family affair and many of them were involved with the event today.

It is mainly a beef farm, but it has agriculture too – mainly growing wheat, corn and soya. It has 2,000 head of cattle mainly bought in and then fattened for market. All the beef is fed on grass. There are Hereford, Angus and Limousin breeds. It has some sheep. The herding work is done on horseback by gauchos who interestingly mainly wear Basque berets.

When we arrived many of the current generation of the family were lined up on horseback – definitely an impressive presence for the farm La Rebida,

The barbecue was already on the go;

We were first driven around some of the estate on the back of an open wagon, sitting on hay bales. Once again the large group thing feels a bit uncomfortable but it was a good way to travel to get the feel of the place. And wow it was great too be in the countryside! (Nice to see some green fields. Ed) I felt it was like one of those perfect farms in the Cotswolds. It was immaculate – even the cows!

The trip took us through fields of crops and you could see for miles – there are very few hills in Uruguay. La Rebida covers 3,650 acres. There were lapwings and hawks flying up and around us and some local birds we could not recognise. It was nice to see so many butterflies too. They stressed that no herbicides were used on the farm. There were also interesting trees, including eucalyptus, pines, and oaks. Odd to see oaks in the same field as palm trees!

La Rebida’s land also goes out onto a beach further along the River Plate a river which incidentally is so wide you cannot see the other side.

It was then back on the wagons…

When we arrived back where we started, it was time for that barbecue which was excellent. The meat was really succulent – our gaucho friends had done a good job!

There were lovely salads, roast and sweet potato to go with the meat – all washed down with a light Spanish beer or the local wine which was quite fruity and not as full of tannin as we were told. There was cheese and membrillo and rice pudding to follow. The rice pudding was a bit of an odd choice and not as nice as Keith’s but very acceptable. (Mine has loads of vanilla…this one had cinnamon. Ed0 You then had the opportunity to milk a cow, if the spirit moved you (ours didn’t). (I used to do it for a living…nearly 50 years ago…gulp…but it didn’t really appeal. Ed)

We did go and see the horses though. They have a number of both Arabian and the local creole horses, who I think are the real work horses of the farm.

After a very sweet biscuit – they do like Dolce de Leche we have found – they use it in everything- it was time to go. We had really enjoyed our day. After all that sea and the cities it was great to see some grass and green fields.

After a short rest, we went out to explore the town a bit on our own. The market had a number of restaurants offering barbecued food that looked good. I am beginning to understand all that beef consumption!But we didn’t need any more meat……

So we walked along the promenade. It was quite windy and refreshing. as the temperature had gone up to 25 degrees.

It was then time to go back to the ship, We did not want a great deal to east so didn’t go into supper, but we did want to go to the theatre as a local dance group were performing. I think it was the best show we have seen so far on the ship. However, we weren’t sure about the sort of pantaloons the men were wearing. I think they won’t make the grade in Buxton.

Tomorrow we are taking a more thorough tour of the city, going to a winery (interesting term) and going to see the Tango.