Montevideo, Uruguay.....

Decided to take a day trip to Montevideo, Uruguay....a short 3 hour (?) ferry boat ride from Buenos Aires.  The route of the ferry is along the La Plata River...border between Argentina and Uruguay.  The river goes from about 1 mile wide to over 140 miles wide....so the ferry ride was like crossing an ocean!!  It was a little rough going over....but coming back that night...wow...very rough and everyone was told to be seated and they handed out sickness bags!!  Go figure....fortunately I did not observe anyone using the bags.

This is the Atlantic III that took us over and back....

Everyone had told me about the beauty of Montevideo....somehow I was not able to find that in the short time I was there.....leaving the harbor there was a naval presence

..with some attractive sculpture....

...but the city streets seemed not to different from that of Buenos Aires....sidewalks that were in need of repair....similar traffic patterns.....

The city lies along the shore of the La Plata River....said to be good for bathing and fishing.....but looking very much like a muddy Mississippi to me....

A number of the buildings were in need of repair.....

...some of the other structure had beauty of their own......

The government building was of course a prominent structure that rivaled those of Buenos Aires.....

...and what would be a Government building without magnificent sculptures......

This is the soccer stadium of Montevideo....which team has won the World Cup....but the building is now in need of an upgrade to equal those of the major soccer stadiums of the World.....

The United States Embassy.....nice structure......

Areas near the embassy were home to many of the diplomats serving in Uruguay as well as other wealthy citizens....

The skyline of Montevideo is growing with new construction of housing and office buildings....

Time for something to eat......this cafe in the central harbour area of Montevideo was the choice...it is

 I decided upon a vegetable stew with a fine Uruguay wine....what a surprise that was....the stew - not the wine...

...yes...two plus huge portions of food!!

The desserts were awesome....from the Cheesecake...Apple Pie....and Creme Brulee....

Then....time to take that infamous ride back to Buenos Aires....a true nail biter.....

A photo of the day....oh yeah..how about this two this time.  This beautiful fruit/vegetable market - and just adjacent to it - this police swat team man.  Now was he guarding the market - or just fully armed and ready for any and all situations - I hope the latter!!

Next up...food....food....food in Buenos Aires...