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Montevideo, Uruguay - South America Port of Call
Montevideo (c) Linda Garrison Things to See with a Day in Montevideo
Montevideo is the capital city of Uruguay, and can be found across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires. Cruise ships sailing from Buenos Aires north to Rio de Janeiro or south to the Falklands or around Cape Horn to Valparaiso (Santiago) often include Montevideo as a port of call on their itineraries.
Montevideo is a nice place to spend the day, and even though it has over a million citizens, the old historic part of the city seems quite small. Montevideo is on a peninsula that separates the Rio de la Plata from the Atlantic Ocean. Cruise ships dock near the ferry terminal, and passengers can walk into the center of the old town.
We visited Montevideo on Celebrity Cruises' Infinity on a cruise from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro, and walked into town and did a few hours of exploring on our own.
The Infinity had tours to a ranch, a winery, a city tour, and a Jewish Heritage tour. We heard good reports from all of these, and the participants seemed to enjoy learning about Uruguay and Montevideo.
Legend says the early 18th century Portuguese explorers called "Monte vide eu" or "I see a mountain" - kind of like "Land Ho" - when they first saw this mountain overlooking the harbor of Montevideo. Thus, the city was named. It's a good story, isn't it? The land surrounding Montevideo is very flat, so this must have looked like a mountain from the sea!
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Montevideo - Last Look at Montevideo as the Celebrity Infinity Sails Away
Montevideo, Uruguay Picture (c) Linda Garrison The Celebrity Infinity sails away from Montevideo on her way north to Porto Belo, Buzios, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.