We arrived on a hot sunny day in the capital city of Montevideo. the weather had changed dramatically since our last stop in Puerto Madryn. It was going to be a hot one! We met up with our friends, the Davis family (Jeff, Diane and Grace), in the morning and headed out to explore the city on foot. Since none of the Holland organized tours looked like what we wanted to do, we wandered the streets in the direction of Plaza de Independencia to join the 11:00am free wa
lking tour.
As we walked the approximately one mile to the Plaza we went in to many shops and browsed through street vendors. We joined a group of about 20 people in the plaza for the free walking tour with Geraldo, our guide. He was great and enthusiastic about the history of his country. We were able to see some of the most important site in the city.
At the end of our two hour tour, Geraldo, offered all of us a taste of a famous Uruguayan liquor, Grappamil. It is like Italian Grappa sweetened with honey. He poured us all a taste. It was much better than my recent taste of Grappa.
When the tour ended we went to the market located in the Old City, also near the port. The Mercado el Puerto is now a place to purchase any souvenirs you may want to take home with you, including Dulce de Leche (Uruguay claims to have created it first and also to have the “best in the world”). In and around the market there are many restaurants offering a selection of meats cooked over a traditional asado (BBQ).
By the afternoon, it was very hot outside and we were all in need of a cold drink. A few blocks up the main street from the market, there are little bars and cafes with outdoor seating. We picked one in the shade and enjoyed a few glasses of Patricia, local Uruguayan beer. The cold drinks cooled us down and we 
made our way back to the ship.
We finished up our fun afternoon with a daily game of trivia. This round was our crowning glory taking first place. Our prize… free drinks from our cruise director, Ryan!
During the night our ship crossed the Rio de la Plata to the Argentina capital city of Buenos Aires. This was the final destination of our cruise. We were sad that our cruise had come to an end but excited to explore the city and continue our adventure.
Our first day in Buenos Aires, it was cold and ra
ining. We were able to walk for about one hour before the rain started. We began our exploration at the clock tower, Torre Monumental and then up to Calle Florida. The pedestrian street of Calle Florida continues for several blocks. It is filled with shops selling just about anything you can think of. However, one thing you cannot miss are all the people yelling “Cambio, Cambio” over and over. There are dozens of them along the streets trying to get people to change currency with them. While it is illegal, there is a strong desire for people to get US Dollars rather than Argentinian Pesos. While it may be easy to do a currency exchange with one of them, it is not a good idea as they can give you fake bills. 
We laughed at all of their different ways of saying the same thing. Some fast, some slow, some aggressively and some like they are half asleep. It’s part of the atmosphere of shopping along Calle Florida.
Since it was pouring down rain, we cut our walk a bit short. We stayed in Buenos Aires for 4 nights so we had plenty of time to enjoy the city.
One of our highlights was visiting the Catedral Metropolitana, located on the Plaza de Mayo. Located in the Cathedral is the tomb of San Martin. He was the liberator of many South American Spanish territories, initiating their independence. It is guarded when the Cathedral is open. At 1:00pm we watched the changing of the guard.
On Sunday we met up with the Davis family in the Plaza Dorrego for the weekly market. The streets all around the plaza were filled with street vendors selling everything from antiques to crafts to souvenirs. The market happens every Sunday from approximately 10:00am to 4:00pm in the neighborhood of San Telmo.
On Monday, we joined another free walking tour at 11:00am. The one in Buenos Aires must have reservations in advance because they limit the number of people on each tour. Our guide, Vicky, took us through the main downtown area giving us a tremendous amount of information about the city as we walked. The tour was 2.5 hours starting in Plaza Congresso and ending at the Obelisk. It was a great way to learn about the city.
During our stay in Buenos Aires, we ate at the 
Pizzeria Guerrin twice. They are known for having the best empanadas in the city and their pizza is great too! At both lunch and dinner time the place is packed. They only except cash. The walls are full of photos of South American celebrities that have eaten there. It has a fun atmosphere and the food is great! The restaurant is located 2 blocks from the Obelisk.
Our visit to Buenos Aires had to come to an end, but we have more stop to make in Argentina…Puerto Iguazu.