Montevideo

Having enjoyed our day in Colonia Del Sacrimento, we were looking forward to our second trip to Uraguay to visit the capital city Montevideo. Our experience couldn't have been more different. Whereas Colonia was quaint, clean, well kept and welcoming to visitors, Montevideo was run down, somewhat past it's best and the streets mainly consisted of armed police and street drinkers. Definitely not as quaint and picturesque as Colonia, but underneath the shabbyness of Montevideo there were some remarkable art deco, neo classical and colonial buildings.

We decided that the trick to enjoying this city was to look up and there we could really appreciate the stunning architecture and imagine the history of this city. To be fair, we were here on a Sunday morning slightly before most shops and cafes were open.

We sat in the town square and took in the ambiance. Then in search of a quaint cafe for lunch, we were dismayed to find McDonalds, Burger King and Subway had become resident in Montevideo.

After a stroll we found a store selling coffee with a couple of tables in the corner where we could grab a quick coffee and a queso and cebolla (cheese and onion) empanada- our favourite South American snack.

A significant fact about Uraguay is that in December 2013, Uraguay became the first country in the world to legalise cannabis. Uruguayan citizens are now allowed to grow 6 marijuana plants for personal use each year and can buy up to 40 gramms per month at local pharmacies.

Unfortunately, foreigners are not allowed to buy it so no sampling for us but it does account for why Uraguay seems such a laid back country.