Sunday in Montevideo

Sundays start late in Montevideo.  We can only imagine what the locals got up to last night.

We headed out at 10 am a little later than the evening crowd had gone home.

We went the opposite direction from yesterday towards the city centre.  We visited several plazas and parks with modern and traditional statues and fountains and marvelled at the architecture built mainly in the 1920s and 30s that reminded us of Sydney of our youth.  There are old palaces now converted to other uses and old churches squeezed between new high rise.

Our real destination was Tristan Narvaja, the Sunday markets.  This is one of the largest markets we have ever seen taking up about 20 city blocks with about a dozen streets closed for the day.  There was every imaginable item on sale with sections for fruit and vegetables, clothing, a lot of old wares, much of which was reminiscent of our youth.  It was exceptionally crowded and you moved through at the same pace of the bodies in front of you.

We had a leisurely walk on the way to the markets with many stops for sightseeing and photos but it was only on the return that we realised how far we had traversed.

After lunch we did what any self respecting Uruguan would do on a Sunday afternoon and enjoyed a siesta.

Characters from Carnivale..The Gramillero or old wizard doctor with Mama Vieja

The drummers or Cuerda who play the chico,the repique and the piano drums

Lavalleja the distinguished political and military figure in Uraguay's independence

Three thinkers..Einstein, Vaz Ferreira and Robert on a park bench on Sunday

How much is that doggie in the suitcase?

The entrance to the markets before it got busy