Sunday, November 17, 2019, Colonia, Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in the southeastern region of South America. It borders Argentina to its west and Brazil to its north and east, with the Río de la Plata (River of Silver) to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. Uruguay is home to an estimated 3.45 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the metropolitan area of its capital and largest city, Montevideo. With an area of approximately 68,000 square miles, Uruguay is geographically the second-smallest nation in South America, after Suriname.
Uruguay was inhabited by the Charrúa people for approximately 4,000 years before the Portuguese established Colonia del Sacramento in 1680; Uruguay was colonized by Europeans relatively late compared with neighboring countries. Montevideo was founded as a military stronghold by the Spanish in the early 18th century, signifying the competing claims over the region. Uruguay won its independence between 1811 and 1828, following a four-way struggle between Portugal and Spain, and later Argentina and Brazil. It remained subject to foreign influence and intervention throughout the 19th century, with the military playing a recurring role in domestic politics.
A series of economic crises put an end to a democratic period that had begun in the early 20th century, culminating in a 1973 coup, which established a civic-military dictatorship. The military government persecuted leftists, socialists, and political opponents, resulting in several deaths and numerous instances of torture by the military; the military relinquished power to a civilian government in 1985. Uruguay is today a democratic constitutional republic, with a president who serves as both head of state and head of government.
Uruguay is ranked first in Latin America in democracy, peace, low perception of corruption, e-government, and is first in South America when it comes to press freedom, size of the middle class, and prosperity. On a per-capita basis, Uruguay contributes more troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions than any other country. It tops the rank of absence of terrorism, a unique position within South America. It ranks second in the region on economic freedom, income equality, per-capita income and inflows of FDI. Uruguay is the third-best country on the continent in terms of HDI, GDP growth, innovation and infrastructure. It is regarded as a high-income country by the UN. Uruguay was also ranked the third-best in the world in e-Participation in 2014. Uruguay is an important global exporter of combed wool, rice, soybeans, frozen beef, malt, and milk. Nearly 95% of Uruguay's electricity comes from renewable energy, mostly hydroelectric facilities and wind parks. Uruguay is a founding member of the United Nations, OAS, Mercosur, UNASUR, and NAM.
Uruguay is regarded as one of the most socially advanced countries in Latin America. It ranks high on global measures of personal rights, tolerance, and inclusion issues. The Economist named Uruguay "country of the year" in 2013, acknowledging the policy of legalizing the production, sale, and consumption of cannabis. Same sex marriage and abortion are also legal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguay
MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY
Eclectic capital of Uruguay, Montevideo enjoys a scenic
setting on the estuary waters of the Plata River. The Portuguese were the first to settle here,
seeking a strategic advantage near open-ocean.
But Spain, already having established Buenos Aries nearby, expelled them
in 1724. This was the beginning of the
golden era of Montevideo’s Cuidad Vieja, or Old City: Within its walls, some of the most impressive
colonial-era buildings were built, from the parliamentary Legislative Council
building to the stunning Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral. The wall has long since disappeared, but the
character of old Montevideo remains.
Downtown, amid modern skyscrapers, historic neoclassical and art deco architecture
provide more glimpses into the city’s past, and in the barrio of Carrasco,
picturesque private residences recall the posh neighborhood’s days as a seaside
resort.
Montevideo is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of 78 square miles. The southernmost capital city in the Americas, Montevideo is situated on the southern coast of the country, on the northeastern bank of the Río de la Plata.
The city was established in 1724 by a Spanish soldier, Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amid the Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region. It was also under brief British rule in 1807. Montevideo is the seat of the administrative headquarters of Mercosur and ALADI, Latin America’s leading trade blocs, a position that entailed comparisons to the role of Brussels in Europe.
The 2017 Mercer's report on quality of life, rated Montevideo first in Latin America, a rank the city has consistently held since 2005. As of 2010, Montevideo was the 19th largest city economy in the continent and 9th highest income earner among major cities. In 2019, it has a projected GDP of $47.7 billion, with a per capita of $27,542.
In 2018, it was classified as a beta global city ranking eighth in Latin America and 84th in the world. Montevideo hosted every match during the first FIFA World Cup, in 1930. Described as a "vibrant, eclectic place with a rich cultural life," and "a thriving tech center and entrepreneurial culture," Montevideo ranked eighth in Latin America on the 2013 MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index. In 2014, it was also regarded as the fifth most gay-friendly metropolis in the world and the first in Latin America. It is the hub of commerce and higher education in Uruguay as well as its chief port. The city is also the financial hub of Uruguay and the cultural anchor of a metropolitan area with a population of around 2 million.
Colonia del Sacramento by Coach & Foot
We discovered the sights of Colonia del Sacramento during a coach and walking excursion. Founded by the Portuguese in 1680, Uruguay’s oldest city became the focus of a power struggle until it was awarded to Spain in a treaty. We passed landmarks such as the Moorish-styled Real de San Carlos—an abandoned bullfighting ring—during the coach portion of our tour. We walked the Portuguese-built Barrio Histórico, a UNESCO World Heritage Site filled with buildings, cobblestone streets, and stone walls that retain their colonial-era charm. During our stroll, we saw many of these sites, including the Portón de Campo, with its stone gate and wooden drawbridge; Bastion del Carmen, one of the oldest buildings in the city; and the famous Calle de los Suspiros, or “Street of Sighs,” often used as a setting in historical films. After lunch at a local restaurant, we spent time exploring.
The Río de la Plata ("river of silver")—rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth and La Plata River (occasionally Plata River) in other English-speaking countries—is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay and the Paraná rivers. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean, forming a funnel-shaped indentation on the southeastern coastline of South America. Depending on the geographer, the Río de la Plata may be considered a river, an estuary, a gulf, or a marginal sea. For those who consider it a river, it is the widest river in the world, with a maximum width of about 140 miles and a total surface area of about 14,000 square miles.
The river is about 180 miles long, and it widens from about 1.2 miles at its source to about 140 miles at its mouth. It forms part of the border between Argentina and Uruguay, with the major ports and capital cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo on its western and northern shores, respectively. The coasts of the river are the most densely populated areas of Uruguay and Argentina.
The Río de la Plata begins at the confluence of the Uruguay and Paraná rivers at Punta Gorda and flows eastward into the South Atlantic Ocean. No clear physical boundary marks the river's eastern end; the International Hydrographic Organization defines the eastern boundary of the Río de la Plata as "a line joining Punta del Este, Uruguay and Cabo San Antonio, Argentina."
Colonia del Sacramento, formerly the Portuguese Colónia do Sacramento) is a city in southwestern Uruguay, by the Río de la Plata, facing Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is one of the oldest towns in Uruguay and capital of the Colonia Department. It has a population of around 27,000. It is renowned for its historic quarter, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Modern Colonia del Sacramento pro-duces textiles and has a free trade zone, in addition to a polytechnic center and various government buildings.
On our way by bus to Colonia del Sacremento, 2 1/2 hours down the road.
We felt we were zapped back to the mid-west of the good old USA.
Our arrival to Colonia del Sacramento.
Obviously a motorcycle repair shop.
Eighty-thousand seat bull ring, closed in 1912 due to population demand.
Rio Plata 30 miles wide and over 100 miles above mouth at the Atlantic below Montevideo.
Uruguay claims the Rio Plata is the widest river on earth at 140 miles wide at the mouth.
Ceiba is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to 230 feet tall or more, with a straight, largely branchless trunk that culminates in a huge, spreading canopy, and buttress roots that can be taller than a grown person. The best-known, and most widely cultivated, species is Kapok, Ceiba pentandra, one of several trees called kapok. Ceiba species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species, including the leaf-miner Bucculatrix ceibae, which feeds exclusively on the genus.
Campaigning for presidential election next Sunday, 11/24.
Voting is mandatory; individuals are fined if they do NOT vote.
Entering "Old Town" which is the attraction here.
Portugal crest (had been under their control).
Note the lack of sidewalks and the low street center for rain run off; typical of Portugal.
Arched gate and door ways, typical of Portugal.
Old prison.
Portuguese street.
Light house on top of church bell tower.
Remains of church.
Cannons in front of naval museum.
Typical street of Spain with sidewalks and crowned street for water run off along sidewalks.
Portuguese street.
Local vendors on the park square.
Spanish street.
OLD door knocker.
Mail chute.
Bee near hole "drilled" into tree for its home.
Foundation ruins of governor's home.
Another view of river.
Date palm.
Heading back to cruise ship.
At our dock, remains of the Admiral Graf Spee.
Admiral Graf Spee was a Deutschland-class "Panzerschiff" (armored ship), nicknamed a "pocket battleship" by the British, which served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. The two sister-ships of her class, Deutschland and Admiral Scheer, were reclassified as heavy cruisers in 1940. The vessel was named after Admiral Maximilian von Spee, commander of the East Asia Squadron who fought the battles of Coronel and the Falkland Islands, where he was killed in action, in World War I. She was laid down at the Reichsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven in October 1932 and completed by January 1936. The ship was nominally under the 10,000 tons limitation on warship size imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, though with a full load displacement of 16,020 tons, she significantly exceeded it. Armed with six 11 inch guns in two triple gun turrets, Admiral Graf Spee and her sisters were designed to outgun any cruiser fast enough to catch them. Their top speed of 28 knots (32 mph) left only the few battle cruisers in the Anglo-French navies fast enough and powerful enough to sink them.
The ship conducted five non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in 1936–1938, and participated in the Coronation Review of King George VI in May 1937. Admiral Graf Spee was deployed to the South Atlantic in the weeks before the outbreak of World War II, to be positioned in merchant sea lanes once war was declared. Between September and December 1939, the warship sank nine vessels totaling 50,089 tons, before being con-fronted by three British cruisers at the Battle of the River Plate on 13 December. Admiral Graf Spee inflicted heavy damage on the British ships, but she too was damaged, and was forced to put into port at Montevideo. Convinced by false reports of superior British naval forces approaching his ship, Hans Langsdorff, the commander of the ship, ordered the vessel to be scuttled. The ship was partially broken up in situ, though part of the ship remains visible above the surface of the water.
The wreck was partially broken up in situ in 1942–1943, though parts of the ship are still visible; the wreck lies at a depth of only 11 m (36 ft). The salvage rights were purchased from the German Government by the British, for £14,000, using a Montevideo engineering company as a front. The British had been surprised by the accuracy of the gunnery and expected to find a radar range finder, which they did. They used the knowledge thus acquired to try to develop countermeasures, under the leadership of Fred Hoyle at the British radar project. The Admiralty complained about the large sum paid for the salvage rights.
Fort guarding the entrance to the shipping port.
Office building in shape of a sail.
Palacio Salvo is a building in Montevideo, Uruguay, located at the intersection of 18 de Julio Avenue and Plaza Independencia. It was designed by the architect Mario Palanti, an Italian immigrant living in Buenos Aires, who used a similar design for his Palacio Barolo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Finished in 1928, Palacio Salvo stands 330 feet high with the antenna included. It was the tallest building in Latin America for a brief period.
The site was bought by the Salvo brothers for 650,000 Uruguayan pesos. It was built on the site where the Confiteria La Giralda was once located, a place renowned for being where Gerardo Matos Rodríguez wrote his tango La Cumparsita in 1917. At present, on that same historic site, inside Palacio Salvo, the Tango Museum of Montevideo is open to the public, and exhibits the history of La Cumparsita and of Uruguayan Tango.
The original specifications, describing the details of the construction, describe a lighthouse at the top of the building, which was replaced by a set of antennas. The specifications stated “on the top part of the tower a lighthouse will be placed made by Salmoiraghi of Italy, with a parabolic mirror of 36 inches, reaching approximately 62 miles, and a rotating 100 amp lamp.”
The building was originally intended to be a hotel, but this plan didn't work out, and it has since been occupied by a mixture of offices and private residences. The building has a height of 312 feet. While the set of antennas was at its top, its total height was 330 feet. The antennas were permanently removed in November 2012.
Uruguay Naval HQ.
Our next stop, Buenos Aires, Argentina. We will arrive 7 AM tomorrow, remaining for a day and a half.
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