Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Melbourne
Jan. 12th, 2026 10:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tcpipAfter two days at sea from the Falklands, the next port was Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. The first sight coming into port is a "ship's graveyard", which is apparently is being cleaned up. Some similar work is probably required in the nearby old city, Ciudad Vieja, founded by the Spanish in 1724. Whilst there are a number of glorious old buildings, some are in a state of dilapidation; I suspect there's a poor incentive structure at work. In a heroic effort over a day, we started at the famous Café Brasilero, the oldest cafe in Montevideo, and famously a haunt for the excellent Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano, now with a namesake coffee. Other nearby sites visited included Plaza de la Constitución, Museo Histórico Cabildo, Museo Torres García, Puerta de la Ciudadela, Mausoleo de José Gervasio Artigas, Palacio Salvo, Museo de la Casa de Gobierno, Museo Figari (for Pedro Figari and Juan Carlos Figari), and the Teatro Solis. Three of these were art galleries, and one gets the impression that Montevideo is rather proud of its artistic history, and justly so. The constructivism of Torres García and Juan Carlos Figari and the impressionism of Pedro Figari (Juan's father) were all excellent, and the García museum also featured the amusing fashion designs by Agatha Ruiz de la Prada.
The following day, after crossing the Rio de la Plata (arguably the widest river in the world), we returned again to Buenos Aires, where there was an opportunity to catch up with Cobina, an old activist friend of mine whom I haven't seen for many years, and visit the Xul Solar museum. A friend of the magical realist author, Jorge Luis Borges, Xul Solar was a painter and designer. His artworks combine both expressionist and surrealist styles. He invented a spiritual form of chess where moves can provide a horoscope (of his own making) and tell a story (in a language he invented). He also redesigned the piano to make it easier to play and learn. Probably one of the truest artists I have encountered. After that we all made our way to the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral, which has an astoundingly beautiful interior, but also houses the mausoleum of General José de San Martín, a leading figure in the Argentine War of Independence, the Chilean War of Independence, and then Peruvian War of Independence - he had a busy life!
All adventures must come to an end, however, and after a month of an extraordinary journey with travelling companion Kate, we boarded the flight from Buenos Aires to Santiago, then to Melbourne. We spent seventeen hours in the air overall, and a significant portion of January 9 was lost due to timezone changes. Looking back on it, so much was packed into the thirty days, but that is definitely how I like to travel. From Chile, to Peru, Argentina, Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, Uruguay, and then back to Argentina, it was a journey that witnessed grand cities (Santiago, Lima, Buenos Aires, Montevideo) with all their artistry and history, extraordinary pre-Columbian sites (e.g., Machu Picchu), breathtaking nature (Antarctica, Falkland Islands), and a cruise through the Drake Passage and the Argentine Sea. It is, without a doubt, one of the most extraordinary journeys I have been on. Whilst it is good to be back home in Melbourne town, I must confess that my taste for such journeys has been whetted rather than satiated. I am a long way from being "world weary".
The following day, after crossing the Rio de la Plata (arguably the widest river in the world), we returned again to Buenos Aires, where there was an opportunity to catch up with Cobina, an old activist friend of mine whom I haven't seen for many years, and visit the Xul Solar museum. A friend of the magical realist author, Jorge Luis Borges, Xul Solar was a painter and designer. His artworks combine both expressionist and surrealist styles. He invented a spiritual form of chess where moves can provide a horoscope (of his own making) and tell a story (in a language he invented). He also redesigned the piano to make it easier to play and learn. Probably one of the truest artists I have encountered. After that we all made our way to the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral, which has an astoundingly beautiful interior, but also houses the mausoleum of General José de San Martín, a leading figure in the Argentine War of Independence, the Chilean War of Independence, and then Peruvian War of Independence - he had a busy life!
All adventures must come to an end, however, and after a month of an extraordinary journey with travelling companion Kate, we boarded the flight from Buenos Aires to Santiago, then to Melbourne. We spent seventeen hours in the air overall, and a significant portion of January 9 was lost due to timezone changes. Looking back on it, so much was packed into the thirty days, but that is definitely how I like to travel. From Chile, to Peru, Argentina, Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, Uruguay, and then back to Argentina, it was a journey that witnessed grand cities (Santiago, Lima, Buenos Aires, Montevideo) with all their artistry and history, extraordinary pre-Columbian sites (e.g., Machu Picchu), breathtaking nature (Antarctica, Falkland Islands), and a cruise through the Drake Passage and the Argentine Sea. It is, without a doubt, one of the most extraordinary journeys I have been on. Whilst it is good to be back home in Melbourne town, I must confess that my taste for such journeys has been whetted rather than satiated. I am a long way from being "world weary".
