Montevideo is the pleasant capital city of Uruguay situated on the east bank of the Rio de la Plata. Geo-fact: it is the southernmost capital city in South America. Founded in 1724, the beef boom led to its growth during the 19th-century, although many of the buildings from the time are now crumbling. The 'Ciudad Vieja' (Old Town) meets the newer commercial centre at the impressive Plaza Independencia which hosts the Mausoleo de Artigas. Jose Artigas is one of the heroes of Uruguayan independence, and his huge statue tops the eerie underground mausoleum, permanently guarded by two soldiers.

We ramped up the excitement for the imminent World Cup by visiting Estadio Centenario, venue of the first final in 1930, played between Uruguay and Argentina before a crowd of 93,000, won by Uruguay 4-2 . The stadium was built in a record time of 9 months by an immigrant workforce - puts Brazil 2014 to shame! The stadium has definitely seen better days, but is still home to the Uruguay national team and has very recently hosted a Paul McCartney concert. We were able to wander around the stands and reveled amongst the museum's memorabilia, which included shirts worn by Pele, Maradona and Sir Geoff Hurst.

We stumbled across a small museum, Museo Andes 1972, a tribute to the memory of the 29 Uruguayans who perished in
the Andes in 1972, when their airplane crashed on its way from
Montevideo to Santiago de Chile. It tells the incredible story of 16 men, who 'returned to life' after having endured 72
infernal days under the worst imaginable conditions, including cannibalism. We had a private tour with the manager and left agreeing that it was one of the most fascinating museums we had visited.

A popular pastime in Montevideo is heading down to 'La Rambla', a waterside pathway, for mate-drinking, people-watching and sunset-viewing. We got involved.

Culinary highlights were found in Mercado del Puerto - bife and salmon a la plancha, and Schwarma Ashot for a Middle Eastern kebab.

'Baar Fun Fun' lived up to its name, providing live music and tango (Uruguay contests Argentina (and France!) as the birthplace of tango), as well as the secret recipe liquor drink, 'Uvita', and was a great place to finish our time in Montevideo.

Onward bus to Fray Bentos, 4.5 hours.