Former Grand Court Judge and now Legal adviser for Cayman's Financial Reporting Authority (FRA), Kipling Douglas is also a traveller. He recently journeyed through South America and recorded his observations.
In the year 1725 a Spanish ship was sailing north from the southern tip of South America; to it is left was the area known as Patagonia, that vast treeless, grassy plain of land stretching across Argentina's Atlantic Coast to the Andes.
For several days the sailors saw nothing but this great plain. In time they cross the mouth of the River Plata and then in the distance a sailor sighted a hill and enthusiastically shouted "monte video," (I see a hill).
Shortly after that they stopped dropped anchor and went ashore. Thus the city of Montevideo was born.
The hill now forms but a small area of the city, which stretches along the coast of the estuary of the River Plate.
That city of Montevideo is now the capital of Uruguay. Unlike so many other South American cities, it had no gold or silver and so only attracted the upper class settlers. Its population of one and a half million, nearly 50 percent of the population of Uruguay, is made up of various peoples including 30 percent dark skinned Indians who were the original natives and another 30 percent Italians who were migrating there until the end of the 1960's when immigration ceased. The rest of the population consists of other European people including many English.
It is the youngest capital city in South America as the country of Uruguay, but its location gives it a very chequered history. It was only founded in the 19th Century as a result of the fighting between Argentina and Brazil their neighbours to the north.
There even came a time when the Mayor of Buenos Aires proclaimed himself Mayor of Montevideo.
Eventually a treaty creating the State of Uruguay was brought about by Britain in order to separate the two belligerent nations from each other. To this day the relationship between Uruguay and Argentina is not the most cordial, although they do trade with each other.
Uruguay is the second biggest producer of caviar in the world, and it is reckoned that in a short while it will be the number one. Unlike other producers, they cultivate the sturgeon, the fish that yields caviar, not in the wild. In Buenos Aires the better class hotels serve caviar for breakfast.
Other exports of Uruguay are wine and leather goods of every description, both on display in many of the shops in Montevideo, and sold at a very reasonable price. Another main export is nitrate. The motor vehicles are imported from Brazil where a number of North American brand vehicles are made.
I found Montevideo to be a very attractive city. A wide white sand beach stretches along the entire length of the waterfront. Numerous modern high-rise residential apartments overlook the northwestern section of this beach offering a panoramic view to their occupants.
The city itself, as do many Spanish cities, contains a number of Squares, the main one being Constitution Square in the centre of which stands the gigantic equestrian statue of the founder of the country, whose name appears to be Artigua. Facing the square is the cathedral built in 1804, and nearby are the Courts of Justice.
Montevideo was originally a walled city and much of the wall surrounding the old town of Ciudad Viega still stands. In the hilly section there are upscale residential areas with a number of attractive, and sometimes unique houses.
As we drove through one of these areas someone asked our guide how much one of the houses would cost; to our dismay his reply was, "They are very expensive, some cost up to two hundred and fifty thousand American dollars." Whereupon a member of our group announced "I am going to move down here to live."
Very noticeable in various parts of the city are the sculptures depicting the history and culture of the place, all skilfully done in what appears to be either black stone or metal. The most outstanding of these stands on a grassy rising; and depicts several oxen pulling wagons, with the Wagoners guiding them.
Montevideo lies on the estuary of the River Plate, named "Plata" by the Spanish for the silver that they brought on it from the interior. The estuary is so wide that it is impossible to see the city of Buenos Aires, which lies on the other side. This is where the river empties out into the Atlantic and where the water is a mixture of fresh water and seawater. The great numbers of fish that inhabit it are unique as they are neither fresh water nor seawater fish.
The River Plate has been made famous by the movie "The battle on the River Plate," one of the most famous sea battles of the Second World War. There, three British warships, the Ajax, the Achilles and the Exeter, cornered the German pocket battle ship Gras Spee, the most technologically advanced ship in the world at that time. The battle was a bitter one, during which the Exeter was so damaged it had to head for the Falklands for repairs, and the Gras Spee was able to sail into Buenos Aires where it was allowed to land its wounded, but given forty eight hours to depart. In the meantime a rumour spread that a British fleet was awaiting the German ship outside the mouth of the estuary. This put the Gras Spee Captain in a plight and as he put out to sea he decided to scuttle the ship rather than allow it to fall into the hands of the British, if they were indeed there. Unknown to him there was a sand bank beneath the scuttled ship that came to a rest with part of its mast above water. Although he had been persuaded not to go down with his ship the following day he lay on a German flag and blew his brain out. As we sailed into the harbour we could see the mast of the ill-fated ship still protruding above the water.
Relicts of the vessel are on show in the museum and various other places in Buenos Aires.
The city of Buenos Aires is a modern city of modern glass-sheathed high-rise buildings side by side with 19th Century edifices, facing very wide streets, in fact the widest in the world. The avenue of the 9th of July, named for the Day of the Liberation in 1810, is twelve lanes wide, and the widest in the world.
Most of the other streets have between six to nine lanes. Although the country itself is not economically sound the city appears to be a prosperous commercial centre. There are two things that immediately strike a visitor; these are the love of Tango and soccer (football). In various parts of the city are pedestrian roads where couples dance the tango. In the colourfully painted San Telmo District for a fee your picture can be taken doing the tango with a partner dressed in the appropriate costume. Florida, one of the pedestrian streets where the tango is done, is in a fashionable district one to which the tourist flock; the street is lined with curio shops, shops selling leather garments of all descriptions and wine.
Malbec, their favourite wine, according to the price varies from excellent to very commonplace, but the leather goods are of excellent quality. A common sight is that of people sipping mate tea, (Pronounced ma te, the second syllable is as in tequila) the cups are round like a ball with its top lopped off. They vary in texture and colour and inside are the mate leaves over which is poured hot water, the tea is sipped through a metal straw. It is a social habit; people meet their friends and share a cup of mate. It is unsweetened and no doubt has an acquired taste. The cups are made of wood, plastic or metal, they are a popular item in the curio shops.
The city abounds with night life, Tango theatres, some providing a meal with the show and the Teatro Colon, one of the world's finest Opera Houses. The performers are all very professional and it is very worthwhile seeing. Near our hotel was the Falkland War Memorial; a long, low lying monument on a low hill with and eternal flame burning, and guided by two soldiers in ceremonial dress. In Buenos one has to be very careful not to call those Islands by the name Falkland. The locals, known as Portenos, will tell that they are the Malvidos, but the war itself is seldom mentioned.
In the cemetery are many large mausoleums lining a patchwork of narrow avenues. The most famous of these marble structures is that of Evita Peron. The footpath to her resting place is a well-beaten one.
Effigies of her face, and a brief history of her life are displayed on the front of the mausoleum. In the city itself the building from which she made her famous speech is one of the main attractions. Seeing the city one is justified in singing, "Don't weep for me Argentina."
This South American city, one in which more German is spoken than Spanish, is strikingly different from Montevideo. Crossing the Plate takes you from one world to another. Their different cultures provide a tale of two cities that can only be told by a visit to the region.
