Panorama of Montevideo

Montevideo

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 population) in an area of 194.0 square kilometres. The southernmost cosmopolitan city in the Americas, is situated in the southern coast of the country, on the northeastern bank of the Río de la Plata, or River Plate.

The city was established in 1724 by a Spanish soldier, as a strategic move amidst the Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region; and it was also under brief British rule in 1807. In the 20th century, Montevideo hosted all of the matches during the first FIFA World Cup in 1930, and was the theater of the first major naval battle in the Second World War. Montevideo is the seat of the administrative headquarters of Mercosur, South America’s leading trading bloc, as well as ALADI.

Mercer has ranked Montevideo the top Latin American city since 2006 onwards (2013) on its quality of life rankings. It is classified as a Beta World City, ranking seventh in Latin America and 73rd in the world. As of 2010, it had a GDP of $33 billion, with a per capita of $21,000; making Montevideo the 19th most economically powerful city in the continent and 9th highest income earner among major cities. For 2025 the projections are $61 billion and $33,000; respectively.

Described as a "vibrant, eclectic place with a rich cultural life", and "a thriving tech center and entrepreneurial culture", Montevideo ranks 8th in Latin America on the 2013 MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index. It is the hub of commerce and higher education in Uruguay as well as its chief port. The city is also the financial and cultural hub of a larger metropolitan area, with a population of 1.9 million.

See: wikipedia

Monumento a los Caídos en el Mar, Montevideo

Monumento a los Caídos en el Mar

Monumento a los Caídos en el Mar (War Memorial at Sea) is an enigmatic sculpture by Spanish Uruguayan artist Eduardo Yepes Diaz. The monument-sculpture in honor of the fallen in Acts of Service of the Navy, is a large bronze abstract conception, which represents the poignant moment of death. In this work are represented marine animals and hands of a man clinging to the shapeless mass.

Eduardo Diaz Yepes

This artist was born in Madrid, Uruguayan citizen since 1956, along with other sculptors start the path to a new figuration, culminating in the abstraction of forms, beginning the period of modern sculpture. It will be a hollow sculpture and conquer interior spaces will use new materials: stone, wood and clay. He taught at the National School of Fine Arts and the Art Institute of San Francisco de Asis. He is well known his "War Memorial at Sea" (1960) located in the Plaza Virgilio in Punta Gorda. In Uruguay his work is in the National Museum of Visual Arts, Municipal Museum of Fine Arts "Juan Manuel Blanes", Engelman Ost Collection, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Humanities and Education, la Pinacoteca del Banco República, Building "Palace of Light" of UTE, Instituto Clemente Estable, Church of Barrio Obrero de Atlántida y en Paysandú.

See: uruguaynatural, wikipedia

Panorama of the Atlantic Ocean as seen from Arraial do Cabo

Arraial do Cabo

Arraial do Cabo, 45km east of Saquarema, is surrounded by gleaming white sand dunes and offers all the beauty of Búzios with half the fuss. The sign at the town entrance proclaims that this is ‘Where the sun spends the winter’, and indeed, it’s easy to feel that this little town at the end of the peninsula is a charmed world unto itself. Arraial is home to a working fishing port, Porto do Forno, which lends it a welcoming working-class demeanor. Funny little lighthouse statues at intersections around town also add a touch of charm. Some of the best beaches – pristine swaths of gorgeous sand and bright-green waters – are within an easy 15-minute stroll of the downtown bus station, while others are just a short boat ride away.

Arraial is a good place to observe humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and several other marine mammal species. Since 1999, scientists at the Projeto Baleias e Golfinhos de Arraial (Arraial Whale and Dolphin Project) have been studying the local whales and their migration routes, which pass directly offshore.

See: Lonely Planet, Wikipedia

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres, it covers approximately 20 percent of the Earth's surface and about 29 percent of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the "Sea of Atlas".

The Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Eurasia and Africa to the east, and the Americas to the west. As one component of the interconnected global ocean, it is connected in the north to the Arctic Ocean, to the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south (other definitions describe the Atlantic as extending southward to Antarctica). The equator subdivides it into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean.

See: Wikipedia

Panorama of Arraial do Cabo

Arraial do Cabo

Arraial do Cabo, 45km east of Saquarema, is surrounded by gleaming white sand dunes and offers all the beauty of Búzios with half the fuss. The sign at the town entrance proclaims that this is ‘Where the sun spends the winter’, and indeed, it’s easy to feel that this little town at the end of the peninsula is a charmed world unto itself. Arraial is home to a working fishing port, Porto do Forno, which lends it a welcoming working-class demeanor. Funny little lighthouse statues at intersections around town also add a touch of charm. Some of the best beaches – pristine swaths of gorgeous sand and bright-green waters – are within an easy 15-minute stroll of the downtown bus station, while others are just a short boat ride away.

Arraial is a good place to observe humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and several other marine mammal species. Since 1999, scientists at the Projeto Baleias e Golfinhos de Arraial (Arraial Whale and Dolphin Project) have been studying the local whales and their migration routes, which pass directly offshore.

See: Lonely Planet, Wikipedia