Pocitos
Beach and towers.
Fedaro — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Falk2 — CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Felipe Restrepo Acosta — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mike Dickison — CC BY 4.0
A waterfront promenade running more than twenty kilometres along the wide Río de la Plata, from the old town in the west to the eastern districts, one of the longest continuous seafronts in the world and the soul of daily life in Montevideo. Locals walk, jog and cycle along it and sit on the sea wall in the evening to watch the sunset, carrying mate, the traditional herbal tea in a gourd with a thermos of hot water tucked under the arm, Uruguay's national symbol. The promenade passes a string of sandy beaches, the best known Pocitos with its apartment towers, the Punta Carretas headland with its lighthouse, parks, monuments and fishing spots. The water here mixes river and ocean and is sometimes brownish. The best time is sunset, when the sun sinks into the water and the Rambla fills with people. The wind can be strong and cold in winter. Montevideo is fairly calm, but watch your belongings in the old town at night and in crowded spots.
Beach and towers.
A lighthouse.
A sunset ritual.
Along the shore from the Ciudad Vieja east through Pocitos
A traditional herbal tea drunk from a gourd through a metal straw, with a thermos of hot water carried everywhere.