Crossing the Andes Mountains and On to Montevideo

              

  With a throbbing blue knuckle I enjoyed some staggering views of the Andes mountains and the grasslands of Argentina. After a few hours we flew over a little of the South Atlantic and into Montevideo.

Our hotel in Montevideo

  Descending from altitude above the Rio de la Plata, it is easy to understand it is the widest river estuary in the world at nearly 200 km at it’s widest point. The brown muddy Paraná River. drains a huge area into this massive estuary which slowly enters the South Atlantic. From my seat (1F) in front of the aircraft’s wing, it was a grand spectacle.

  This is also the site of an incident at the outbreak of World War II where the marauding German battleship Graf Spee had been looting and sinking the easy pickings of the South Atlantic cargo routes. The pocket battleship was later forced to blow itself up before engaging the gathering British warships at the entrance to the River Plate.

 The skeleton crew, having left the forlorn killing machine before it’s demise, it is alleged that the episode had been politically manipulated by the collusion between the British government and the neutral Uruguay government.

  The hotel was set between the airport and the old town of Montevideo but it took four hours for me to get a room. Both bands and crew were staying in this hotel and my initial room when I entered could have still been occupied. I didn’t hang about to find out. There was a room service tray half finished on the desk and the bedding was disturbed. I was offered another room that was fine but for the feedback noise coming from the bathroom. I retired to the bar and told them to let me know when all was sorted.

Uruguay won the first ever World Cup here in 1930! 

 Two hours later I went back to reception to find out if anything had been done. I rattled my sabre and within thirty minutes all was well. 

   The first World Cup tournament was held in Montevideo in 1930 and the Estadio Centenario where the final was held and where Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 was our venue for the evening. I had bought a football so we had a kick about on the pitch that was surrounded by the light blue seating. We were told not to, but we are musicians and sometimes are hard of hearing. After a few minutes we were told to ‘clear off’.

  It turned out to be a great gig despite me pulling a thigh muscle passing the ball to James Walbourne in the afternoon.

 Tomorrow we have two flights to get to Córdoba in Argentina. It was going to be a long day. What I didn’t know was how long!

M.D.C.