After an overnight journey from Miami to Montevideo, with fabulous American Airline flight attendant Paco, I arrived in Montevideo.  Getting through customs was painless except for a brief headache from the perfume and cologne as everyone is routed through the duty free store before getting to the baggage claim.  The taxi ride took me along the coast with contrasting run-down areas and beautiful European looking high-rises.  As we arrived at the hotel it began to rain, which led to damp roaming around town to find lunch and a bit of sightseeing. Ian and I found the Mercado del Puerto which has lots of fruit stands as well as sit-down food courts.  We had steak and desserts, a far cry from the food courts in any airport or mall I’ve been to before.  Despite the rain we did a bit more wandering, stopped in a cultural museum (MAPI)that curiously only contained exhibits about indigenous peoples from other parts of South and Central America. Carrying on we found the central plaza with an impressive statue of Artigas, the father of Uruguyan nationhood.  A quiet afternoon was nice and then dinner at the hotel.  The R/V Knorr should make port tonight in Montevideo and many of the other scientists will arrive Thrusday.  My major adventure tomorrow will be finding liquid nitrogen.  I’ll post some pictures soon!