Review

Being this is the Departure Lounge of Montevideo's international ferry terminal, served by the Buquebus (Ship Bus) ferry company, some wag has thought fit to name this bar the Buquebar. Thus this bar is the 'Ship Bar'. Technically a snack-bar selling crisps, chocolate, sandwiches, tea, coffee, etc., Buquebar also sells beer - and has the word 'bar' in its title - so is worthy of inclusion here, despite being an unscheduled stop on the Montevideo pub-crawl.

Like pubs and bars in airports across the world, the prospect of a beer or two is a welcome distraction from the imminent journey. Here in the port of Perez Castellano the distraction is indispensable due to the white-knuckle ride that is the Juan Patricio catamaran's 3-hour, high-speed crossing to Buenos Aires. The bar was being drunk-dry at an alarming rate during Ultimatepubguide.com's visit because the bad weather has closed the harbour! Uruguay's Pilsen, which costs U$30 - 30 Uruguayan pesos (60p) - is a nice beer with a taste unlike anything that immediately comes to mind.

A partition wall separates the Primera-class (1st class) passengers, although they have their own access to the mirrored, wooden-topped bar. A glance into the Primera-class area reveals they've got little more than economy passengers; the only addition is a television showing Benny Hill!

Drinking in an area surrounded by advertisements and horrid metal, meshed seats, tall glass-topped tables are provided to swig one's beer at, although there is a lack of stools. The circular sheet of glass is stuck onto the table with 'suckers' and doesn't look too secure. One lean in the wrong part of the table and...SMASH...you're fucked as the tabletop plummets towards the tiled floor. Huge chunks missing from the edges of the glass table reveal this must be a regular occurrence.

As Buquebar serves passengers waiting to cross the Rio de la Plata - the River Plate - to Argentina, it's worth noting that Uruguayans seem more interested in the river and its history than the Argentines on the other side. Every South American guidebook will erroneously state that the continent was unaffected by the Second World War; try telling that to the Uruguayans whose souvenir- and book-shops sell memorabilia relating to the first major naval battle of World War II - the battle of the River Plate!

Uruguay seems immensely proud of the of the German Battleship, Admiral Graf Spee that retreated to neutral Montevideo in December 1939 with superficial damage after being attacked in the estuary between Argentina and Uruguay by Britain's HMS Exeter and HMS Ajax, and New Zealand's HMNZS Achilles. Uruguay prevented the Admiral Graf Spee from leaving Montevideo during diplomatic discussions, and when eventually allowed to leave, the ship's captain, Hans Langsdorff, ignored orders from Germany and choose to scuttle the ship off Montevideo in order to save his crew from certain destruction by the commonwealth ships waiting in the Rio de la Plata. A decision that infuriated Hitler; Hans Langsdorff later committed suicide in Argentina rather than face the Fuhrer's wrath. Nowadays at low tide, passengers leaving Montevideo's harbour can see part of the Admiral Graf Spee's hulk breaking the surface.

Review by mr_psm