Ciudad Vieja in Montevideo with Tour Guide Alberto

Upon meeting Alberto, our bilingual tour guide through La Ciudad Vieja (the old city) in Montevideo, Uruguay, I was amazed about how much we had in common.  We’re both avid wanderers on an extended sojourn from our native New York.  We’re both creating multi-faceted businesses with our wives based on the travel industry.  Each of us gave up opportunities in the U.S. to forge entrepreneurial lifestyles abroad. After a short side trip to Colonia, I was excited to explore the capital.

Alberto Rodriguez, originally from Long Island, New York, now leads great tours of Montevideo, Uruguay’s historic quarter.

History, music, geography, sports, and gastronomy are topics that widen our pupils with intensity.  In addition, we’ve both been to Tufts University.  Alberto studied Latin American History and Revolution as an undergraduate at Tufts, while I once visited my cousin for a cup of coffee.

But our most striking similarity is that we use our passions to help others understand the places we visit.  Alberto does this by leading personalized tours through the city of Montevideo.  He and his wife Veronica have forged a business and set life goals based on a desire to work in tourism.

Alberto showed us hand crafted tiles used to fill holes in the ground in Montevideo.

This stained glass window now adorns a bookshop in Montevideo. Historic buildings don’t always get torn down.

Alberto is doing exactly what I’d be doing if I was living in beautiful Montevideo.  In the early mornings he studies tourism at a local institution.  He squeezes in comprehensive tours of the old city while most people are working on breakfast.  After leading another tour in the afternoon, he rounds out his day by teaching English lessons in the evening.

This historic section of old city wall was spared demolition. It is now safe in the basement of a cultural center called Al Pie de la Muralla.

The Teatro Solis is a famed venue in the old city of Montevideo.

Our tour guide in Uruguay’s capital is part of a persistent minority in the world who’d rather create their own job rather than complaining about the scarcity of global employment options.  Instead of bemoaning the power of governments and big business Alberto is charging ahead toward a digital millennium.  Through his website he offers both Montevideo free tours as well as custom-tailored paid tour options.

Uruguayans living in Montevideo spend quality time with friends and family in parks and plazas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alberto can teach you the true origins of this gate near Plaza Independencia.

Visit our link to Alberto and Veronica’s website to learn more about paid and free tours in Montevideo.

Alberto’s Ciudad Vieja Tours bring travelers in contact with history, literature, cuisine, and culture.