Montevideo is a city that faces the water and sits down beside it. A long waterfront road, the Rambla, runs for about twenty-two kilometres along the river Plate, and on any evening the whole city seems to be on it, with people walking, jogging, fishing or sitting with a thermos of hot water and a gourd of mate, the bitter herbal tea that Uruguayans carry everywhere. The river is so wide here that it looks like the sea, though it is brown with silt, and the Atlantic begins farther east.
The old city, Ciudad Vieja, sits on a small peninsula, a quiet grid of colonial buildings, art deco apartments and theatres, with the port market, Mercado del Puerto, at its edge. Inside the iron-framed market hall, grill restaurants cook beef, sausage and sweetbreads over open fires, and it is the place to understand Uruguay's relationship with meat. The Palacio Salvo, a tall, eccentric tower finished in 1928, dominates Independence Square. Spanish colonists founded the city in the 1720s as a military outpost against the Portuguese, and the rivalry shaped the early history of the region. Football is another passion, and the Estadio Centenario hosted the first World Cup final in 1930, won by Uruguay.
For riders, the coast road east is the highlight. From Montevideo, the Interbalnearia highway runs through a series of beach towns toward Punta del Este and on to the quieter beaches of Rocha, ending at Cabo Polonio, a fishing village on a sandy headland with no road access, where visitors travel by 4x4 across the dunes. The road itself is flat, smooth and busy near the capital, and relaxed beyond. Winds off the Atlantic can be strong, and sudden storms called pamperos sweep up from the south. Summer, from December to February, brings crowds to the beaches, and spring and autumn are quieter.
Fuel is easy to find in the city and along the coast, and tolls are charged on the main highway, so carry cash or check how to pay for a motorbike. In the evening, Candombe drums echo through some neighbourhoods, a tradition of Afro-Uruguayan music that is a main part of the carnival, which locals say is the longest in the world.