Excellent way to learn about Montevideo and the Uruguayan Jewish community
We, with five other friends, were on a cruise that stopped in Montevideo Uruguay and we had booked a private tour with Fanny Margolis rather than take one of the ship's tours. We added another couple from the ship, making nine people altogether. Fanny was very accommodating, even changing the time of the tour, from afternoon to morning, because our ship came in earlier than expected. She is extremely knowledgeable about the history of Uruguay and the Jewish community and her English is excellent (she is/was an English teacher).
She is very proud of her country and of her Judaism and is able to discuss almost any topic that we thought to raise. She answered all our questions clearly and with honesty. We saw all the sights that would be of interest on a city tour of Montevideo, but she also was able to show us where the Jewish community first started and where the community now lives. We were lucky enough to be able to enter the Sephardic synagogue in the old town as well as go into Yavne, the communal compound that houses the smaller of the Jewish schools - from kindergarten to high school, a synagogue, a kosher bakery, gift shop and various other communal organisations. Her explanation and subsequent walk through of the Holocaust memorial was excellent. We had an wonderful four hours and even though we went slightly over the time, due to our slowness at times in returning to the comfortable van, there was no thought of asking for extra payment. We would not only recommend Fanny Margolis as a tour guide, we would say that if you are interested in Jewish Uruguay, taking a tour with Fanny is an absolute must.
Rose
Sydney, Australia
Visited January 2017