Surprising Uruguay

Uruguay came as a real surprise to us, but more on the reasons for that later.  We had a short sail down the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires on Tuesday night, so we anticipated that we would arrive in Montevideo with plenty of time to spare.  That was not to be the case however.  We were late in departing Buenos Aires since two women who were boarding for the first time there went to the incorrect cruise ship and we waited for them to be transported over to the Amsterdam.  Since Montevideo was only a little more than a hundred miles, it shouldn’t have mattered.  However between a nighttime storm with heavy downpours and exceptionally heavy river traffic through some narrow safe passages on the river, we were approximately an hour late in docking in Montevideo.  The Rio de la Plata is so wide (over 130 miles in some places) that one would think he was in open seas since in those areas neither shore is visible, however, there are limited navigational lanes for large ships.

I might comment that while I was in Argentina I could have used some of those Spanish I and II students at Lincoln-Way Central that I enjoyed subbing for several times in the fall!  At least twice I needed information and there was no one fluent in English to help me out.  The first time the only word I understood was “blanco” as the man waved his hand in the direction of the white building, but I couldn’t find what I was looking for near the “blanco” building.  The second time was when I was asking a price - since in the few shops I visited in both Rio and Buenos Aires, one had to ask for the price because prices weren’t marked on the items. (I was later told it was to see what the market would bear.)  Apparently they didn’t have what I wanted, and I didn’t understand whether they had more or not, but the man chattered away at me in Spanish so the bottom line was that I gave up on my venture.  For all the subbing in Spanish I’ve done, a student in Spanish I would do much better than I did!!!

Back to Uruguay…  We hear little about this second smallest country geographically in South America (Surinam is smaller). It is a pie wedge shape along the Atlantic coast between Brazil and Argentina and has a population of about 3.5 million.  It’s a country founded by the Portuguese despite Spanish claims in the area.  For much of the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, the British heavily influenced Uruguay to get around the major Argentine and Brazilian commercial domination.  However, the majority of the population is Spanish, and to a much lesser extent, Italian.  Thus, the language, unlike in Brazil, is Spanish.  Montevideo, the capital, is in southern Uruguay at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata.

We (Al and Pam in addition to Barb and I) opted to do a somewhat different shore excursion from Montevideo than ones we typically choose.  Instead of the city tour which we normally like on a first visit, we selected A Day in Punta Del Este which would take us 85 miles from Montevideo to a modern resort city.  We were to get a quick driving tour through Montevideo, but we think that was scrapped as a result of our late docking in Montevideo.  Instead we headed straight out along the coast toward Punta Del Este, passing many modern buildings.  The coastline was impressive and we got the image of a dynamic, modern country.  We noted the emphasis on physical fitness and activity and how the seaside was utilized to promote fitness.  Joggers, bicyclists, walkers, were prominent.  We saw organized groups of aerobic exercise, tennis, and team sports, a few surfers in modest waves, soccer practices, and even some groups of young people running up hills along the road for exercise.  People were out everywhere and enjoying the summer vacation time.  Schools had been out for summer break since December so it was natural to see lots of young people.  In traffic we even saw a group of middle elementary age children on a bus waving at us for all they were worth as our two buses remained next to each other quite a distance in heavy traffic.

As we got farther from Montevideo, there were more modest homes and evidence of a poorer lifestyle until we got closer to Punta Del Este.  By now we were back to a coastline and as the peninsula on which the resort was located drew nearer, beautiful beaches and high rise apartments and condos appeared.  While the population swells in the summer and is a popular resort for Brazilians and Argentines, in addition to Uruguayans, its population is much smaller in the winter.  Punta Del Este would rival any of the popular resort beach areas in southern Florida or California in terms of modernity and attractiveness.

Our guide explained that before we made a stop for lunch, we would have the

opportunity to visit a private art museum, the Ralli Museum, sponsored by founders

Harry and Martine Recanati, admirers of surrealist art who had travelled extensively

throughout Latin America to locate fine art and sculptures.  They have five museums worldwide with two in South America (Santiago, Chile).   My immediate reaction, uncultured as I am, was to groan silent at the thought of walking through an art gallery.  However, I was more than pleasantly surprised.  What gave me some hope was that there was some Dali there and I remembered visiting what was my favorite art gallery, and still is, the Dali Gallery in St. Petersburg, FL, with my friends Bill and Laura McCormick (Bill was one of my colleagues in Hamburg who taught Spanish there).  The January after I retired, I spent a couple weeks in Florida where they have a winter respite from the Buffalo winters, and they took me to that museum which I thoroughly enjoyed!  The one in Punta Del Este now ranks a close second! 

Among the interesting paintings, there were sculptures both indoors and outdoors, all of which were fascinating. Outdoors there were sculptures of people from little children playing with a dog and sitting under an umbrella to men sitting at a table chatting.  They were fascinating to view. The modern paintings were likewise nicely displayed and interesting.

After driving through more beautiful neighborhoods, we were taken to a nice beachfront hotel where we sat outside and ate what was probably the best shore excursion “lunch” we have ever had.  Back on the bus, we drove over a small two-span bridge, each with two humps, but where one direction the span was up the other was down.  It gave an interesting aesthetic view when we viewed the bridge from several hundred feet away.  We then drove to the point of the peninsula, passing a pretty lighthouse, where the Rio de la Plata and Atlantic joined.  Passing more beautiful beaches on the Atlantic side of town, we stopped to see a sculpture that resembled five fingers emerging from the sand which supposedly represented a hand holding the bottom of South America.  After even more modern condos and apartments with beautifully manicured lawns, we made the approximately 1 ½ hour drive back to the port in Montevideo.  We made the most of our brief stop in Uruguay, but took with us lasting, positive impressions of this small South American nation.

The day continued to be busy as we had decided to do a Robert Burns Day Scottish celebration, with twenty other Scotland lovers, in the Pinnacle.  Pam decided not to join us but Al agreed to participate.  We spoke with the organizer, a native Scot, to make certain that we would be seated with Al so he wouldn’t be left out.  She told us that to make most effective use of the room, it wouldn’t be possible, but that Al would be seated at a different table quite near ours.  We had wanted to make sure we got there in time in sufficient time to have all three of us at what we assumed would be a table for four.  However there was assigned seating and as it turned out, 14 were seated together at one large table and the remaining eight sat at tables for two in the four corners of the room.  Barb and I were assigned a table for two and I faced the back wall.  It reminded us of large family gatherings where the adults had the big and most important table and the kids sit in the kitchen at a smaller table.  So there we sat, being unable to join in the general conversation with those at the large table.  With that conversation so dominant, we pretty much just sat there. Not what we had expected at all!  After finishing the meal, there was a short program of readings of poetry by Burns and Scottish music.

On our first day at sea, those of us on the Navigation Deck were invited to a private tour of the ship’s bridge.  When we arrived, we were greeted by Captain Jonathan Mercer and his professional crew who chatted informally and explained the navigational tools to keep us on the right course.  As we wandered around, Barb was asking one of the navigators a few questions and then looked at his name, “Oliver Teague”!  She responded with surprise and showed him her room key with her name on it.  Actually he’s Dutch but his grandfather on his father’s side came from North Carolina.  Barb, having done a lot of genealogy replied that some of our family many generations back, had come from North Carolina.  His grandfather had met a Dutch woman and had married her and settled in The Netherlands.  As we wandered around the bridge, it was neat seeing the sea ahead as the navigators do.  One interesting fact we learned was that it costs $81.77 per MINUTE to fuel the ship!  Needless to say, they selected a day with clear sailing and little traffic.  As we watched, we saw seals, many birds of course, and someone spotted a dolphin -- we saw the result of the splash!  Our tour of the bridge, a first for us, was most fascinating.

Unfortunately the gastro-intestinal virus that Barb mentioned in her previous blog continues to affect the ship.  We heard that at least three new cases have been reported on our Navigation Deck and as a result, the food in the Neptune Lounge on this deck has temporarily been eliminated as some guests had handled food and utensils that should have been touched only by crew handing them to guests.  A nuisance, for sure, but we certainly want to remain healthy.  So far so good for the four of us and at this point we don’t know of any specific people who have developed problems.

Now it’s on to the cold Falklands on Saturday and then to Antarctica before two final stops in Argentina and Chile and ending the South American phase of our cruise.  However, when I did my deck walk this morning (Friday), it was surprisingly warm for being this far south.  But I am not going to jinx us by making more comments about the weather!  I even saw a bird with a wide wingspan swooping behind the ship.  Not being a birdwatcher, I am not sure, but we are told we could see albatross around the Falklands.

Since our last post, we lost an hour before Montevideo and gained the hour back after leaving that port.  We are back to three hours ahead of Chicago/two ahead of New York.

CT


P.S. As we get into more and more remote areas and farther away from satellites, the access to Internet may decrease quite a bit.  We will continue to try to keep everyone updated on our vouyage, but if you don't hear from us for awhile it's most likely because we can't get online.