Tonight (February 26), was one of the two semi-formal nights on the ship. Here we are with the people who we sat with the entire two weeks and who would later go on the extended tour of Peru:
Joyce and Doug, Dennis and Colleen Johnson from St. George, June and Gary Bywater from Brigham City, and of course, me and at the end of the table, George. Tonight we had the specialty of lobster tail and Baked Alaska for dessert.
One of Doug's employees found out that his friend would, also, be on our cruise, so he wanted to play a joke. All of a sudden, a group came with a birthday cake singing "Happy Birthday," and presented Doug with a bottle of champagne. Of course, it wasn't his birthday, but it was pretty funny, to say the least. Doug gave the champagne to some people who actually drank it.
Upon reaching land, on February 27, we took a 4-hour bus tour with our group to see the highlights of Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay. We were so surprised to see this very muddy water. We found out this is the River Plate that forms the boundary between Uruguay and Argentina, and flows out past the city. The two contributory river systems of the Uruguay and Parana Rivers meet and bring down an immense quantity of
silt each year. From here, it empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
The muddiness of the water in the Río de la Plata itself
is increased by the tides and winds that hinder the deposition of silt
on the bed. When sediments do settle, the mineral and organic matter
form shoals or bars. The depth of the watervaries from 6 feet above the
shoals to 65 feet. in the intervening channels.
First off - Independence Square located between Old Town and downtown.
The 55-foot bronze statue is of Uruguay's founding father, José Gervasio Artigas. (Our guide says there is always a bird's nest each year in his hat. Too bad I didn't capture that sight!)
The Palacio Salvo in Montevideo, built in 1925, was first considered to serve as a hotel, but is now the site for offices and a number of residential units.
To the Left: The Estevez Palace built in 1873, which served as the working place of the President of Uruguay, and eventually was converted to a museum, housing artifacts and mementos of the Uruguayan presidency and its office holders. To the Right: The working office of the President of Uruguay.
This is the Legislative Palace in Montevideo, built in 1908-1925, and is where the Uruguayan parliament meets. Although we were told it is perhaps the most important building in all of Uruguay, we would be visiting something even more important in Uruguay.
Although we weren't able to go inside the Legislative Palace, we understand that it is lavishly decorated in marble, much of which was quarried in Uruguay. It also houses a vast collection of statues, with many of the country's most famous figures represented in marble and bronze.
This little park was right next to the Legislative Palace.
Next we visited the Port Market. This has been in existence since 1885. I have never seen healthier fruits and vegetables. Notice the gigantic red bell peppers!
So interesting how little interest they have in refrigeration of meats!
I thought this was pretty funny! A gigantic candy store was, also, included in the Port Market. Even those who eat healthy have to have their sugar! We just walked right by! Hah!
I snapped a few pictures through the window of our bus--hence the unusual color.
I snapped a few pictures through the window of our bus--hence the unusual color.
Embassy of the United States in Uruguay.
A giant cross erected to commemorate Pope John Paul IIs first visit to Montevideo. (The writing above is because I took this through my window! Hah!)
Near the center of the city, is this monument entitled La Carreta (the cart) that was created in 1919 to commemorate the ox carts that were very much a part of life in the 19th century Uruguay. It was designated a national monument in 1976 and is one of the most admired works of its kind, having achieved international fame.
There are always plenty of street vendors selling their items wherever tourists go. I thought these beautiful lamb's wool blankets and rugs were absolutely beautiful. Each of those little pieces is sewn together, one at a time.
I told you there was a building much more important in Uruguay than even the Legislative Palace--this is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) Temple. This just doesn't make man's laws, but vital ordinances made by God happen within these walls combining families for eternity.
Going to the Uruguayan temple was really the highlight of the day!
Although we didn't have time to go inside, we took our time walking around the beautiful grounds.
Just as we were boarding our bus to go back to the ship, we noticed this horse and cart coming down the street. This man had a long pole that he used to open the garbage bins from where he sat so he could see if there was anything he could load into his cart. Quite ingenious!
Next, we went to a seaside park. Again, looking at the water is so different than usual. I have a real hard time finding it beautiful when it is so full of dirt! But the park was beautiful!
Notice the parrots--totally the same color as the grass. These are certainly unique and beautiful, but they are not native to Uruguay, and our guide says they are quite the pests!
After getting back to the cruise ship area, the guys got back on board, while Joyce and I explored the streets a little more. That evening, besides attending the night show, we got our suitcases ready. Tomorrow we would be disembarking for our last time after calling the ship home for 15 days!
At our last night meal on the ship, Joyce and I took a picture of our server and assistant. They were wonderful! They begged us to write good things on the critique because that's how they get their pay, raises, promotions, and really just get the amount they need to feed their own family once they send their checks back home. We promised that we would fill the questionnaire out.
Yes, it was going to be nice to move on to our next adventures--but I will definitely miss having everything absolutely shiny and clean when you step inside your room--plus I will miss just looking at the clever way they fix and serve their food--I mean, don't you fix food that looks like this every night?! Hah! But, it would definitely be good to cut down on the eating--seriously, we got so it was difficult to even think about eating another meal, but somehow we did!
1 comment:
Great post, once again!! I kind of miss that ship after spending so much time on it (14 days and only getting off five of those days)! We really did have delicious food, fun card games, informative lectures, yummy ice cream breaks, entertaining shows at night, and no worries in the world!! So grateful we were able to visit the temple!!
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