Monday, 27 January 2014
This morning we awoke to the view of the bustling and beautiful capital city of Montevideo, Uruguay, with a population of about 1.3 million. It is considered to be one of South America's oldest cities and much of its architecture attests to that. Because it lies on the north shore of the world's widest river (nearly 125 miles wide where it meets the Atlantic), the Rio de la Plata provides mile after mile of beautiful white sand beaches which are very popular this time of year with tourists coming from all over the world. We toured much of the city today, and had the opportunity to also go to the Montevideo LDS Temple, located in a beautiful upscale neighborhood. Uruguay is not a country with an emphasis on religion like so many other South American countries, so we only saw a couple of different churches in the entire city. We had several hours to enjoy the local flavor of Uruguayan foods and craft shopping. I finally found my much sought after Uruguayan black leather belt. This country is well known for its leather products.
It is interesting here how the President is elected and how he lives. He is very much loved by his people but the country's constitution only allows the President to serve one term of 4 years. He lives in his own modest home with his wife, no children, drives a beat up old 1960's era VW Beetle, and he even does his own grocery shopping. He also donates half of his monthly Presidential salary to the poor and destitute of his country. Boy, would a few countries and its leaders learn some valuable lessons from this man?!
After shopping, we returned to the ship for a short afternoon snooze, and then it was time to eat dinner, again. Tonight was International Night, so the menu offered selections from six different continents. We began with Vietnamese Asian spring rolls, followed by chilled pumpkin soup, followed by a flaky pastry filled with brie cheese and covered in an apple cranberry chutney. Marla's entree was the Chef's Special, sauteed shrimp over rice and broccoli and mine was braised beef tenderloin with potatoes and vegetables. We both enjoyed Baked Alaska for dessert. Only one more night of dinner on board!!!
We are now journeying up the Rio de la Plata for 120 miles heading for the capital city of Argentina, Buenos Aires. We should be pulling into port early in the morning and will tour the city and museums all day. Lot's of history to be found here, but also a lot of civil unrest currently going on so we've been cautioned to be careful tomorrow. We plan to do so, and then one more night on the ship before flying to Iguazu Falls.
We're looking forward with mixed emotions to the end of this incredible journey, but we're also eager to see the family and hold our new grand-daughter for the first time.
Love to all of you from South America.
Tom and Marla
This morning we awoke to the view of the bustling and beautiful capital city of Montevideo, Uruguay, with a population of about 1.3 million. It is considered to be one of South America's oldest cities and much of its architecture attests to that. Because it lies on the north shore of the world's widest river (nearly 125 miles wide where it meets the Atlantic), the Rio de la Plata provides mile after mile of beautiful white sand beaches which are very popular this time of year with tourists coming from all over the world. We toured much of the city today, and had the opportunity to also go to the Montevideo LDS Temple, located in a beautiful upscale neighborhood. Uruguay is not a country with an emphasis on religion like so many other South American countries, so we only saw a couple of different churches in the entire city. We had several hours to enjoy the local flavor of Uruguayan foods and craft shopping. I finally found my much sought after Uruguayan black leather belt. This country is well known for its leather products.
It is interesting here how the President is elected and how he lives. He is very much loved by his people but the country's constitution only allows the President to serve one term of 4 years. He lives in his own modest home with his wife, no children, drives a beat up old 1960's era VW Beetle, and he even does his own grocery shopping. He also donates half of his monthly Presidential salary to the poor and destitute of his country. Boy, would a few countries and its leaders learn some valuable lessons from this man?!
After shopping, we returned to the ship for a short afternoon snooze, and then it was time to eat dinner, again. Tonight was International Night, so the menu offered selections from six different continents. We began with Vietnamese Asian spring rolls, followed by chilled pumpkin soup, followed by a flaky pastry filled with brie cheese and covered in an apple cranberry chutney. Marla's entree was the Chef's Special, sauteed shrimp over rice and broccoli and mine was braised beef tenderloin with potatoes and vegetables. We both enjoyed Baked Alaska for dessert. Only one more night of dinner on board!!!
We are now journeying up the Rio de la Plata for 120 miles heading for the capital city of Argentina, Buenos Aires. We should be pulling into port early in the morning and will tour the city and museums all day. Lot's of history to be found here, but also a lot of civil unrest currently going on so we've been cautioned to be careful tomorrow. We plan to do so, and then one more night on the ship before flying to Iguazu Falls.
We're looking forward with mixed emotions to the end of this incredible journey, but we're also eager to see the family and hold our new grand-daughter for the first time.
Love to all of you from South America.
Tom and Marla
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