Sunday, 26 January, 2014
Following a wonderful night’s sleep on our last day at sea, we awoke to civilization again in the harbor of the beach resort city of Punta del Este, Uruguay. This is definitely the playground of the rich and famous. We were tendered from our ship to the city pier and boarded our tour bus for a 4 hour city tour. There is a lot of money invested in high rise real estate here, including Donald Trump and his Towers.The entire popu-lation of Uruguay is just a few thousand more than the state of Utah, and it is considered a wealthy country by South American standards. We were taken to the Beverly Hills section of the city and toured the world famous Ralli Museum where many of Salvadore Dali’s sculptures are on display, along with numerous other odd and strange pieces of contemporary and erotic art. It was interesting, but certainly not our style or taste. We also went to another part of the city where we saw a most amazing home/museum, the Museo-taller de Casapueblo, built by another artist Carlos Paez Vilaro. This palace covers over 10 acres, has more than 25,000 sq ft on 16 levels high on a cliff overlooking the Rio de la Plata River. After a short visit in the downtown shopping district, where Marla found the most darling hat, we were back to the ship.
Our final Fireside with Dr. Michael Wilcox was this evening, and it was one of the most spiritual and enlightening sermons we’ve ever heard.. His topic was on our Savior Jesus Christ, “The Greatest Life.” Many of us, including Dr. Wilcox were in tears as he concluded his remarks with his stirring testimony. We’re all going to miss the incredible wisdom and knowledge that he’s shared with us on so many topics throughout this cruise.
Following the Sunday Fireside we once again found ourselves eating. Dinner tonight began with Thai glass noodle wraps and watermelon salad balls, followed by a delicious bowl of chilled blackberry soup. Marla’s entree was a lime-turkey tossed salad, and I had wonderful grilled salmon. Dessert for Marla was an apple turnover topped with ice cream and I chose to have another delicious filet of grilled salmon.
The pictures I’ve attached tonight need some brief identification and explanation.
#1 A photograph of Dr. Michael Wilcox during one his many lecture seminars.
#2 A photo of our 5 Antarctic experts who shared great wisdom and knowledge with us throughout the cruise. From left to right: Captain Dick Taylor-Ice Pilot, USCG; Christopher Wilson-Antarctic Flora and Fauna expert; Patrick- Cruise Location Guide; Guy Guthridge-Antarctic Political and Sociology expert; and Dave Bresnahan-Antarctic National Science Foundation scientist and Antarctic resident for over 40 years.
#3,#4,#5 Last night’s dinner: Escargot (snails), Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, and Lobster with Filet Mignon, baked potato and grilled vegetables. What a Dinner!!
#6 We have arrived in Punta del Este, Uruguay.
#7-#12 An assortment of locations in Punta del Este including the museums.
#13 A photo of our tour bus group, together everyday since day 1 in Santiago.
All is well with us, and we’re beginning to pack our bags. Tomorrow morning we arrive in the capital city of Montevideo, Uruguay and then we’re off to Buenos Aires, Argentina, followed by our final destination of Iguazu Falls, on the Brazil, Paraguay,and Argentina borders. We’ve got five very busy and hectic days ahead of us before heading home. We look forward to seeing everyone next week. Love you all, Tom & Marla
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