This was to be a great day in the port of Punta del Este,
Uruguay, which is supposed to be the summer playground of the rich and famous
of South America.We were going to take
a tour to an island and be able to swim with the sea lions.
At 7am, the Captain woke us up to tell us that the seas
were too rough for the tenders to operate safely and that we were going to
bypass the port and go on to the next port and of course have a sea day today
instead of a port day.
So we went back to sleep and after getting up and Ed eating
breakfast, we out on the deck to get some sun.It was very windy, but we were out early enough to get a good spot on
the pool deck.
We stayed there until noon and went to the Aqua Spa for
lunch and then realized that maybe we had been in the sun too long.
So we came back to the cabin, cleaned up and walked
around and did a little shopping in the gift shops.
Then Ed played a short session at blackjack and didn’t
win so it was time to go back to the room for our nap.
After our nap we dressed for dinner and watched people
and listened to music until it was time for dinner.
Dinner was good as usual and then of course we went to
the casino where Barb lost and Ed won a little.
We stopped play after only an hour because once again there
was no one at the blackjack tables to play with.
All in all it was a very relaxing day – maybe too
relaxing and this is the reason we will never do a cross-Atlantic cruise as
there would be just too many sea days and not enough to do.
Not many pictures because there wasn’t that much we did!!
As we weren’t in the casino last night all that late, we
actually had 7 hours of sleep before waking up at 9am in the port of
Montevideo, Uruguay where the weather was wonderful and going to be in the 80’s
again.
Montevideo is the nation’s capital; however, there are
only 3 million people in all of Uruguay with ½ of them living in the capital.We found out that there are 12 million cows
and we were told if you go out into the country-side, all you see are cows.
It is also very humid, much like Miami in the summer
time.The town is made up of a lot of
beautiful squares and old building but not much else.
From what we saw and heard, this would be a great country
to live in.
We originally thought we were on the ocean but if you
look on the map at the start of this trip, you will see that we are actually on
a river that leads to the Atlantic Ocean.It is also the widest river in the world and you cannot see to the other
side at this point!It will not be until
tomorrow night we leave our next port that we will be in the ocean.
We boarded a free shuttle to go to the main town square
where we started a walking tour for the next 2 hours with a very lovely guide
who has lived Uruguay all her life and spoke perfect English.
The tour was fine – we had been told that there is not
much here and “they” were right but we did see some interesting sights, like
old churches and government buildings.
We ended the tour at the port and there is a huge port
market there with a great big building that had been built by the British a
long time ago.It looks like an old
train station, but it is actually crammed with restaurants all cooking
meat.While they are on the water, cow’s
meat is still the #1 food here – they serve very little fish.
We had a lunch of sausage and tenderloin and it was
wonderful.Then we walked the couple of
blocks back to the ship and looked at tomorrow’s schedule and then it was time
for a nap before the show, dinner and casino.
The show was a magician who had been America’s Got Talent
and went pretty far and he was very good and also funny, but not as funny as he
thought he was.
We still had only one other couple with us and that’s
fine although we did till the waiter if they had another couple who were eating
along he should ask them if they would like to join us.Three couples make a great table size.
Then it was on to the casino where Barb was down and Ed had
a nice run.After all the players left
the blackjack tables we sat around and talked with the staff for a little bit
and then went up to bed.
During the day, we walked the equivalent of 5 miles and
Barb’s back held up, with the help of a few pain pills, and Ed’s knee, was good
with a little ibuprofen.This was the
last major walking tour that we have planned, so life is good.
It was another beautiful day in Buenos Aires when we
awoke.The ship was to leave port at
6:45pm and they wanted us to be there by 3pm so we had the morning to do things
and a little into the afternoon.
After breakfast, we took a cab to the only major site
that we had not visited, the Opera House.They had English tours at 11am, 1pm and 3pm so we got there at 10:30am
and the 11am tour was booked so we made reservations for the 1pm tour.
Then we walked about 15 minutes to the oldest café in Buenos
Aires and had pastries before taking a cab back to the hotel to pack.After packing we took another car to the
Opera House in time for the 1pm tour.
This opera house is huge, with seating and standing room
for over 3,000 people.It has 7 rows of
seating and has been totally restored having been built in 1909.We were told that the Opera House was rated
#1 for best acoustics for Opera and #3 for orchestra performances.
After the tour, we took a cab back to the hotel, picked
up our bags and headed for the ship.When we got to the port we found out that all of the porters were
working for another cruise line as most of the Celebrity passengers had boarded
the day before, while we stayed in town.
We finally found a young girl representative who found a
cart and we started in with our suitcases with her pushing the big cart full cart.After
a short trek inside, we arrived at a Celebrity booth were the Guest Services
Manager and a couple of his assistants were there.He had one of the assistants take us through immigration
and then we came back for our luggage which the Manager took himself through
all of the security procedures and then to the shuttle bus to take us to the
ship.
At the ship, they had 4 room attendants who met us at the
shuttle bus who took our luggage right up to our room.So what started out as a terrible boarding
situation turned into a great one.From
the hotel to our room only took 1 hour had no line to stand in!
We went up to the top deck and had some pizza, checked
out our table for dinner and then came back to the room to unpack and take a
nap.
After our nap, we went to the 7pm show, which was a
musical and very good and then went to dinner.
Our table was set for 7 and only one couple showed up and
when we asked them where they were from they said, ElPaso, Illinois – now what
are the odds on that?They seem very nice and we had a good dinner
with them and good conversations.
Then it was onto the Casino to meet our host Dimi and
Casino Manager Palo.Also, one of our
favorite people, Carla, was a casino supervisor.So far, Carla was the only person in the casino
that we had known from before.
There was only one person playing blackjack and he quit
after ½ hour and Ed was down just a little and Barb was up at slots, so we were
up a very little for the night.But, at
least we were up and got in some playing time.
Sunday in Buenos Aires was another beautiful day with
tempt again in the high 80’s.
We had breakfast and then took a taxi to the Plaza
Dorrego which every Sunday from 10:00am on has the largest outdoor market that
we have ever seen.
We were there just after most of the vendors had set up
and it still was not crowded so we walked around the Plaza seeing the vendors
and started to walk up the main street of the market.I think that it was probably 30 – 40 blocks
long and we only could walk until Noon as we had to get a cab to take us to our
12:30pm food tour.
The food tour started on the same corner as the Boca
Juniors major soccer teams stadium which was also the same corner that we ate
lunch at a local bar yesterday.
Our guide, George had asked if one other couple could
join us and we had said yes so we met everyone right on time and walked about
two blocks to the first restaurant, which was an Italian restaurant.There is a huge Italian population in Buenos
Aires.We had a nice starter meal of
some fancy Italian dishes with names I could not possibly remember!
Then we went walking through the La Boca district which
is very neat and very touristy.Everything is painted Blue and Yellow in honor of the soccer club!We finally stopped are another restaurant
that was grilling outside their food.This was a steak restaurant as it is the primary meat that is eaten in
Argentine.
We had a huge amount of food consisting of sausage,
tenderloin, sirloin and port.Each
portion was probably 6oz, so we ate a lot of meat and it was very good.
Then we walked to the main tourist part of the area and
sat at an outdoor café and have drinks and sweets – just want we needed, but it
was fun.
For this tour, the food and locations were good but the
tour guide was terrible as he never talked about each restaurant nor anything
about the food we were eating and how it was prepared – but it was still good.
We then took a cab back to the Plaza Dorrego as we had
been told that a section of the Plaza would be set up for outdoor Tango, led by
a group of Tango dancers. The oldest gentleman was 84 years old and was he ever smooth on the dance floor. We sat for about an hour watching the Tango dancers.
Then it was time to get a taxi and go back to the hotel
for a short nap.
After our nap, we walked down Florida Street, which is
the huge pedestrian street and bought some things before heading backing to the
hotel to leave them and get a cab to our final stop of the evening, our dinner
in a chef’s home.
The tour was at 9:00pm at a chef’s home in a very nice
neighborhood.We took a cab to the
building and buzzed and were let in by his companion and them we met Chef Dan
at the front door to his home.It was a beautiful
place on the ground floor of a large building with a very large outdoor
enclosed patio that we could see from the living room.Soon we were joined by the other 8 guests and
sat down to a very lovely dinner at Casa SaltShaker, one of the first closed
door restaurants in Buenos Aires.In
this restaurant, we did not even know the address until the reservation had
been paid for and confirmed and then the Chef sent us the direction to his
home.We also did not know the menu for
this 5 course meal until each course arrived at our table.We also had wine paired with each course as
well as a welcoming drink before dinner!
The main course was tenderloin of beef that had been cooked
in a very unusual way and also had peas and popcorn potatoes as sides.The popcorn potatoes were actually popcorn
and potatoes blended together with butter and they were very good.
With each course, the Chef brought out the plates with
his partner and explained what we were eating.It was a great experience that lasted 3 hours and we had a table of people
who had all traveled extensively, so that was enjoyable also.
So this day was eating, walking and eating again and
doing it all over again.Hopefully the
walking offset some of the food we ate, but so much for a diet – we had a great
time.
After dinner, Chef Dan called us a cab and we went back
to the hotel and crashed for the night.
Barb was pretty sore but fell right asleep and today we
walked 2,514 steps and that will probably be the most that we will walk for the
rest of the cruise, until we stay in Santiago starting on January 17.
A great stay in Buenos Aires and we saw everything and
more that was on our planned list except a tour of the Opera House which we are
going to have Monday morning, pack and get on the ship.
That’s it for day 4!
An Italian Lunch
Meats cooking for our lunch tour
All of the cuts of meat for beef, pork and goat for bar-b-que
Having a snack at the end of the food tour
Tango dancers in the Plazza
Arriving for dinner
Chef Dan
Tomatoes, zucchini, cheeses and an herb bottom crust and three different sauces
Watermelon soup with onions and bell peppers. A sorbet of avocado
Spicy chicken wrapped in a light dough with a berry sauce
Tenderloin with peas and popcorn potatoes and sauces
A deep rich chocolate brownie with cherries and mixed berries
Tango in the Plaza - later in the evening anyone cold join in.
After a full night’s sleep, we awoke to beautiful weather
for our first full day in Buenos Aires.The temp hit 90 degrees in the late afternoon.
We went down to the restaurant and had breakfast.It is a good thing that we are receiving the
breakfast for free as the bill was $68 US for two!!A pretty expensive buffet considering how
inexpensive food has been here.
Then we met our guide Richard from Buenos Aires Tours in
the lobby at 9:00am for our all day private tour.
Richard was wonderful.He was originally from Queens, New York City had been married to a
Spanish lady and was now married to an Argentina and had a family with two
daughters.He took us on a 9 hour
walking tour of the city and it was a great tour.We saw the old city, the new city and
everything in between including the most amazing cemetery we have ever visited
where many famous and powerful people are buried including Eva Peron.We took advantage of the fact that it was
only us on the tour and so we could stop whenever we wanted to.So we took a break in the morning at a neat café,
then had lunch at a very tiny bar close to where Richard once lived and then a
break towards the end for snacks again.
Barb’s back and Ed’s knees held up and by 6:00pm we were
back in the room for 1/2 nap and then it
was time to go to the Tango show and dinner we had booked.The show was called “We Are Tango” and it was
a really, really fun time.
Arriving at the location, we rang the doorbell and
someone opened it up and we went up one flight of stairs to the show.The owners of the show are two men in their
late 30’s probably and they only take 10 couples a night for the show.The show traces the history of Tango and the different
versions of it as it went from generation to generation.The dance floor was 10’ x 12’ and the 10
couple were arrange around the floor in a “U” shape so everyone had a front
seat.They also had 3 piece live bands
who were very good and the singer was great.
We first met a couple from Bolivia at the beginning on
our left and then a couple from Washington DC on our right.We spent a lot of time talking to the young
couple from Washington and talking about traveling – they were fun.They were travelling around the lower part of
South America on their own.
After the show ended, the dancers gave us a Tango lesson –
we think we got it but I don’t suppose we will have many places to practice it.
We took a taxi back to the hotel and at midnight got into
the room.
All told, we walked 18,266 steps today – and that’s a lot
of steps, but a fun day.
Night from Buenos Aires.
Richard from Buenos Aires Tours
This was a private home - now the Vatican's embassy
This was one of the few trips that we didn’t leave at 6am
but left at 11am from the Bloomington airport and flew to Atlanta.We had a 9 hour wait and we didn’t like any
of the restaurants on the International Terminal so we went by the tram to
another concourse and had lunch.
After lunch, Ed went to Brookstones to buy a universal
power adapter and when we went back to the International Terminal he realized
that he did not have his billfold.There
was a Brookstones right across from where we were leaving from and they called
to the other store and as luck would have it, it wasn’t there.So, we lost $100 and three credit card- so we
spent the next hour or so calling the credit card companies and cancelling credit
cards.
We boarded the plane to Buenos Aires almost right on time
and after they fed us dinner we attempted to get some sleep.We had great seats; however, sleep is never
easy on a plane trip like that.
We landed in Buenos Aires a little early and were through
customs with our bags in about ½ hour – that’s fast.
We had already arranged for a car to take us to the hotel
so we found the driver and went to the car.We arrived in a huge rain storm and luckily the driver had backed the
car under a canopy and so he could load all of the luggage without it all
getting wet.The ride took about ½ hours
and we were at our hotel – the Plaza Buenos Aires a lot earlier than we had
expected.We had written to the Front
Desk Manager asking for an early check-in and they had one for us so we were in
our room very early.
The Plaza Hotel was built in 1909 and it is amazing.Up until just a short time ago, it was a
Marriott property but is now owned and managed privately; except for Marriott Platinum
members who still get a free breakfast and have an executive lounge.We are one of the last to receive these privileges
as for new guests arriving after tomorrow, the privilege stops with the new
ownership.The hotel is beautiful and a very
elegant European style where the rooms are not large but good rooms.
We decided that because we had such little sleep to take
a 2 hour nap and when we work up at 1pm, we went out walking down the main
shopping street which is a pedestrian mall.99% of the shops were closed but we had fun going into the ones that
were open. It is about 20 blocks long so
it will be fun one night when we go out.
Half way down the street we stopped for lunch at ate
outside.Then we continued to walk to
the end and took a cab back to the hotel.
We changed clothes and took a cab out to the start
of the Dakar Race, which is an international race going thru multiple countries
that Jeff had told us about.There are hundreds
of motorcycles and cars all set for the start tomorrow.
Then it was back to the hotel to rest a little and then
we took a cab to a steak restaurant that our last casino manager had
recommended.
Dinner was wonderful and we ordered and ate way too
much.We had lots of rolls, salmon tar-tar,
sliced mushrooms, veal cappacio (sp) and a huge t-bone steak.Three appetizers and an entrée all served at
the same time so we could split them – way too much food.
After dinner we walked on the waterfront for a little bit
and then took a cab back to the hotel.Cabs are really cheap.The ride
probably took 10 – 15 minutes and it cost 50 pesos which is $3.85 and that
includes the tip!!
You also have to watch out and get into the right taxi as
we were told a lot of them are controlled by the Argentina Mafia.Even though this hotel is one of the biggest
in the city, you have to have the desk call a taxi for you to make sure you don’t
get ripped off!!
Money is really strange when you pay $1375 for dinner and
it is only $100 in US dollars.They also
use the dollar sign so it makes it doubly confusing.We saw a sign for a McDonalds Big Mac and it
was $33, which is $2.55 US!
Tomorrow is going to be a fun day as we have an all day city
tour with a guide who will meet us in the lobby of the hotel at 9am.
