DAY 38-MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY

We docked here just after 3:00 pm and hour late.  Captain told us last night that our berth would not be available until 3:00 due to a ship departing late.  This segment of our South America cruise has certainly been "snake bitten".  We have missed 3 ports, did not stop to view any glaciers, did not see any penguins, had terrible seas, have propulsion problem, have gastro-intestinal bug still going around, and 1/3 of the passengers are coughing now.  The Captain did say divers took photos of both azipods yesterday and then went into a confusing oratory.  Not sure if they will be fixed or what.

Historical/Background Info:
        Today is our first of two visits to Montevideo, the capital and largest city of Uruguay.  We will be stopping here again after our three days in Buenos Aires as we will have some new passengers boarding there.  The population here is 1.3 million which is about 1/3 of the total population of the country.  Montevideo sits on the southern coast of the country and on the northeast bank of the Rio de la Plata.  We will be cruising up the La Plata river tomorrow on our way to Buenos Aires.
        The city was established by a Spanish soldier in 1724.  During the 1800’s the city was the site of several battles involving the Spanish, Portugese, French, Italians, and Argentines.  It has had some serious political problems in the late 1900’s but now has a very stable government.
        Uruguay, the second smallest country in South America (about the size of Colorado), has a population of 3.5 million, 88% of them are of European descent.  It has probably the best economy in South America and their health care and education system is by far the best down here.
        There are over 12 million head of cattle (20th in the world in beef production) and 9 million sheep here.  Uruguay also raises and exports a lot of soybeans (9th in the world in soybean production), wheat, and some rice. It is a flat country with rich farm land and two extremely HUGE aquifers.  The Guanani Aquifer lies beneath all of Uruguay and parts of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.  This underground water could supply the entire WORLD (yes, I said entire world) with fresh water for 200 years.  Montevideo has one of the most advanced container shipping terminals in the world and handles over 1 million containers annually.  It has a fairly new and modern international airport which I used to fly Boeing 777’s into from Buenos Aires.  It was all of a 20 minute flight from lift off to touch down.  Fun flying!!  Tourism accounts for much of Uruguay’s economy.  Tourism in Montevideo is centered around the old colonial buildings in the downtown area called, “Ciudad Vieja“.  Bird hunting is very good here in Uruguay as well as Argentina.  I have hunted dove in Cordova, Argentina, and it was incredible.  I have never seen so many doves.
What We Did Today:
        As soon as we docked it started sprinkling.  Thunderstorms are forecast for this evening.  I thought about walking into the old part of the city this afternoon because we are docked just next to it.  Rebecca and I went up to the top deck to take some photos and it was starting to sprinkle.  Not a great day for taking photos so not getting off today.  We will be coming back here next Wednesday and suppose to be docked from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative for photography.
          Why are we coming back here and to Punta del Este twice?  Well, the third segment of the cruise begins in Buenos Aires on Sunday.  Probably over two thirds of the passengers on board will be new ones so have not been here.  That 3rd segment will be 10 days from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro.
        I did take some photos as we cruised in today plus the ones on top deck so here is the link to them.

https://goo.gl/photos/dDDq5g6Ev8woMXuh6

        This evening we have Prime 7 reservation at 7:30.  Steak time again!  We had prime rib last night in Compass Rose.  I had made two special requests:  1)  French fried soft shell crab for appetizer and 2) French onion soup.  The crab was wonderful!!  I had to laugh when the soup came out.  A head waiter from France, Michael, was going to personally make sure it was up to standards with LOTS of melted cheese, gratined (browned) on top.  This is what appeared.

 Michael was so embarrassed.  It was amazingly good when we dug into it so we told him not to worry.  We were very happy.  We were laughing but he was not.
        The Gaucho show last night was very, very good.  Different kind of show then we normally see on a cruise ship.  Tonight at 9:30 in theater is "Beatles Night".  The orchestra, singers and dancers will be playing Beatles songs to dance to.  Unfortunately, I feel like I am coming down with a cold now.  May just go to bed after dinner.
        We are sailing at 9:00 pm for Buenos Aires.  It is just across the River  La Plata (this is a wide river).  We are scheduled to dock there at 10:00 am.  Weather is forecast to be great.  This is a city that I love.  I'll sign off for today with a view of the Punta del Este skyline taken last night.