Feb 7, 2017 - Montevideo

Still quite windy and it is impressive to see the crew steer a 90,000 ton cruise ship up a narrow passage before mooring sideways to the quay without the help of any tugs. We get off the ship just after 11am. The first thing Ian sees is the range finder and anchor from the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee, he gets very excited and I can only get him to walk on by promising he can spend as long looking at it all as he wants when we get back from our exploring. The hop on hop off bus is full and we are going to have to wait an hour...

Feb 6, 2017 - Stormy Night

We have two days at sea before we reach Montevideo. A legal requirement is that we have to do the emergency drill every 28 days. So we collect our life jackets and meet in the designated area. We are told to bring warm clothing and hats if it's the real thing. One couple turn up in their jumpers knitted hats and coats! It's 33 degrees and the sweat is dripping off them! Robert Powell the actor is giving lectures and Ian attends the one on Dickens and throughly enjoys it. We both attend one on Juan and Eva Peron, very interesting. Ian has...

Jan 9, 2017 - Montevideo, Uruguay -Brief Stop 8pm - 11pm

We were supposed to take the excursion called City Drie, Soccer Museum & Legislative Palace. - 9am to 1pm.- but since the Crown Princess had their delay a whole day coming in to Buenos Aires, it means they lost their berth and tender times in both Montevideo and Stanley, Falkland Islands. The ship parked in the harbor of Montevideo 15 miles out all day, then when the Celebrity Infinity left the pier at 7:30pm, our ship docked for a brief three hour stay. It took long lines to get 3,000 people off the ship and by the time we were off, no...

Apr 2, 2016 - Back to Montevideo

It was a rough night with Bryan's snoring, a result of his battle with his sinus issues this last week. I awoke at 8 am and went to the gym until 9 am to let Bryan and Payton enjoying their sleep. It felt good to workout! Bryan was up when I returned so we made our way to breakfast. Delicious again today. To our surprise Payton arrived about 15 minutes later bright eyed and bushy tailed. We had some conversations about college, Payton just heard she was admitted into NCSU's Scholars Program. She now had the decision to make regarding...

Apr 1, 2016 - Carmelo - Bryan's 48th birthday

Surprisingly I woke at 9 am, slightly after Bryan. This never happens! It also happens to be Bryan's 48th birthday! We decided to go play tennis and let Payton sleep a little longer before breakfast since the weather was cooler, and slightly overcast. The spa building provided racquets and balls and even sent someone with towels and water for us a few minutes after we got on the courts. The resort has 2 hard courts surrounded by woods. For an hour we played, ultimately Bryan won the set ( it is his birthday after all!). The resort...

Mar 31, 2016 - Carmelo

Last night we had the brilliant idea to schedule a 50 minute Massage for each of us at 9 am. With all of the walking we'd been doing it would be a great treat. I woke around 7 am, well before my late sleepers, so I grabbed my iPad and went to have breakfast and some coffee until it was time to wake Bryan and Payton. The spa was attached to the hotel via an underground tunnel and was really interesting. Bryan and I had walked around inside a little bit the night before, seeing the indoor and outdoor pools but that was about it. We checked in...

Mar 28, 2016 - Colonia del Sacramento

Last night we prepped ourselves for an early morning so we could be up and on the road early for the 4 hour drive to Colonia del Sacramento, west of Montevideo. We checked out about 8 am and stopped in McDonalds for a coffee and Tostada Criolla...basically ham, egg and cheese on a specialty roll. Honestly, the food and coffee there was pretty good. We had heard in our research that Uruguay doesn't allow the use of all the chemicals and preservatives that we do in the U.S. In fact, in your coffee it's real cream with the foam on it...no fake...

Mar 27, 2016 - Punta del Este

Happy Easter! It's strange to wake up without Easter baskets and eggs hidden around the house (something the kids still enjoyed). Though it is Holy week here, it is without the commercialization you experience in the U.S. which is refreshing. We discussed finding a local church to attend mass today, however we didn't make it happen. It appears the rain has ceased and the sun is trying to poke through the clouds. We'd love to have a day to explore Punta del Este before we head out tomorrow for Colonia del Sacramento on the other side of...

Mar 26, 2016 - Punta del Este

Saturday we woke to thick, overcast skies and knew rain was imminent. It made the decision to depart to Punta del Este after breakfast pretty easy. By the time we checked out and Bryan went to get the car the rain had already begun. On our way out of the city we decided to drive by the Estadio Centenario, Uruguay's national soccer stadium. Built in just 9 months in 1930, it was the location of the first World Cup against Argentina, of which Uruguay were the champions. The Uruguayans take great pride in their futbol! According to Marcelo, it...

Mar 25, 2016 - Montevideo- Centro

What a joy not to have to rise to an alarm clock! We all woke well rested, in time to have breakfast before it closed at 10 am. Next we planned our day and made our way out of the hotel. It was about 73 degrees, windy and overcast today but we weren't complaining. Uruguay is heading into their winter, so it's their Autumn season now. Our first stop was the Andes 1972 Museum. It's a museum to honor the story of the Uruguayan rugby team that crashed in the Andes mountains on their way to Chile in 1972. It focused on their teamwork and goal...

Mar 24, 2016 - Montevideo-the Old City

The day started early due to our city bike tour scheduled at 9:20 am. The meeting point was approximately 25 minutes from our hotel which meant rising at 7:30 am to get ready, eat breakfast, check out, drive there and find safe parking. The drive was beautiful along the water and fairly simple. We met our guide, Marcelo, of Montevideo Bike Tours at the right place and on time. He was so helpful and adjusted the tour so we could move the car to a secure parking garage since our luggage was in the trunk. Once we parked, got our bikes, and...

Mar 23, 2016 - Montevideo- Carassco

Today after years of talking about it and months planning it, we finally arrived in Montevideo! We were a little behind schedule due to our flight delay but made it safe and sound. Entering the country was fairly easy...once we deboarded the plane we walked through passport control, moved to another area to scan our bags and "viola" we were through. Next stop the Europcar desk to rent our car...manual of course, automatics are non existent here. Again, fairly simple process, though a bit long. She walked us out to the parking lot and...