Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Montevideo, Uruguay
Clear and cool

Today had all the makings of the disaster. I happened to read in the ship’s schedule last night that the ship's time would be one hour behind local time in Montevideo. That means instead of docking at 8 AM as scheduled, we would actually be docking at 9 AM. And on top of that, because of our late departure from Buenos Aires, we were running even later. We were supposed to meet for our group tour at 8:45. This was not good. I called the local agent this morning as soon as I had phone service. They said they would contact the tour operator and advise them of the situation. They knew what ship we were on, so obviously, they knew it hadn’t yet arrived.

We had plenty of time for breakfast at the Lido, and we were in the first group to go ashore after we finally docked and cleared immigration. It was 10:30 local time and our tour was nowhere to be seen. I called the local agent again. The best they could do was a private tour starting at 1:30. We declined and opted to strike out on our own.

We found a gentleman who worked with the cab drivers and spoke excellent English. He found a driver who spoke acceptable English and we agreed on a two hour cab tour of the highlights of Montevideo for $60.

Our driver is Franciso. He lives in Montevideo and speaks English and Portuguese as well as his native Spanish. He explained that education and health care are free in Uruguay, but the taxes are high to pay for it. It is a small country, about the size of S. Dakota, with 3 million people, half of which live in Montevideo. Service is the primary industry, as Montevideo is the capital of the South American Union. Unemployment is 5% and poverty is 7%. Many Uruguayans (such as himself) leave the country for a while to earn more money and avoid the high taxes, and then return home with their savings.

The old town section of Montevideo lies on a peninsula, with the Rio de la Plata on one side and the Bay of Montevideo on the other. The terrain is relatively flat, with the exception of the prominent hill on the opposite side of the bay. This hill is known as Montevideo and it is from this prominent feature that the town takes its name. A fort, Fortaleza del Cerro, was constructed on the top of this hill in 1809 in order to guard the entrance to the harbor. It is still a military installation, but it mostly serves as a museum. But it provides an excellent vantage point to view the city and surrounding countryside. It was quite a drive to reach the fort and we passed through a variety of neighborhoods, some of them certainly the poor parts of town. From this vantage point Francisco told us much of the history of the area and pointed out several areas of interest.

Our next stop was the large city park, Parque Prado, which contains a famous sculpture of early settlers. We encountered several tour buses here as there are three cruise ships in town. We also saw what appeared to be a large tree with an enormous trunk. We were informed that is actually a bush, certainly the largest bush we have ever seen.

Then we drove through a more upscale portion of town. This is where Francisco lives with his wife and two sons. Today was the first day of school, and it was only half a day, so by now the children were heading home. We drove through the commercial district and back into the old city by the port. Francisco left us at the port market. We thanked him for his fine tour and for rescuing our day in Montevideo.

The port market is a large open structure. There are several shops within it, but mostly it is a series of small restaurants frequented by the locals, each grilling meat in what can best be described as a fire pit. It is a wonder the place doesn't burn down, but the aroma is wonderful. We left the market and walked around some of the old town, mostly on streets which have been converted to pedestrian malls. This part of town is clean and uncrowded. We browsed a couple the shops, but found nothing of interest. We returned to the port market and decide to eat lunch there. Debbie had mussels, Jerry had a steak which he described as pretty good, Marcia had lamb, and I had what was described as hot sausage. In South Louisiana this hot sausage would be considered baby food. It certainly was not the best meal we have ever had, but it gave us a chance to sample the local cuisine. They certainly like their meats in Uruguay.

After lunch we return to the ship. We found a free Wi-Fi spot in the port and we stopped there for a while to check e-mail. I was not able to get to my blog, so I had to go to a commercial establishment and pay two dollars to get internet service. We spent the rest we afternoon lounging around poolside until the boat sailed at 4:30.

There was a trivial game in the Crow’s Nest at 4:30. We went up there hoping to find the Yunkers and join the competition. But Debbie and Jerry were not there, and by the time we arrived they were already on question number six. They want to know at what temperature both the centigrade and Fahrenheit scales read the same. I knew the answer so I found a team of four who appeared to be struggling and told them it was -40. They immediately invited us to join their team. In the end we tied with one other team for first place, and each team member won a Veendam pin as a prize.

Yunkers hosted happy hour in their cabin. Since they do not allow passengers to handle any food during the first couple of days, we were unable to steal any cheese from the Lido. So happy hour was limited to wine. We drank a bottle of the white wine that Sandra had recommended (Torrantes). It is pretty good - it reminds me of champagne without the bubbles, and it is best served very cold. We also opened a bottle of Malbec, one I have had before (Graffigna) - it is excellent.

We headed for the dining room at 7:30. The girls had had enough wine, but Jerry and I decided to boldly walk into the dining room with full glasses of red wine in what were obviously not wineglasses from the bar.

We were promptly seated with no questions asked. This will be our routine for the rest of the cruise. We were seated at a table for six and quickly joined by a delightful couple from England. Dinner was very good. The mango gazpacho was exceptional. Marcia had pompano, Jerry and I had Argentine flank steak, and Debbie had a mixture of meats including liver and black sausage.

After dinner we listen to the string quartet in the Explorer lounge before the late show. Tonight the show was a tribute to Broadway with songs and medleys from numerous Broadway shows, and it featured costumes by Bob Mackey. It was okay, but I think Marcia accurately describe the show as cheesy. So far the entertainment has not been up to the Rotterdam standards. The show ended at 11 PM. Debbie and Jerry had already retired.

We returned to our stateroom; Marcia worked on needlepoint and I edited photos before calling a day. Tomorrow is a day at sea - we will use it to get well rested before our next port.


Thursday, March 7, 2013
At sea
Clear and cool

This was a day unlike any other I have had on a cruise ship. I slept in until nearly 8 AM, and then left the room to let Marcia sleep as long as she wanted. I ate breakfast in the Lido, and then went to the library and worked on my journal until Marcia showed up sometime after 9 AM. She said that she had a scratchy throat and feared that she had caught the sore throat I kicked just before the cruise. We went back to the Lido where she had breakfast, and we met up with the Yunkers there.

This is a day at sea and, other than the team trivia challenge at 1 PM, there isn't really anything special I want to do today. Marcia spent the morning working on her needlepoint by the pool while I worked on my crossword puzzle or dozed in the warm sunshine.

Just about noon I decided to take a mile walk, four laps, around the lower promenade deck, just to get some exercise. While I was in our cabin changing shoes, I grabbed an amoxicillin pill and took it to Marcia to combat the beginning of her sore throat.

By the time I finish my walk it was time to go to the Crow’s Nest for the trivia contest. None of the others were there so I rejoined my team from yesterday. Finally Jerry showed up and then Debbie, but no Marcia. The trivia contest began, but by question two the bartender was calling for me. I went over to him and he told me that Marcia was all right but she had fainted in the bathroom and was in the medical center. I immediately left to check on her.

When I arrived I found her lying on a bed with bloodshot eyes and lobster red from head to toe! She had had an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin, something she taken many times before with no problem. After checking her over thoroughly to determine it wasn't anything else, they gave her Benadryl to counteract the reaction. She stayed in the medical center until nearly 3 PM and then we went back to our cabin where she slept off the effects of the Benadryl until 5 o'clock.

Marcia said that shortly after she took the pill her hands began to tingle and she needed to go to the bathroom. While on the bathroom she started to turn red, perspire profusely, and had difficultly breathing. She tried to get out of bathroom and was able to unlock and open the door, where a couple of passengers, seeing her in distress, attempted to help her when she fainted. Marcia thinks she was only out for a few seconds, and when she finally regained her senses realized there were two crewmembers assisting her. They produced a wheelchair and took her down to the medical center. She appears to be uninjured from her fall and seems to be over the reaction completely. This has been a cruise experience we do not need to repeat. We are just thankful it happened on the ship and not while we were in some foreign port.

We've been cruising well off the Argentine coast and out of view of the land. The swells are rather large and the boat has been rocking all day. In fact, it rocked more and more as the day went on. This is the second roughest day I have ever seen in a cruise ship.

Debbie and Jerry stopped by to check on Marcia and stayed through happy hour, although Marcia wasn't drinking. I took a couple plates of cheese from the Lido to complement our wine. Tonight is a formal night so we had to dress for dinner.

I had checked the menu and knew i was having lamb, so I carried a glass of red wine into the dining room, again with no problem. We were seated at a table for six and quickly joined by Rob and Phyllis, a couple from Denver. They were wonderful dinner companions and we talk with them well after dinner had ended. Marcia had steak and salad, Debbie had the lobster Thermidor, and Jerry had shrimp and grits (more or less). My lamb was excellent.

After dinner we listened to the string quartet, which was down to a trio because the cellist has a cold and is in isolation. Then we attended the late show which featured a Uruguayan harpist. She played a 32 string electric harp, playing mostly Latin rhythms. It was certainly the best show we have seen to date. We watched the show from the balcony, and being this high up in the ship you could really feel the rocking.

 When the show ended we returned to our cabin quickly to get lower in the ship. We went to bed soon afterwards. Since our cabin is at the back of the ship we feel the porpoising as a ship plows through the waves. We are going to be rocking all night.