Sunset as we leave Buenos Aires

Since my last blog we have traveled to beautiful Punta Del Este, Uruguay; spent two days in Buenos Aires and then back to Montevideo and now out to sea again. Though I have had no official confirmation of this, I have surmised that even cruise ships are not allowed to travel directly from The Falklands to Argentina. Seems it is perfectly fine to go from Ushuaia, Argentina (albeit by way of Antarctica) to Stanley, but not from Stanley to Buenos Aires. Why else would we travel past Buenos Aires to Uruguay only to return to Uruguay two days later? Talk about a sore loser. No matter. All are worthy of a visit.

Punta Del Este is a newly found treasure along the Atlantic coast. Much well deserved praise has been written to entice the rich and famous such as "The Pearl of the Atlantic", the Hamptons of South America", "the Monaco of the South" etc. As I said, all well deserved. Being ignorant of all this high praise, I had not booked an excursion for Punta Del Este. So a couple of friends and I set out on our own to explore the wonders therein. We walked along beautifully maintained boulevards passed equally well manicured, modern high rise condos, casinos, and office buildings across the peninsula in search of their seaside sculpture, a hand in the sand. Or at least the fingers of a hand. Our ship newsletter predicted a high of 87 degrees that day. As forecast are prone to be, that one was considerably off the mark. By noon it was well into the ninety's and rising. We were undeterred by the heat and determined to find the hand. Two plus miles later, success! By that time none of the three of us had a dry thread on our bodies so we said, "No worries, we'll hail a cab back to the ship." Nope, not so easy, nay impossible so we sucked it up and began the trek back to the ship. After walking for about half an hour, viola there's the hand again. The next attempt to get to the ship was successful, thankfully! Make of the "hand" what you will. I was told later that the sculptor intended it to be a warning of the dangers of riptides. Like I said, make of it what you will. For me it was a fantastic way to walk off all those sticky buns I've been consuming while getting better acquainted with my companions and taking in the sights and sounds of Punta Del Este! Beautiful city, but I love my home in our Bay.

The next two very busy days were spent in Buenos Aires. The first day my excursion of choice was a four hour stroll thru the Ecological Reserve of Buenos Aires. This Reserve is carved out of a marshland very near to the heart of Buenos Aires but you would think you were miles and miles from civilization. A rather wide exercise path with water on either side winds through the marsh for some 15 or so miles. Fortunately for me as I was still recovering from the previous day's jaunt, we only took a portion of the trail. Our guide, Lora was better prepared than I as she had this most wonderful telescope which she would focus on birds of interest for our viewing pleasure. Other creatures, lush vegetation and flowers were sighted along the way. It seems this Reserve is free to the public and maintained by the government. Since we were there on a Saturday, families on bikes, joggers, strollers etc. were plentiful. Benches were also conveniently spaced along the trail. Very tranquil area amidst a city of 15,000,000 people.

The national bird of Argentina. Forgot its name but a friendly little creature.

A black-necked swan

Peaceful co-habitation among the species.

Later that evening, all of the ATW's were transported to an agricultural exhibition hall for dinner and entertainment. The performance by the macho gauchos was scratched due to a sudden downpour lasting for about half an hour. Not nearly long enough to end the draught they are experiencing but at least it helped. Not to worry, ample entertainment was available inside the hall: puppet shows, tattoo artists, tango dancers and singers more than filled the void. I was tempted to get a tattoo just to hear the reaction, but it looked a little uncomfortable with all the glitter. In the heart of cattle country, of course we were served a steak dinner.

Boarding the Maria Eugenia, Tigre Delta

On Sunday some thirty of us boarded a bus to Tigre, approximately two hours north of Buenos Aires for a cruise around Tigre River Delta. Once in Tigre, we boarded a catamaran to explore a rather unique community. This rather large area has no roads, thus no cars. None, nada, zip. Only access is by water. The school bus is a boat. Water/food/supply delivery is by boat. Trash collection is by boat. They do have electricity and satellite but the only running water is that from the river which did not entice me to take a dip let alone do laundry with it. Peaceful, beautiful, quiet way of life, if that's your cup of tea. The current President of Argentina had a home there but since he no longer uses it as a residence, has turned it into a museum. Unclear how one could visit the museum though as the entire house and lot were enclosed in a plexiglass box? The weather was perfect this last day of summer break for the locals and many families were making the most of it. Interesting day.

Monday finds us back in Uruguay. Montevideo to be more specific. In 2020 we had a wonderful tour of Montevideo with a most exceptional guide, Vincento, so I decided to once again go outside the city for the day. A trip to Colonia del Sacramento, a Unesco World Heritage designated city, seemed to fit the bill. We traveled inland by bus for more than two hours to tour this ancient walled "city" complete with mote and draw bridge. Colonia was built by the Portuguese and Spaniards in the seventeenth century. On any given narrow cobblestoned street you can find a structure of Portuguese architecture adjunct to one of Spanish design. The Portuguese painted their stucco surfaces either pink or yellow. Not because the had a thing for those colors but because those were the colors which could be made by grinding the seeds and plants readily available. Betty, our guide, agreed that they appeared more red than pink. Colonia received it's Unesco designation in 1995 and was thriving until COVID. By the summer of 2020 it was a virtual ghost town. Today it is making a comeback, but many real estate signs still liter the community. We were served a leisurely lunch of flounder or steak on a beautiful patio just outside the walls of Colonia. I chose flounder since we'd had steak the night before. I know this is beef country, but they are also known for their fish.

Lighthouse in harbor at Montevideo thru a very dirty ship window.

Wall and mote at Colonia

"New" Lighthouse built (late 1800's) atop the old bell tower of the Friars' nunnery, circa 1750's

At present we are cruising the Atlantic northward arriving in Sao Paulo, Brazil the day after tomorrow. Having a marvelous time, meeting new people, making new friends, seeing new sites, learning much, and eating way too much rich food. Wish you were all along for the journey!

Today Is Someday! Live It!