Montevideo, Uruguay

Today found us in the port of Montevideo, which is directly in the old town section of the city. It is also adjacent to the commercial port AND there is another cruise ship in port today (Costa Luminosa) so it was a pretty bit of organized chaos getting us moved to the pier. Even with our directional thrusters fore and aft, we needed a guiding tugboat to nudge us into place. All this started around 3 or 4 am however, when the local pilot came onboard, and it was about 6:30 when we finally docked--meaning, of course, that I did not get a full night's sleep. Tom, on the other hand, slept through almost all of it, only waking up when the tugboat loudspeaker came on in Spanish at around 5:30 or 6:00.

We wandered across the street and into town about 9 a.m., but absolutely nothing opens before 10 down here, and then closes again between 1-4 for siesta and then remains open until about 8. We did walk the main avenues and checked out a few of the plazas as they began to wake up and start their day, including this market where the smells are amazing as they roast the meats for the day.

We also were intrigued with this fruit and vegetable stall

but by noon the heat was up to 90 degrees and we were getting sticky. So we decided to head back to the ship, and take another shower before lunch in lovely air-conditioned comfort.

And then, boo, today is the day we dislike the most onboard ship--packing day. We have to put our bags out tomorrow evening for Wednesday's departure. But since we are staying in Argentina for three extra days before flying home, we have to pack for three locations: two days in Buenos Aires, an overnight trip to Iguazu Falls and the regular pack-everything-in-the-suitcase-except-what-you-need for the last evening onboard and the day of travel back to the US.

Tomorrow we arrive in Buenos Aires for an overnight stay on the ship; we have a tour of the Tigre Delta by boat in the morning, then we'll spend the afternoon touring before returning to the ship for our final goodbyes to the crew and an early departure in Wednesday. I will try to post something more tomorrow evening, if I can. We can hardly believe this cruise is nearly over.....