• Time in Port: 8 hours (our ship arrived late due to 40-knot winds)
• We had our only private tour of our world cruise, with Carlos Mamberto of Imagine Tour (phone: (00 5982) 695 7082 or 097 491 819, Venus M 211 – S 14 (Solymar) Canelones, Uruguay; e-mail carlosmamberto@hotmail.com ). I give this information because I recommend Carlos (Charles) highly! He only needs to work three more years before he retires (I wish I were so lucky); you will not be disappointed by hiring him! We were going to travel with another couple, but they got the gastroenteritis bug that’s going around the ship and couldn’t go. It was great to have freedom and autonomy - and a friendly tour guide, all day!
• We took a leisurely app. three- to four-hour drive (with many stops) through downtown Montevideo and two other states, Canelones and Maldonado, to reach the ritzy beach town of Punta del Este
• Downtown Montevideo: we traveled through the “old city” with its banks and office buildings, to the Teatro Solis (with “the best sounding toilet in the world”), to the “new city”
• We passed what they call their “Little Copacabana” (we drove out on a scenic river-side coastal road)
• We visited their Naval Museum, with its WW II (and older) relics
• In the State of Maldonado, we saw a unique house shaped like an eagle in the town of Atlantida, and continued to find interesting and beautiful sights along the way …
• Also in Maldonado, we visited an area called Punta Ballena, where we visited the unique Taller Museum and beachfront hotel, featuring the colorful works of Carlos Paez Vilaro.
• And, of course, we visited Punta del Este, stopping at the Conrad Casino (operated by Harrah’s) for a short visit. We also saw several upscale residential and natural areas – they have their own Beverly Hills!
• We then returned to Montevideo, where we saw, e.g., the Museo del Futbol (the soccer stadium where the first world cup was held) and the Legislative Palace (the headquarters of the Uruguayan Parliament)
• THOUGHTS/IMPRESSIONS
• This is a country that Americans (and others) would love! I know that I did! Punta del Este is definitely a vacation destination deserving a much longer stay!
• The HAL tour of Punta del Este cost $159 each and consisted of a motor coach drive to Punta del Este, with sightseeing from the bus, but only included a few stops for photos. Our private tour cost $195/each (or $150/each for 4) and covered everything you see here! I think I did “good” booking this one on the side. It was a great day, with windy but otherwise perfect weather and more eye-opening sights!
• As an aside, we have (thus far) traveled 6,108 nautical miles! We’re now headed straight south, en route to the Falkland Islands …
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