Round the Horn We Go

They promised us Cape Horn and by golly we got it.  We actually went around it!  However…. Isn’t there always a however or a but?  I never saw it nor did anyone else because it was shrouded in fog.  But at least we can say we rounded the Horn.

Last night was a doozy.  We departed Ushuaia for the Cape and once out of Beagle Channel we got buffeted with wind and heavy seas.  I managed to get in bed before it hit; I can sleep through the rocking if I can get to sleep before it starts.  But not this night.  We were a’rockin’ and rollin’ all night long.  It is hard to sleep when your bed drops out from beneath you.  It is hard to sleep when you are afraid you are going to fall out.  There was no sleep this night. 

We rounded the Cape around 6am.  Remember, we are in the bow of the ship and this is where the action is intensified.  Michael got up and managed to find a few minutes where things were relatively calm.  He needed to get ready for the 9:30am bridge lesson.  By the time he was done, the movement had picked right back up and there was NO WAY I was getting out of bed.  We can follow the ship’s course on the TV and I decided I was not going to get out of bed until things calmed down.  So there I lay wide awake with my eyes closed, not daring to do anything that would cause me to feel seasick.  Poor Michael has to show up for the lesson, but I am expendable (hehehe).   About an hour later we finally got into protected waters and I was able to get up and shower without killing myself.  I actually made it to the 10:30am lesson on time.

We have cruised fjords in Alaska, British Columbia, New Zealand and Scandinavia.  Cruising the Chilean fjords was quite majestic.  The air was cold and there were clouds hanging low over the ragged snow covered peaks.  We saw some beautiful glaciers, including one that had a waterfall gushing from the bottom.  Most of them have receded quite a bit.  It was very windy on the decks so I stayed inside.  I was ensconced on the 7^th deck lounge (Seabourn Square) in the stern on a comfy chair and watched the scenery go by while knitting.  It was quite relaxing and best part … I didn’t have to play bridge!  As a matter of fact, I haven’t had to play this entire segment.  Woo hoo!  I am getting a lot knitting done.

After dinner with PYC friends, we returned to our cabin and as I write this, we have gone outside into the open ocean, out of the protection of the islands.  We are rocking and rolling and it will be like this for about an hour or so.  It’s time to get in bed and hold on.

Ushuaia Redux

Michael:

Well, here we are back in beautiful (rolling my eyes) Ushuaia, Argentina the southernmost city in the world.  It’s hard to believe we were here only two weeks ago.  It was summer then, but today it was more like winter – cold, drizzly and windy; even the leaves were beginning to change to fall colors.

I thought I was taking the same tour as Beverly did two weeks ago but it turned out that mine went to the “End of the World Prison,”  now an interesting museum.  In January 1896, the first group of 14 convicts arrived in Ushuaia.  These were repeat offenders, and the idea was to colonize the area using convicts to do all the hard labor, and it worked well!  By 1920 the jail had five pavilions and could house up to 600 of the worst prisoners that Argentina had.  I had hoped to run across the son of a bitch that stole Beverly’s necklace!  Anyway, the prison had 30 different work areas and these were used to essentially build the town. 

They started by constructing the railroad, which Beverly described earlier.  They needed this to harvest the lumber that would provide both the fuel and raw materials for the rest of the mission.  The prison was closed in 1947 and is now a museum and a naval base.  Interestingly, part of the original prison is now one of the most unusual art galleries I have ever seen.

Beverly:

Woo hoo, back in Ushuaia.  I have finally learned how to spell and pronounce it.  The best thing about being here is being tied to the dock.  We had a rocky night last night, nothing bad, just the kind you have to hold on to something when you get up in the middle of the night to go potty.  Again, my built-in alarm clock was on time; at 7:30am the bow thrusters came to life for our 8am arrival here.  We dressed warm as the summer weather was more like winter, with dark clouds threatening rain, strong winds, and cold temperatures in the high 40s.

Michael’s tour was the same one I took last time we were here, except…. If you remember I went on a train ride, went to look at a lake, and then saw a folkloric show where they served the best empanadas I have ever eaten.  So I told Michael he did not have to worry about lunch as he would get the yummy empanadas at the show.  Little did I know that they changed the tour to skip the show and include the prison instead.  Drat, I would like to have seen that instead of the folk show, although the empanadas were almost worth it. 

We are at the end of the world or fin del mundo in Spanish.  Antarctica is only 700 miles away, and as reported previously, this is a provisioning point for expeditions going to the white continent.  This god forsaken place is remote and has extremely miserable weather.  At least in the Falkland Islands they use greenhouses to grow some of their vegetables; here they do not do that because it is too expensive.  Everything has to be brought in as they don’t grow or make anything (except there is one cell phone factory), so the cost of living here is quite steep.

Today, I saw birds and sea lions in the comfort of an enclosed catamaran.  Didn’t have to count heads -- if you came on the boat, hopefully the same amount got off.  The waters in this part of the world are very cold, so a man overboard would probably not survive too long.  We saw cormorants, birds that look like penguins but are actually related to the pelican.  They can dive almost 300 feet deep to fish, but when on land have to flap their wings to dry off because they are not waterproof.  They also use guano as cement to keep their nests from falling off the rocky cliffs.  Oooh, the smell. In addition to other birds, we also saw a big bull sea lion who was surrounded by his harem and the kids.  He was sitting on the top most rock barking.  The scenery was quite stunning even with the rain and low clouds.  Along the bay, there are a few rocky/sandy beaches that the natives used to land their canoes.  The trees are deformed from the winds and mostly denuded from the cattle that eat the leaves in the winter when the ground is frozen and covered with snow.  These trees do not grow back.

I learned from my last trip here that I do not want to walk around with my gear and camera.  It impedes the shopping process.  So I returned to the ship to drop everything off, just taking the necessary items such as a cell phone, umbrella, and walkie talkie.  The walkie talkie was a waste of time because the battery was too low to transmit.  The umbrella was unnecessary as it did not rain.  The cell phone was a waste of time because I finally got free wifi and NOBODY ANSWERED THEIR PHONE!  So I walked the main street looking to buy a souvenir and an empanada for lunch.  The souvenir was a fleece jacket that has the end of the world on it; I couldn’t find any empanadas L  Looking in the clothes shops it is funny to see summer clothes and stylish shoes.  Do they really wear that stuff here?

Tomorrow we round Cape Horn—again!!!  Let’s hope the sea gods are kind to us, but it doesn’t look good. 

Falkland Islands, Part 2

Ohhhh, I’m on a ghost ship.  It is scary and spooky.  Nary a passenger soul is on board this morning.  I have the ship to myself.  It is quiet, and I can sneak about like an unseen spirit going whenever and wherever I want.

We are in Port Stanley, anchored in the bay.  Most passengers are on excursions, but not me.  I put in for the penguin 4x4 off-road trip but had absolutely no expectation of getting this oversold excursion.  Michael is escorting a military excursion.  There is not much to see in town that I didn’t see last time except for the military museum, which I have no interest in.  So I stayed on board, having a wonderful time this morning just lazing about, having a leisurely morning to myself.  For breakfast, I had a pear and chocolate chip cookies!  I never even got dressed to get a proper breakfast.  The room stewardess leaves a plate of fruit in your room every evening; the chocolate chips cookies is another story.

The previous day I ran into the restaurant manager who asked if everything was alright.  I said yes, however, there haven’t been any chocolate chips cookies for six days.  Six days!!!  His eyes widen and said he would take care of that immediately and asked how many I wanted.  I said a dozen, Michael just looked at me rolling his eyes telegraphing that I don’t need that many (what he meant was that he would also eat them)….. then I said six.   Now these are about the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever eaten.  They are just the right crunch without the annoying mushiness inside.  Anyone who knows me knows I love cookies.  They are my downfall.  The hotel manager said he would have then delivered to my room every evening for the rest of the trip!  How awesome is that?  Well, last night we returned to our room and found a plate of chocolate chip cookies – 18 of them!!!!  I was so full from dinner, so I skipped eating these delicious morsels of sweet sensation.  But Michael dug right in.  So there was my breakfast.  Naughty, naughty me, but I am eating lots of fresh fruit so I don’t feel guilty. 

Yesterday I didn’t have to play bridge (yea!) so I got to knit.  We had a small but enthusiastic knitting group meet in the afternoon.  We all agreed to meet each sea day even if it isn’t mentioned in the daily newsletter.  The lady from Manhattan told about her knitting guild group and boy oh boy, I could really dig it.  Goody bags and free samples for each person at each meeting!  Hey, Louise, let’s talk.   

Today is catch up day for me.  I am editing the pictures from previous days so we don’t get overwhelmed with them.  The bad ones, the duplicates have to go. 

BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU WALK

Its Michael’s turn now, and I have just returned from an excursion entitled “74 Days to Victory.”  As you might imagine, this is the history of the Falkland Islands war.  It was a day by day and battlefield by battlefield description of the 1982 war.  As you may recall, Argentine troops landed in the Falkland Islands on April 2, 1982.  The invasion was authorized by Argentine president Leopoldo Galtieri, the head of Argentina’s ruling military junta.  The operation was intended to draw attention away from serious human rights and economic issues at home.  The Argentines mistakenly thought that Great Britain would not bother to send troops some 8,000 miles to defend these nearly useless islands.  That was a big mistake.

In only 74 days the Brits sent the Argentines packing, but to this day Argentina still contends that the Malvina’s (Falkland Islands) are being illegally occupied by the British.  Interestingly, only yesterday there were some major government sponsored demonstrations in Argentina trying to raise the public’s interest in reinvading the islands.  We are told that as before, this is the government’s way of diverting attention from much more serious problems at home.  By the way, only three days after the fall of Port Stanley back to the British, President Galtieri’s military junta fell, and was replaced by a democracy.

As the title above suggests, you really need to be careful where you step foot on this island.  If the sheep shit doesn’t get you then the land mines will!  Yes, you heard me right.  Even 30 years after the war ended, there are still some 28,000 land mines yet to be dug up.  They are right off the main highway between Port Stanley and Fitzroy.  You cannot venture far off the beaten path.  Just five feet on either side of the highway is barbed wire with skull and cross bones signs warning of land mines just on the other side.  As we drove to Fitzroy this morning, we saw two trucks and four men on mine Clearance duty.  This is a daily occurrence here, and when children turn five they are taught in school how to identify mines and what to do when they find one.

I will spare you all the gory details, but the most interesting sight was in Fitzroy where in one air raid by the Argentines killed over 50 British sailors and Merchant Marine men with another 180 injured.  The ships were the Sir Galahad and Sir Tristam, and they were bombed while transferring troops, ammunition and equipment to the island. 

As we traveled back and forth to Fitzroy, a distance of some 40 miles each way, you see no trees, and I mean no trees.  It is simply too windy in this Godforsaken place for even trees to grow.  What you do see are “rivers of stone,” created during tens of thousands of years of glaciers.  There are millions of rocks in formations as big as 1 ½ by 2 miles making it impossible to travel and making the land nearly useless.

Finally, there are only two ways to get to the Falkland Islands – by sea or air.  Sea is easy as long as you have a big sturdy boat.  Air is much more difficult.  They have twice weekly RAF flights from Great Britain with a refueling stop at the Ascension Islands.  LAN, the airline that we flew into Chile, used to have flights from Santiago to the Falkland Islands but they must fly over Argentine airspace and the Argentines have recently refused to allow this.  The bottom line is that if you make a commitment to live here then you are here for the duration.

It's A Pain in the Ass

I think we are on a jinx ship.  They say things happen in threes.  First, is the room move; second, is the robbery; and now for the third……

The day started out with rocking and rolling.  It’s hard to stand at the sink and wash your face without holding on.  My MO on these types of days is to get dressed as fast as possible and get on deck with some fresh air.  We have had low clouds all day, but the temperature was pleasant enough to have breakfast outside on the back deck.  Fortunately, the seas calmed down and we had a smooth ride in the afternoon. Then it was off to bridge with a new group of passengers.  This new intermediate group thinks they are hot stuff, but when Michael gets done with them, they will be much improved. 

I played social bridge this afternoon, but was let off early when my partner had to get her hair done.  For real serious bridge players nothing stands in the way of their bridge.  For others, their priorities might be a massage, lecture or hair appointment.  Hey, OK by me; I got to do some knitting.  Speaking of knitting, they have scheduled an organized meeting for tomorrow due to my unwavering persistence.  Trying to get anything changed for the daily schedule is almost like an act of Congress.  There are a lot of us knitters on board and show and tell is fun.

Now for Item #3:  Michael woke up this morning and showed me a red bump on the heel of his hand.  It hurts when touched, was swollen and very red.  Apparently this has been coming on for several days.  I said if it wasn’t the same or better after bridge, he gets to visit the doctor.  By the time bridge was over, the redness and swelling had increased and I could see red running up the inside of the forearm.  That is never a good sign.  I told him that under threat of death he will go see the doctor as he said let’s wait and see.  By now Michael knows when not to argue with me.  And it was a good thing we went.  He has an infection that has caused cellulitis, a bacterial infection that if left untreated could cause blood poisoning and even death.  It was time for him to drop his drawers for the lifesaving shot in the butt, and was given antibiotics to take for 7 days.  Once again, I saved his life!!  What was Michael’s first question after all this?  Can I have a drink?  Geesh.  Now he is complaining that not only does his hand hurt, but now his butt hurts.  Poor baby, so up to the Observation Lounge we go for a medicinal remedy -- a Manhattan.  Doctor said if it wasn’t better after three days he would have to open it up.  Keep your fingers crossed the antibiotics do their job.

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Late edition:

Tonight was formal night and we had a nice dinner with good company.  Michael’s hand is looking a bit better.  Seems as though the antibiotics are working!  J

Montevideo -- Again

We have no need for an alarm clock.  When the ship docks at 8am, the bow thruster is our wake-up call.  Vibrations and rumbling, whirring, and whining sounds come right up into our room as we are located right over the thrusters.  It lasts for at least ½ hour.  Pleasant way to wake up, right?  I would prefer the chirping of birds or a rushing waterfall – or even – gasp – the sound of an old alarm clock.  This is not “magic fingers.”  It is noisy, annoying, and a downright an assault to the ears.

I am getting better with my attitude.  I have cut the snarky comments down to only a few a day.  I am practicing the Serenity Prayer.  This is a very nice ship and I like the atmosphere, just not the accommodations.  I will have to think twice before I accept a Seabourn cruise in the future.

Today Michael and I both escorted excursions.  I did the Jewish Experience (which he did the first time) and he did the city tour (which I did the first time).  We each saw some new and different things than from the first time.  I take a lot of notes while on excursion so that I may pick and choose the items I want to write about.  I never know what is interesting until I try to write about it.  I’ll skip the stuff Michael covered and he is definitely not writing about the stuff I covered. 

So here’s my take on being Jewish in Montevideo.  The first Jews came to Argentina in 1902 from Turkey (they were offered free land for farming).  There was compulsory military service of five years at that time and parents did not want to subject their children to the threat of death.  The new immigrants found that farming was a waste of time because it never rained where they got the new land, so off to Uruguay, which is flat and is ripe for agriculture (which is the number two industry today).  Since they had some money, they became shopkeepers.  In 1906, the Russians came as a result of the pogroms.  They had no money so they became factory workers or laborers.  The early neighborhoods were organized by common language.  Today, a central committee composed of representatives from each group represents the entire Jewish community in political affairs.   

The Holocaust Memorial was quite impressive and full of symbolism.  It was very unusual and moving, placed on a rock and sandy dune along the waterfront.  Opened in 1994, inspired by Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall, the memorial is a wall with a noticeable blemish – a deliberate and symbolic crack representing the rupture in the existence of European Jews.  Despite the crack, the wall still stands as does the Jewish community here and around the world.

Here are a few corrections to the first post.  I said there were about 350 sculptures or monuments.  Boy was I wrong – there are over 1,500!!!  Higher education is free to a certain point:  there is one free university and three private ones, which cost money.  If you go to the free university, after graduation you must pay a monthly “tax” for your entire working life.  When you retire or move, you stop paying.  Somehow the old axiom “nothing is free” is very valid here.

There are 10 million sheep and 10 million cows.  That works out to about 4 sheep and 4 cows for every one person.  They have a very low birthrate (the people).  Uruguay is a large supplier of Kosher beef to Israel and this fact keeps the left leaning government, who is cozy with Venezula’s Chavez, from becoming anti-Israel. 

So to sum up Uruguay, it was created as a buffer between powerhouses Argentina and Brazil so it gets no respect.

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After lunch we took a shuttle to the port entrance.  This is a huge working port and one is not allowed to walk around and besides, it is way too far to get out to the street.  There were at least six huge cruise ships in port today and the place was very crowded with huge trucks, cranes, buses and police directing traffic.  We walked over to the pedestrian plaza where there was a street market.  It was hot and a bit muggy, and we clung to the shade.  I was not impressed and could not find anything to buy.  If an item wasn’t handmade, it was made in China.  In fact, nothing is made in Uruguay.  They have no manufacturing so any durable goods have to be imported (i.e. cars, appliances, machinery, and oil).  If it doesn’t come from a lamb or a cow, they don’t make it.

We returned to the ship hot and sweaty.  For the second day in a row, I went in the pool!  It was the only way to cool down.  Average summer temperature is 75° but today was over 90°.  Most homes and businesses do not have air-conditioning.  I’m ready for some cooler weather!!

How to Tour Buenos Aires from the Back of a Police Car

I know I have been prone to exaggeration in the past and making up stories that were based on fact.  Today, I am reporting the absolute truth because the truth needs no embellishment.

It was the day from hell.  We accomplished the move to our new “home” which is half the size of the previous room.  Clothes are stowed in the bar, shoes in baskets on the floor and toiletries on a little $2 plastic table.  Gone is the nice stall shower, gone is the storage, gone is a smoother ride, gone is a window you can actually see out of.  It is bumpy even in calm water.

I try to be a trooper, but snarky comments keep sneaking out of my mouth.  Michael’s patience is starting to wan.  We managed to get off the ship around 10am.  It was mass pandemonium in the cruise terminal area as there were at least six large cruise ships in port and it was embarkation day for most of them.  We were told it would cost $7 to go to the Pink Building and then we could walk around downtown and see the sights.  The first taxi wanted $11.50 so we skipped that.  I wanted to hire a driver for a few hours because you can cover more territory than you can on foot.  But Michael likes to walk and besides I didn’t feel like arguing.  So we took a taxi (the driver spoke no English) for $10 and wound up at the obelisk, which wasn’t even remotely near the Pink Building.  It is hot and I am sweating already and I admit I am crabby.  I wanted to take a sightseeing tour bus and not just walk around.  So I went to a hotel and got the information on where to get the tour bus.  We finally found our way there after asking for directions from a policeman, who spoke no English, only to find out that the tour company did not take credit cards or US dollars.  Michael tried to exchange US dollars for pesos, but the bank wouldn’t do it and we hadn’t taken our ATM card so we could not get money for the tour.

So on we walked.  We came to a park near the Pink Building, which I have no idea what this is or why I should care, and I was so hot I needed to rest in the shade.  While sitting on the bench, an old man started talking to me.  No habla espanol, but he kept talking.  I am minding my own business when a young man approaches me like he was going to ask for a handout, but instead grabs my Water Walker necklace right off my neck and takes off running.  I am in shock, it takes seconds for me to realize that this really did happen and I jumped up and started screaming for him to stop.  I yelled thief.  Michael saw what happened and took off after him.  I started running and found a piece of the chain that had broken off and picked it up.  The thief crossed an extremely wide and heavily travelled round-about.  People on the other side of the street saw him running and one man tripped him, another held him down, and another person gave him a kick for good measure.  Michael has crossed the street, but I am still on the other side waiting for the traffic to clear so I could cross.  By the time I reach the other side, a crowd had gathered and the police had the thief in custody.  One lady and one man were talking with the police.  They were witnesses.  Michael was there and there were more and more police arriving by the minute.  Police cars and a paddywagon arrived.  There had to be at least 10 officers plus 5 or 6 cars.  The thief is on the ground and all I want to do is to shake him, kick him, and get my necklace back.  It is a unique, one of a kind, sentimental piece and I want it back.  The police would not search him right away.  Just give it to me I tell them and I will be on my way.  More police arrive.  A man stops and offers to translate for us.  Everyone was so nice and they apologized that our one day in Buenos Aires had come to this.  They finally searched the thief’s pockets but apparently the creep tossed it when he was tripped up.  I walked the street looking in the gutters, under/over any possible place it could have landed.  The police then took the thief into the paddywagon to strip search him with the man who tripped him and the translator as witnesses.  But it is long gone.  He may have palmed it to an accomplice. 

After standing on the sidewalk for over an hour while all this was happening, we were told we needed to go to the police station to file a report.  They took the chain that I found as evidence and told us it would be several days before all the paperwork would be done and I could get the chain back.  The translator explained to the police that we were on a cruise ship and it was leaving by 5pm today.  After much negotiation and translation, the police finally got it and promised it would only take two hours and we would be free to go.  By this time I had violence in my heart.  I wanted to kick and beat the crap out of him for ruining my stay in this city that I really wanted to see, but mostly because he violated me.  I stared into his eyes and he didn’t even have the good grace to look away or be ashamed.  I was robbed and violated.  Fortunately, I was not physically hurt.  My pride is hurt, I feel foolish for even wearing it in a strange city when the possibility of this happening was real.  The translator told me not to feel that way; he had the same thing happen while he was sitting in his car sitting at a red light. 

We sat in the back of a police car for the ride to the station.  Buenos Aires is an old city and we weaved in and out of traffic, fighting with public buses for room on the road for about 20 minutes.  It is hot and I am thirsty.  I am sick inside, I am mad.  We walked into the police station and were transported to a third world version of the Closer.  The lobby was small, people coming and going.  There were few chairs to sit on.  The computer equipment was antiques.  No one moved very fast.  The police talked to me in the car on the way to the station, but once there, they spent a long time taking Michael’s statement.  When he was done, they took mine again.  After what seemed like three hours, we had the police report and told them to keep the chain as we just wanted this to be over.  We were finally free to return to the ship. 

The police agreed to drive us back to the ship.  We rode in the back of this tiny police car. They were very nice and one officer spoke limited English and pointed out the sights.   So there you have it – we saw Buenos Aires from the back of a police car. Uh oh , wait a minute, not so fast.  Michael almost blows it in the police car.  The nice policeman asks where we will visit on the cruise and Michael says Montevideo first and then on to the Falkland Islands.  This is met by total silence and then the nice policeman says to Michael he must mean that we are visiting the Malvinas which are the legal property of Argentina and have been illegally stolen from them by the British and renamed the Falkland Islands.  He was dead serious, and Michael had to think quickly to find a way to lighten the moment.

We returned to the ship hot and thirsty and hungry and sweaty, and so when Michael suggested we go swimming I acquiesced for the first time on this cruise.  It was very pleasant and we followed our pool time with a dip in the hot tub while sipping drinks.  I actually ordered a strawberry margarita with alcohol, so you know how I was still feeling.  We concluded the evening with one more very pleasant event.  While sitting down to dinner at the outdoor grill area who comes out the door and heads right for us but four members of the Portland Yacht Club – Bill and Corny Stevens and John and Ann (last name to be provided).  We spent a pleasant couple of hours getting reacquainted.

Montevideo

Today I put my mad aside and just tried to enjoy the day.  We arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay to beautiful blue skies and pleasant temperatures.  Uruguay is located on the Atlantic Ocean between Argentina and Brazil, and is the smallest country in South America.  The city is on a peninsula with the Rio de la Plata on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.  Montevideo is two hours by car from Buenos Aires.  This is the only deep water port in the country.

Of its 3.3 million people, one third of the population lives in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay.  Uruguay is also the least populated country in South America with only 16 people per square kilometer. The majority of the people are descendents from Europeans, and they make a distinction between that and the “blacks.”  Our guide did not elaborate on this point, so I am not sure what she meant.  She talked about the Charruas, an indigenous people who were fast runners, and eventually became extinct.  About 80% of the population has some Charruas blood and that is why they have such good soccer players – OK, at least that is what she said.  I think there was some sarcasm directed at Argentina, a rival in soccer. 

Uruguay is the best educated country in South America.  School is compulsory and free (including college) and they claim a 97% literacy rate. However, only 4% go on to college; many graduates leave the country for Europe and the United States.   The government has a new program to keep kids in school – they get a new computer.  Seems as though there might be a brain drain. 

The political system is democratic and currently leans left.  It is compulsory to vote in national elections and if you don’t vote, you get a hefty fine.  Medical care is free, but only 40% of the population uses it; the rest use private insurance.  You can retire at 60 with a $400/month pension after you have worked for 30 years.   Average salary is $600/month; rent $400; 40% of wages go to taxes and there is a 23% VAT.  There are few new cars as old cars are cheaper to run and fix.  The number one export is beef, leather, and anything related to the cattle industry.  Number two is agriculture and number three is tourism.  There is graffiti all over the place.  Our guide said it was a form of political statement.  It looked like gang stuff to me.  What a shame that all the cities we have visited on this trip has uncontrolled graffiti.  They do not cover it up or try to get rid of it; they just accept it.

Almost every house, apartment, shop, condo that has windows and doors has bars and aluminum security shades.  It makes the place look deserted.  Our guide said they were to protect the windows from the strong winter winds and from the summer sun, oh and maybe from some crime.  Most of the city looks run down and abandoned due to neglect, but the city itself is clean.  The exteriors need a good power washing and a new coat of paint. The average temperature in winter is 50°F and in summer is 75°F, but it can get humid.  It rains a lot in winter.

We drink coffee, the British drink tea – Uruguayans drink maté (it’s like green tea).  Picture this:  the gaucho is sipping maté under the shade of the Ombu tree, a native tree with multiple trunks.  Many of the residential streets were lined with huge mature trees creating almost a tunnel of shade. 

My tour was a massive city tour.  I think we drove around and through the entire city.  They have a ridiculous number of monuments (approximately 350) and I think we saw all of them.  The national hero, the generals, the wagon train, the covered wagon, the gauchos, the Charruas, Ghandi, and on and on.   We saw that plaza and this plaza, the town hall, this square and that square.  It was very nice, but toooo long of a bus tour.

The best stop was the Congress Building.  It was constructed in 1925 with 52 colors of local marble and 12 types of wood.  It was truly beautiful, but unfortunately, the outside needed some TLC.  There were many stairs to climb to get to the entrance and there were no railings to hold on to for support.  Since my back surgery I feel very uncomfortable climbing up the stairs without some support.  One little slip and I could be in big trouble.  Where is OSHA when you need it?  There were ceremonial guards at strategic locations in and around the building.

We drove through the old town in a big bus on very very narrow streets.  I am amazed at how the drivers can negotiate the turns and tight spaces.  Old town was clean but suffered from neglect.  It could be a really pretty place if they only did some much needed maintenance. 

Finally, we drove along the beach coast and through some nice neighborhoods.  Modern high rise condos line the avenue along the beach strand.  This could be Miami or Santa Monica.

I returned to the ship and was just in time to see local tango dancers.  After a quick shower, we went to see a comedian (Kenny Smiles from Wales) who was so fun and funny that the audience did not want him to stop.  I hope he is on the next segment.  We had dinner with the head security officer and the IT officer.  Excellent conversation …. And we learned a few secrets about cruise lines.  Great evening until we got back to our room and had to deal with “the move.”  

All in all, it was a good day.  Our room is filled with suitcases and laundry baskets filled with our stuff.  I have no idea when or how the move it going to happen except it will be sometime tomorrow.  Isn’t it great to have no idea what is going to happen (said with much sarcasm).

Michael:

I had a very pleasant “Jewish Heritage” tour today.  A few facts first – of those 3.3 million Beverly mentioned, only 18,000 or 0.6% are Jewish.  Interestingly, this is down from 50,000 or 2.5% as recently as 1950.  The Jewish migration to Uruguay occurred around 1906 as the Russian pogroms scattered that country’s Jews all over the place.  This event was known worldwide as the Diaspora.  The loss of Jews since 1950 is due to either immigration (mostly to Israel), interfaith marriage or simple assimilation. There are three synagogues in Montevideo, all orthodox, with either a Sephardic or Ashkenazi rabbi.  They think of their congregations as “modern orthodox” which means that they sort of look the other way when you do something not exactly kosher.  In other words, they wisely place more value on retaining some Jewishness in the country rather than adhering to the strict letter of the orthodox law.

Our tour began in the Old City where Jewish immigrants originally settled.  We stopped at Golda Meir Square and the Hebraica Maccabi Sports Center.  We visited the principal Jewish Community Center, all three synagogues and a large Jewish school.  The highpoint of the tour was the Holocaust Memorial, the only one of its kind in South America.  Opened in 1994, and inspired by Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall, it is large and quite stunning, both architecturally and emotionally.  Adjacent to the Memorial was a single gravestone.  This was placed here to remember the only Uruguayan murdered in the Holocaust.   It was a young woman who chose the wrong time to visit her grandmother in Hungary.  She was subsequently shipped to and murdered at Auschwitz.