Santos, Brazil (2019)
We reached Santos, our first stop in Brazil, on February 22. Santos is a city of around 450,000 built mostly on an island. Founded by the Portuguese in 1546, Santos has the largest port in South America. It is also the sea gateway to Sao Paulo, the largest city in the Western Hemisphere.
We had been told we would be docking near the old part of the city within walking distance of some of the cities more popular landmarks. But when we got there it turned out we were docked in a new cruise terminal that was on the other side of the island. HAL’s only shuttle went to a shopping mall, which didn’t do anything for us. So after breakfast we took the intra-port shuttle to the terminal, where we obtained some local currency after an unsuccessful struggle with the money machines and a long wait at the money kiosk. We ran into our friends Bill & Robert at the terminal and the four of us took a taxi to the old town.
Our first stop was at the Coffee Museum. A hundred years ago Santos was thriving on the exports of Brazilian coffee to the rest of the world. The coffee exchange where this coffee was bought & sold, which now houses the museum, was built in 1922 and operated until the 1950’s. Even today Brazil is the top producer of coffee and the second largest consumer.
The center of the building is the large Trading Room, with 81 connected walnut chairs arranged in a semi-circle for the president of the exchange, his assistants and 70 coffee traders. The floor is made of inlaid marble imported from Europe, with a star of David in the center. In the ceiling, two stories above the floor, is a stained glass window by acclaimed Brazilian artist Benedicto Calixto that represents the history of the city and the country. Along the wall behind the president’s chair is a tryptic by the same artist. On the second floor the room is ringed with balconies where those purchasing and selling coffee watched the proceedings. It is quite a space.
The rest of the museum, in some other rooms on the first floor and most on the second floor, contain artifacts of the history of coffee in Brazil, including old tools, documents, photos, baskets, etc. Unfortunately, few of these have explanations in English and we do not read Portuguese. The second floor also has a large diorama reproducing the picture in the stained glass window, some other dioramas for explanation and fun, and an Information and Document Center (aka library) with some 500 books along with other documents and publications, all about coffee and some dating back to 1889.
After leaving the museum we walked down some of the streets in the neighborhood of the somewhat restored old town.
Pele was probably the all time best soccer player and still the most famous even though he retired more than 40 years ago. He began playing for the Santos team at the age of 15 and for the Brazilian national team the next year. In 2014 the Pele Museum was opened in an 1865 building called Casaroes do Valongo, which had been damaged severely by fire and completely rebuilt in the original style. The inside is a huge open space with several levels that do not reach the walls. You start at the top and walk down as Pele’s life and career unfold in front of you. There are artifacts, but what we saw was mostly enlarged photos, videos and explanatory texts, most only in Portuguese. From one window was a nice view of the side of a small mountain, probably Monte Serrat, with a neighborhood of houses on top. It would all probably be a lot more interesting if you are a soccer fan & could read Portuguese, neither of which applies to us.
Apparently the first trams in Santos were set up in 1861 and there was an electric tram system here from 1909 until 1971 with trams built in Scotland. In 2000 a new tram line through the old town from the Valongo train station (built in 1867) was inaugurated for visitors to the city using some of the original trams. We took the approximately 40 minute ride, narrated by a guide who only spoke Portuguese so we can’t tell you much about what we saw. We did ride past the city hall, however, which is in the Jose Bonifacio Palace. The tram is noisy & very slow, an interesting but far from exciting ride.
So that was enough. While not one of the best places we visited on this voyage, we had a pleasant and interesting stay here. We all piled into a taxi for the long drive back to the ship, and after we set sail that evening we ended the day with a dramatic sunset,
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Day 2) (2019)
February 19 was our second day in Buenos Aires. There was an earlier settlement here from 1536 to 1542, but Buenos Aires was permanently founded in 1580. It is the capital of Argentina and has a population of almost 3 million, with close to 16 million in the metropolitan area.
We took the ship’s shuttle bus downtown to Plaza General San Martin & walked to Plaza Lavalle. On the way we passed the Torre Monumental. Built by the Argentine British community using bricks & stone shipped from England, it was originally called the Torre de los Ingleses (Tower of the English), but after the Falklands War in 1982 its name was changed. Intended for the celebration of the centennial of the May Revolution of 1810, it was not actually completed until 1916. We crossed Avenida 9 de Julio, an enormous avenue with an impressive view that is more than 100 yards wide. It is divided into several parallel streets with the metrobus running down the middle and it often takes two or three changes of the traffic lights to get all the way across. First planned in 1888 the avenue was not completed until the 1980’s.
Lavalle plaza was named in 1878 for Juan Lavalle, a leader in the war for independence that ended in 1825. The park is three blocks long and contains a number of trees more than 100 years old. It was the site of a massacre of more than 300 demonstrators in 1890. In the middle of the park is a very tall monument to General Lavalle, who was a direct descendant of Hernan Cortez. Erected in 1887, it consists of a sculpture of the general on top of a pillar. The red cupola to the right of the statue is what remains of the Mirador Massue, a 1903 apartment complex. To the left behind the monument is the National Palace of Justice, opened in 1910, which houses the Supreme Court.
Across the street from the plaza is the Sinagoga de la Congregacion Israelita Argentino built between 1897 and 1932 Some quarter of a million Jews live in greater Buenos Aires, the largest Jewish community in Latin America and the eighth largest in the world. You may notice that the mosaic in the last picture looks like Mr Spock’s Vulcan salute from Star Trek. No, this is not a Vulcan temple. Leonard Nimoy, who was Jewish, actually took that from a Jewish prayer ceremony he remembered from his childhood.
Two important theaters sit on the edge of the plaza. Teatro Nacional Cervantes opened in 1921 and was extensively renovated after a fire in 1961. It houses the National Stage Theater & the National Comedy Theater. The larger Teatro Colon is the main opera house of Buenos Aires & is considered one of the great opera houses of the world. It opened in 1908 on the site of an earlier theater that had opened in 1857. The Cervantes theater was not open to visitors when we were there. We had planned to tour the Teatro Colon, but when we were in line for tour tickets we were told that an electrical failure meant that the lights would not be working in the theater. Concluding that there was no point in touring the opera house with the lights off, we walked away disappointed.
Leaving Plaza Lavalle, we trekked on toward Plaza de la Republica where the Obelisk of Buenos Aires is located. One of the main icons of the city, it sits in the middle of the wide Avenida 9 de Julio and is visible up and down the avenue. Built in 1936, the Obelisk is 220 feet tall. The Argentine flag was first raised at a church located here on August 23, 1812, by its designer General Manuel Belgrano.
We walked on to the Café Tortoni, a venerable coffee house that is also a national historic monument. Opened in another location in 1858, and named after a popular café in Paris, it was moved to its present location on Avenida de Mayo in 1889. The current entrance was opened in 1898. The floor above the café contains the Tango Museum. The café’s interior is supposed to be quite impressive, but we didn’t have time to spend here if we were going to make it to the last shuttle bus back to the ship. Maybe next time.
We walked through the streets toward the Plaza de Mayo. The streets of Buenos Aires are crowded and noisy, in stark contrast to Montevideo, but the architecture is interesting, particularly the wrought iron balconies.
As we approached Plaza de Mayo we encountered the Metropolitan Cathedral on our left. Completed in the 1860’s, the Cathedral is on a site set aside for the church at the founding of the city in 1580, which held several earlier churches and cathedrals that didn’t hold up. Frescoes were added to the interior walls in 1907 and the floor was covered in mosaics in 2010. The main gilt wood altar and the pulpits date from the 1780’s. The cathedral has a beautiful pipe organ built in 1871 with more than 3500 pipes.
Jose de San Martin was one of the leaders of the South American fight for independence from Spain. He was the leader of the successful liberation of Argentina and Chile and participated in the liberation of Peru. After an unsuccessful conference with Simon Bolivar at Guayaquil in 1822 in which he sought to join forces, San Martin suddenly resigned his command and in 1824 moved to Europe. He died there in 1850 and was buried in France.
In 1880 his remains were moved to a mausoleum in the Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos Aires. It is fashioned with variously colored marble. His black sarcophagus is on a raised platform surrounded by three female figures representing Argentina, Chile and Peru, the three largest regions whose freedom from Spanish colonialism is attributed to him. At the door is an honor guard.
Plaza de Mayo was set out in 1884 on an area that included the Plaza de Armas of the original settlement. It has been the location of a good deal of political activity over the years. In recent times it was the location of the weekly vigils of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo from 1973 to 2006. These were women whose adult children had been “disappeared” during the military dictatorship and they were demanding information about the missing people and exposing the regime’s crimes to the world. They wore white headscarves embroidered with their children’s names to symbolize the diapers of their missing children, they marched 2 by 2 in silence. Some of them also “disappeared” and several were later found to have been murdered. Today the area where they held their demonstrations is decorated with stylized headscarves.
In the middle of the plaza is the Piramide de Mayo, a statue representing Liberty standing on top of a pyramidal base. First erected in 1812 to celebrate the first anniversary of the May Revolution that set off the war for independence, the monument has been renovated several times and was moved some 60 yards to its current location in 1912. In 2005 the ashes of Azucena Villaflor, founder of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo who had been murdered by the military dictatorship, were buried at the base of the pyramid. In front of the pyramid is an equestrian statue of General Manuel Belgrano, a hero of the wars of independence, holding aloft the Argentine flag which he had designed. It was unveiled in 1873.
At the end of the plaza behind the piramide is the Casa Rosada, the seat of the executive branch of the government. This spot began as a fort in the original 16th century settlement and has been changed a number of times. The current building was completed in 1898. The building was first painted pink in the 1860’s, and we have seen two explanations: 1) that it was intended as a blending of the colors of the two major political parties, the Whites and the Reds, or 2) that cow’s blood was included in the original paint to protect from damage from humidity. The balcony to the left of the central portico has been the scene of many political speeches to crowds gathered in the plaza, notably by Juan and Eva Peron.
So by now we were pretty much done in. A lot of walking on a very hot day (what a contrast to Antarctica, less than three weeks earlier) will do that to you. And we still had to hoof it all the way back to Plaza San Martin to meet the shuttle bus before the deadline. We wanted to mail some post cards, but when we finally found a post office it didn’t sell postcards. It’s amazing how hard it is in a city this size to find postcards! While searching for the post office we came across some more interesting buildings, including Centro Naval, a social club founded in 1882 by Argentine Navy officers. And back at Plaza San Martin, where we narrowly missed one shuttle bus and had a lengthy wait for another, we came across a metal sculpture of butterflies.
Exhausted as we were when we reached the ship, we were glad there would be two sea days before our next port. So we said goodbye to Argentina and headed north toward Brazil.
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Day 1) (2019)
On February 18 we were docked in Buenos Aires, about 125 miles up river and on the other side from Montevideo. We had visited here for two days in 2012:
https://baderjournal.com/2012/02/12/buenos-aires/
So we decided to spend the first day getting out of the city on an excursion to visit an Estancia for a look at gaucho life. This started with a long bus ride through the country with a voluble guide who spent quite a while demonstrating the venerable rituals surrounding the drinking of mate. When we finally reached the estancia we were served wine or beer along with delicious empanadas.
Historically an estancia was like a ranch set in the pampas, a grassy area of Argentina where the animals could profitably graze. Gauchos are the Argentine version of cowboys, with such skills as horse riding and breeding and hunting with the bolo, a three cord weapon with a ball or stone attached on the end. The one we visited plainly dates back to that time and was once a working ranch but appears today to be maintained as a place for tourists. But it is well maintained to give a taste of the gaucho lifestyle.
The original ranch house is maintained as a museum containing furniture and other items dating back 100 years or more. It includes a fully decked out kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, dining room and chapel. On the front porch was a chair apparently made from the bones of a steer and it had a nice view of a large grassy yard and a stand of trees.
Leaving the house, we walked around the grounds for a while, taking in the trees, grass and flowers, and then walked over to the horse shelter. We didn’t see any cattle or sheep here, but there were plenty of horses. This grassy land is about all we would see of the pampas, a 300,000 square mile area in central Argentina of grasslands and few trees known for cattle raising. There were a lot of trees here, but they were probably planted by the folks who lived here.
The gauchos spent a lot of time leading horses around, apparently to demonstrate what they do on an estancia. There were two horse activities for the visitors, riding a horse in a group walking slowly around a track and riding in a horse-drawn cart. We did the latter – interesting, but too slow to be exciting.
We sat in some stands to watch the horse demonstrations. First the gauchos herded the horses to trot in a large circle. The horses probably do this every day so prodding them into line is likely not too hard. The best part of this demonstrations was a couple of dogs who lounged in the shade of the stands until the horses started to move, then shot out through the hedge to help guide the horses, with great enthusiasm and having a great time.
More interestingly, the gauchos engaged in a competition in which they would gallop at speed under a log from which hung some small rings. Using a lance about the size of a large fountain pen they would stand up in the saddle and try to lance the ring, often successfully. Giving the ring to a lady in the audience, it was explained, entitled the gaucho to a kiss from the recipient. It didn’t look easy (spearing the ring, not the kiss).
It was time for luncheon so we headed back to the main building. On one side of the entrance patio was a gaucho store (probably a mockup rather than a working store). The main building on the other side housed a vast dining room; it appears we were lucky because on some days they must host several times as many people as were in our party, the only one there today. We walked past the barbecue and a circle of bone chairs on our way in and sat at the long tables where we were served wine, beer and steaks or lamb. The steaks were pretty good, but the Argentines cook it longer than we prefer.
While we ate there was entertainment on a small stage. A singer & guitar player and some dancers. The dancers in particular were very good, particularly the one who danced at the end with a couple of boleros. We were behind a pillar, so photos were difficult to get.
Back on the ship this evening we had another show of Argentine dancing, including tango, gaucho style, drumming and bolo dancing. The three performers were quite good, but we would have been more impressed if we hadn’t seen the dancing demonstration at the estancia, which was at least as good (if less dramatic in presentation). Unfortunately, the lighting was pretty dark and I probably left my camera on the wrong setting, so the pictures aren’t great. Here are some anyway, to end our first day in Buenos Aires.
Montevideo, Uruguay (2019)
February 17 found us in Montevideo, the capital & largest city (1.4 million) of Uruguay. Founded in 1826, Montevideo is located near where the Rio de la Plata enters the Atlantic Ocean. It Is a city of diverse architecture and a relaxed atmosphere, an excellent city for walking. Which is what we did.
We have encountered Admiral Graf von Spee twice in earlier episodes, in the Falklands and Robinson Crusoe Island. Montevideo was the site of a famous 1939 incident, in the second month of World War II, involving a German war ship named after him. After the “Battle of the River Plate” against three British warships, the Graf Spee was effectively forced into the harbor of Montevideo while the British ships (one of which was effectively out of commission) guarded the river’s exit to the ocean. Uruguay was neutral at that time, though friendly to the British, and the rules of war gave the Germans only 72 hours to either leave the harbor or be taken into custody for the duration of the war. A disinformation operation by the British convinced the Graf Spee’s captain, Hans Langsdorff, that several more ships had joined the two guarding the river, so having suffered significant damage in the battle he decided he could not break out of the harbor. Rather than allow the ship to be interned by the Uruguayans, who probably would have allowed British access to it, he decided to scuttle the ship. After offloading all but a skeleton crew he sailed out three miles into the estuary, set explosives around the ship on a delayed fuse, then abandoned the ship in an Argentine boat. The ship’s explosion was spectacular and, because the water depth was only 36 feet, its antenna ended up sticking out of the water, where we believe it can still be seen, although we haven’t seen it. Captain Langsdorff killed himself in his hotel room a couple of days later.
As you leave the port there is a small garden of artifacts, one of which is the anchor of the Graf Spee.
We walked through the old city, an attractive area of palm trees, public art and old buildings with sculptural architectural details, which is really characteristic of the city as a whole. But it was Sunday morning and the streets were eerily empty of people.
We came to the Plaza Zabala, named for the founder of Montevideo, Bruno Mauricio de Zabala. In the center is an equestrian statue of Zabala. Standing on our veranda on the ship this morning, Rick was startled by a whole flock of parakeets flying right by our stateroom. We have seen parakeets in cages before, of course, but never a flock of these colorful birds in the wild. Unfortunately, it happened too fast to get the camera for a picture and it never recurred. But here in Zabala plaza we did see some wild parakeets high in the branches of a tree. Some brown birds were busily eking out a living on the ground, but we don’t know what they are called.
We proceeded on to Plaza Constitucion, the first plaza built in the city and named for the Spanish constitution of 1812. This is our second visit to Montevideo and last time there was a lively flea market covering most of this plaza.
https://baderjournal.com/2012/02/13/montevideo-uruguay/
But that only happens on Saturday and this time our visit was on Sunday, so the park was quiet and serene, at least in the morning. It is a nice place to sit on a bench under the trees and relax. In the center is a fountain covered with sculptures that we were told during our last visit was a memorial to the establishment of the city’s water and sewage system in the 19th century.
Along one side of the plaza is the Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral. Built between 1790 and 1804 on the location of an older brick church that opened in 1740, the Cathedral is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.
Plaza Independencia is the central plaza of Montevideo. It sits between Ciudad Vieja (the old city) and downtown Montevideo. A replica of one of the gates to the old walled city sits on the original gate’s foundation at one side of the plaza, and the town’s main drag, 18 de Julio Avenue, begins on the other side. It was first built in the 1830’s after the town decided in 1829 to scrap its walls and extend the city into an area beyond that they called the new city.
In the center of the plaza is a large equestrian statue of Jose Artigas, leader of the original independence movement in the early 1800’s. We encountered another statue of him in Punta del Estes. Beneath this statue, which was erected in 1977, is a mausoleum containing his remains.
On one side of the plaza is the Estevez Palace. Built in 1873, it served as the office of the president of Uruguay from 1890 to 1985. It now houses a museum of the presidency. Next to it is the Torre Ejecutiva, where the president’s offices are now located.
Just off the plaza is the Teatro Solis, Uruguay’s most important theater. It opened in 1856 and was renovated at the end of the 20th century. We were hoping to tour the theater, but we didn’t have any Uruguayan currency and they don’t take credit cards. Maybe next time. On the far side of the plaza, where the 18 de Julio avenue begins, is the Palacio Salvo. At 330 feet in height it was the tallest building in South America when it was completed in 1928. It was originally intended to have a lighthouse on top where the antenna is now. This building dominates the plaza and is considered a symbol of Montevideo.
We left the plaza to the left of the Palacio Salvo and walked down 18 de Julio Street. You will not be surprised to learn that we walked all the way to the public library, which was a pretty good walk on a hot day. But along the way was an interesting mix of modern and old buildings, many with beautiful sculptural details in their architecture.
We also encountered two plazas on our way up the avenue. In the middle of Plaza Fabini is a fountain with a large sculpture called El Entrevero, depicting a fight among gauchos and Indians at very close range. Plaza de Cagancha, which dates back to 1840, was named after an important battle against forces from Buenos Aires. In the center is the Pillar of Peace, erected in 1867. When we were there this plaza was gaily decorated with multicolored flags, probably for a parade or holiday celebration.
We finally reached the National Library of Uruguay, which sadly was closed (probably because it was Sunday). Founded in 1815, the library has been in this building since 1955. It has around a million books along with tens of thousands of other materials in its collection. In front are statues of Cervantes & Socrates. The woman standing in front, looking disappointed that she couldn’t go in after walking all that way to see it, is Mary.
We were pretty tired from all the walking in the hot sun so we headed back toward the ship the same way we had come. We passed some yellow flowering trees next to the library and after traversing Plaza Independencia again we walked up a pedestrian street in the Ciudad Viejo that was full of vendors. On the way we encountered a bronze fellow who looks like he hangs out all day in this café with just a cup of coffee. After the long walk we stopped in Constitution Plaza to rest on one of the benches near the fountain we saw this morning.
We returned to the port area along several streets we hadn’t walked in the morning. More interesting buildings and a small plaza near the water containing a lot of wall art.
Carnaval is usually associated with Rio de Janeiro in Brazil but Uruguay has a significant carnaval as well, lasting through much of January and February. We were there in February, but if there were any carnaval events that day we didn’t see them (of course, we weren’t there in the evening). Carnaval in Uruguay has a history extending back more than 100 years and there is a museum in the port area dedicated to it. We visited it, in a fairly nondescript pink building, and it was well worth seeing.
Although the signage was all in Spanish, which we can’t read, the exhibits were very colorful and creative. We are told that the galleries were each dedicated to a distinct aspect of carnaval, and it was clear that some were historical relating to carnavals in years past, but that’s about all we can tell you. But the pictures tell the real story of this museum, especially some of the wild masks and costumes.
One more stop before the ship was for shopping at Acatras del Mercado, a store we really liked on our first visit here. We finally found it and it didn’t disappoint, full of eclectic arts and crafts. As you can see in the picture we didn’t leave empty handed. And these guys are wizards at packing things for travel.
So that was it for Uruguay. After dinner we retired to sleep while our ship moved up the river to another country, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Punta del Este, Uruguay (2019)
On February 15 we anchored at Punta del Este, a popular resort town located on a peninsula where the Rio de la Plata meets the Atlantic Ocean.
Although the Spanish first set foot in this area in the early 16th century, it was not until 1907 that Punta del Este was first recognized as a village and it became a city in 1957. The area was originally inhabited by the Charrua people, the last 500 of whom were massacred by the Uruguayan government in 1831. Today it has a year round population of less than 10,000, but it balloons during the summer when vacationers, including Argentina’s rich and famous, flock here for the beaches.
After breakfast we boarded a tender for the long ride to the town’s port. It was morning and there were folks dressing the fish from the morning’s catch. Isla de la Lobos, about 5 miles away, hosts the largest sea lion colony in the Western hemisphere, more than a quarter of a million. A handful of them were in the water by the fish vendor, waiting for the trimmings they knew would be coming their way. This must occur every day.
There were birds waiting for scraps as well, some in the water and some sitting on floats.
Leaving all this action we walked around the fairly tranquil port and came upon . . . two sea lions, sunbathing on a concrete platform that tilted down under the water. They looked very relaxed; maybe they had already eaten their fill at the fish vendor’s.
We continued around the harbor and walked down along the beach. This is the river side of the peninsula where the beaches are calm. It is called the Mansa beach (Spanish for “tame”). There were a lot of flowers in this area, and really all over town.
We walked across the peninsula toward the Atlantic side. We found the public library on the way, but unfortunately it was closed. It looked like just a storefront facility, but its always good that there is a library for people who like to read. We also passed a small synagogue, in what was a very sleek but rather uninteresting modern building.
The beaches on the Atlantic side of the peninsula are called Brava (“fierce”) and are considered better for surfing than swimming. On a hill of sand overlooking the beach is a sculpture called La Mano (“The Hand”). The fingers of a giant hand reach out from under the sand, serving as a memorial to those who have drowned near here and a warning to those who might swim. It was constructed by Chilean artist Mario Irarrazabal during an open air sculpture festival in the summer of 1982. Made of concrete and plastic reinforced by steel bars, it was completed in six days and has since become perhaps the most recognizable symbol of Punta del Este. The idea is similar to a sculpture called “The Awakening” in Washington, DC (near where we live), which shows the head and arms of a giant arising from under the sand.
In the morning Rick went out on our veranda to look across at the city and a whole flock of parakeets flew closely by. It was too fast for a picture & we didn’t see any more. Quite a sight, since he had never seen parakeets out of a cage before, much less flying in a large flock. But we did encounter a few of them in the trees in a park called Plaza Jose Artigas. Jose Artigas was a leader of the original Uruguayan independence movement and this plaza is known for its art and handicrafts market. Unfortunately, the market was closed but we did see the statue of Artigas and it was a pleasant park to saunter through.
We walked up the rocky Atlantic coastline toward the end of the peninsula. The sidewalk had an interesting pattern of dark and light bars and birds were on some of the rocks. Several places were full of shells that the birds must have dumped there after eating their contents. We also passed a beach on the way, well used even if not the nicest white sand.
We walked up on the peninsula to visit the two landmarks in this area. Faro de Punta del Este is a lighthouse built in 1860. Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria is a Catholic church built in the mid 20th century that is painted an unusual light blue.
We walked back to the port through the residential areas of town. At the entrance we came upon a plaque honoring Astor Piazzolla, the Argentine composer who was the originator of tango nuevo. He spent many summers in Punta del Este and in 1982 composed the Suite Punta del Este. The classical duo on the ship, George and Agnes, usually finished their set before we went to dinner with a tango, introduced by George with “It’s tango time!” More often than not it was a tango by Piazzolla. They missed the plaque when in Punta del Este and seemed to appreciate it when we gave them a photo of it.
Well, that brought us full circle, back at the fish vendor in the tender port where the birds and sea lions were still entertaining the visitors. After spending a little more time with them we boarded the tender for the long ride back to the ship. We were relieved to re-enter the air conditioning on this very hot day.
We were anchored near Gorriti Island, which is close to Punta del Este. From the ship we could see Punta del Este beyond the island, and also the island’s beaches and boat harbor with its own lighthouse as we sailed away. The end of the Punta del Este peninsula, with the lighthouse and the church, could also be seen from the ship.
BADER JOURNAL 