We had a lovely three bears breakfast on the back deck of the ship ...all by ourselves. Beautiful sunshine and 70 degrees...perfect! Where was everyone? Sitting in the ship lounges waiting with their excursion groups. They were missing a most wonderful time cruising into the docks of Montevideo.
Over night we had traveled only 140 nautical miles east from Buenos Aires down the Plato River and were suppose to arrive at the dock at 10:00am but the captain announced at that time that the channel going in was too narrow to accomodate more than one ship at a time and we had to wait our turn for going in...so we actually arrived at the corner of the marker to the harbor while a container ship was leaving the narrow channel. The container ship from Monrovia...where is that?... cut right in front of our ship turning the corner and it was a very close call...we held our breath that we would not hit it....These captains sure know exactly how to run these ships with the wind, depth of the water, etc to contend with. The container ship was kicking up mud but just kept on heading south.
I spotted a gentleman standing on top of the captain's deck where they pilot the ship and said, "Wonder if we can go out there?" We went to the front of deck 15 and entered through an unmarked door....going right out onto the front of the ship with the gentleman....WHAT A VIEW! We owned the whole deck above the captain's all to ourselves. It was an amazing way to go into the city docks!
We enjoyed passing the Uruguay Naval Fleet,
an old ghost shipyard, and a long manmade breaker with lots of men fishing off of it. It was fascinating to watch our huge ship manuever through the tight spots to our dock...little tugs here and there guarding the ship from hitting specific spots.
29 tour buses lined the docks awaiting the ship's travelers to disembark.
Look at all those buses lines up!
We watched the crew tie up the Crown Princess, lower the plank to come on land, and the tons of people disembark as well as the sights of the city from this perfect view point. It was high noon before the first person left the ship.
What a cityscape!
Larry and I went down to the Caribe Cafe for lunch and ate all by ourselves on the back deck of the boat again. How did we ever get the whole stern of the ship to ourselves two times in one day was a pure miracle. We enjoyed a big green salad and roast pineapple chicken. Larry had calamari and key lime pie! Gentle breezes and soothing music! What a grand day!
About two o'clock after all the tours had left, we meandered into the old town of Montevideo!
Old European balconies and huge European doors opened to many of the shops that lined the pedestrian walkways. We sat at a little cafe and enjoyed a local beverage as well as talking with Uruguayans. We love to practice our Spanish every chance we get.
We returned to the ship for dinner and a movie in the room..."Wall Street, Money Never Sleeps" with Michael Douglas before heading off the ship to walk some night street of Montevideo. We had been told that Montevideo is one of the safest cities in the world. We were warned to be aware of your surroundsings at all times in Brazil and Argentina...pickpockets thrived there. The night lights of Montevideo were dim.
We walked all the way through the city to the Palato River passing a few night fishermen and people riding bikes. Kids were playing...something that assured us the safety of the area. We continued along the river for an hour before heading back to the ship.
We went to the late "Uruguay Tango Show" in the Princess Theater seeing tango dancers, lively musicians and singers play Latin American music.
After a nice walk around the outer deck, we headed to our room and quickly fell to a heavy slumber...dreaming about what our second day in Montevideo would bring.
Second Day
This morning after breakfast, we walked off the ship toward Independent Square...a new area in the old part of Montevideo. We passed lots of nice shops and a lot of lonely looking dogs. Unleashed and leashed dogs are numerous here...more so than any of the other places we have visited on this trip.
Plaza Cagancha
Upon reaching Independent Square, the sleepy little town seemed to be waking up. Vendors began to arrive in the park and started setting up their wares. The empty cafe tables started filling with customers as lunch time approached. Gentle music from individual instrumentalist wafed through the air. This town has a very laid back feel and it is nice to be in a small city with less traffic and people on the sidewalks. It is a very relaxing atmosphere.
After a little shopping and taking a few more pictures, we moseyed back to the ship. The anchor was pulled at 6:30pm and we watched the ship pull out of the harbor as the sun started to set. We were sailing for two days to Stanley in the Falklin Islands. Life is GOOD!
No comments:
Post a Comment