Day 21 - 27/Jan/24 - Montevideo, Uruguay

 This morning I remember hearing Ed, our Cruise & Travel Director, give the 7am "The ship has been cleared and you are free to depart the ship" announcement.  Then I rolled over and fell back asleep for another hour plus.  With the second announcement I decided it was time to get up for the day.

After breakfast we filled laundry bag for the last laundry of this voyage and handed it to Ali our stateroom attendant.  We gathered our things and headed off the ship for a day of exploring. As we were walking the pier I noticed that we were joined in port by the Costa Fascinosa.  It's a pure white painted ship of about the same length as the Oosterdam but 30,000 tons heavier.  

After we passed through the little park inside the port, we were handed a tourist map and decided to use it as a basic guide for today although we wanted to do three things:  Visit the Carnival museum which didn't open until 11am, get a haircut and visit the MAM (Mercado Agriculturo de Montevideo).  So off we went following the tourist route and enjoying many sites that we had previously seen on prior visits but at someone else's speed.  We saw Independence and Constitution squares and the legislative building as well as the Cathedral.  I spotted a barber shop and got a very nice haircut for $11 plus a $4 tip.  It was another mile and a half before we reached the MAM about 12:30pm and 2.5 hours after we left the ship.  I went to a vender who was selling Chivitos (a multi meat sandwich popular in Uruguay). I tried to have one when we were here two months ago, but the waiting time was too long.  It was terrific!  Angela had a different item from another vender and she really liked it.  Afterwards we strolled around all of the aisles and took in the sights and sounds and smells of this very cool market.

Leaving the market, we partially retraced our steps to LaPaz Street where we turned right and walked past the now closed and derelict Central Train Station to Las Ramblas which follows the edge of the port.  Along the way it's largely a commercial area with a couple historical items.  It's the same road that passes in front of the port and the Naval headquarters and the Carnival museum.

We paid the $4US each entry fee and spent about an hour in the museum which documents the history of Uruguayan carnival celebrations.  The costumes are colorful and gorgeous.  Most of the signage is, however, in Spanish.  Afterwards we toured the nearby Puerto Mercado which is much smaller than the MAM.  We then walked back to the ship and reboarded around 4:00.  

After being in the heat all day, I went up to the Lido and drank ice water while catching up on internet.  The Captain gave his departure announcement just after 5 and all aboard was 5:30pm.  At 5:45pm the Oosterdam inched away from the dock until it was clear of the Fascinosa and then sailed out of the harbor which has a tight 90° turn inside the breakwater.

We enjoyed a nice Lido dinner featuring Uruguayan meats before attending Maria Campos'  7:30pm performance in the Main Stage.  Before the show, we enjoyed a good chat with a couple from Utah who are part of the Fun For Less group.  They spent all day on a bus. I think we saw more quality items by walking.

We wrapped up our evening listening to 3rd Avenue West play in the Ocean Bar Lounge for two sets.  It was very relaxing and I composed this blog entry listening to them. Tomorrow we are in our last port of call, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and we're not planning to leave the ship on Sunday except to possibly check out the terminal which was heavily damaged after our last visit a couple of months ago. We sense a spa day occurring plus we want to see the movie Evita at 3pm in the Main Stage.