Montevideo

           Tuesday, 27 Dec 2011 – We were up bright and early – well, early anyway – and on our tour bus by 8:45 A.M. The bus drove by the Rambia (a beach), along the riverfront of Montevideo as we headed to Punta de Este, known as the South American Riviera. “Este” in this case means “peninsula,” we were told by the guide; and Punta de Este is surrounded on most sides by water. The jet set lives in this area in houses worth more than $1,000,000. (We decided not to invest in any property here at this time!) There is a riverfront and also an oceanfront, and we saw where the brownish water was mixing in with the bluer ocean. Near the end of our tour, we walked in some of the old city. On the edge of that area was a tall building of 20 stories or so, with air conditioners in all of its windows; while taking photos, we felt the drops of condensation blowing down on us as we stood in the windy street below. (Better than birds up there!)

            One exciting thing happened while the bus was traveling from the beach area back into the city. Most people on the bus were snoozing when a very loud BANG caused everyone to wake up fast! We were sitting a little more than halfway back in the bus, and thought that the bus had blown a tire. Instead, there was shattered glass in one of the windows near the front of the bus. Soon, some of the tiny pieces of glass began falling out of the window. When we examined it later, Jesse thought the small hole in the window looked like a gunshot. It’s possible that the bullet was lodged in the overhead storage compartment; however, Jesse decided not to search for it for fear of alarming the other passengers. On the other hand, the hole might have been from a rock thrown by a tire, but no one found a rock, either. (It might have been under a seat.)

       Tonight we decided to forego dancing and the hot tub, in favor of trying to get to bed earlier. Of course, Jesse could keep going for a few more hours because he dozed much of the morning and afternoon on the bus. But tomorrow we visit Buenos Aires, the birth place of the Tango, and we both want to be awake for that!