Punta del Este, Uruguay

            Tuesday, 9 Jan 2024 – At 8:00 AM, we were scheduled to anchor off the coast of Punta del Este, a city and resort in southeastern Uruguay.  Uruguay, officially Uruguay’s Eastern Republic, is located in the southeastern region of South America and is home to an estimated 3.45 million people.  With an area of approximately 68,000 square miles, Uruguay is geographically the second-smallest nation in South America, after Suriname.

Although Punta del Este has a year-round population of about 9,280, the summer season greatly adds to this number.  Punta is known as “The Hamptons of Uruguay” – a place where celebs and jetsetters may outnumber the surfers, yachts are plus-sized, and elegant residential high-rises rival those of South Beach. It’s also renowned for its outstanding natural beauty, a resort city rimmed by miles of gorgeous beaches.

We had our usual breakfast in the Terrace Café, then returned to our cabin.  From our balcony, we had a wonderful view of the city’s very impressive skyline.  For the first time since 30 Dec 2023, we were finally able to download our e-mail.  Sally started looking through the hundreds of e-mails that were downloading.  She eventually tired from that task and lay down for a nap.

We had booked an afternoon excursion, Highlights of Punta del Este & Car Museum, scheduled to meet on the pier at 1:30 PM; however, when it was time to leave the ship, Sally said she was too tired to participate, so Jesse went on tour without her.  As we were waiting on the bus, Jesse realized that the tour guide was waiting for missing passengers, and told her that Sally would not be coming.  Two other husbands did the same, which accounted for the missing passengers.  So, we began our tour.  Our tour guide was Karina and our driver was Juvial.

From the start, it was evident that tourism was Punta’s main industry.  As we rode along the coastline, we saw rows and rows of high-rise condominiums, which, according to Karina, are mostly empty during the winter months.  The public beaches along were all filled with scantily-clad swimmers and sunbathers.  Our first photo stop was Casapueblo, a one-of-a-kind cliff-hugging complex built over decades by a Uruguayan artist who was famously averse to right angles.  We rode through elegant San Rafael and Beverly Hills, and the trendy La Barra de Maldonado, a neighborhood approached by an undulating hanging bridge.  The bridge resembled a roll-a-coaster.  According to Katrina, some of the locals use to speed along the bridge for a thrill before law enforcement cracked down on the activity.  Our final stop was the Car Museum, where several meticulously restored automobiles from various eras were on display.  The display also included an ancient suit of armor that seemed to be out of place.  Also on site, was a private Catholic church, which they opened for us to visit.

By the time Jesse returned to the cabin, Sally had finished going through the e-mail, most of which was junk mail.  We quickly dressed for dancing in the Horizons.  Ed & Alicia were there also.  They had a dinner date in the Polo Grill, so they didn’t go with us to the Terrace Café.