Thursday February 26, 2015 - Punta del Este, Uruguay

Thursday February 26, 2015 – Punta del Este, Uruguay

We got up about 7 and did our morning routine and got ready for our tour of Punta del Este and Casa Pueblo.  We had to tender in and it took an hour to get us to shore.  Frustrating.

We met our guide and we were off to tour the city first.  First to the lighthouse and then to where the Rio Plate meets the Atlantic Ocean.  We had a photo stop.  Then along the Ramblas to see the beautiful beaches and condos.  This is a beautiful resort in Uruguay with good weather.  Lots of Argentinians and Brazilians visit here to gamble since that isn’t legal in their countries.  We traveled all along the coast and got to some huge mansions.  The guide told us it is very safe here so wealthy people come here to escape a busy life elsewhere.

An observation tower in Punta del Este

The lighthouse of Punta del Este

 

Las Ramblas in Punta del Este

The point where the Atlantic Ocean meets the river

Old cannon and plaques to commemorate the wars

We went to a small town with a “roller coaster bridge” that was fun.  Another photo stop.  Then we went to the Beverly Hills neighborhood and visited the Ralli Museum.  It had some interesting art exhibits and a lot of sculptures by .

The roller-coaster bridge outside of Punta del Este

Beautiful seaside resort

Very modern art in the museum

And lots of statuary in the museum courtyard

We then went to Casa Pueblo that was built by a Uruguayan artist.  Our guide described it as “Gaudi like” but it was more aptly described as a “marshmallow house”.  It was truly like a pueblo house – all white.

Casa Pueblo, the home of Ernesto Sabato, a famous artist in Uruguay

Displays of many of his pieces

Interesting architecture - all whitewashed

Tim was interested in this statue for some reason!

Beautiful vista from Ernesto Sabata's home, Casa Pueblo

Punta del Este in the distance from Casa Pueblo

They have converted part of his home to a resort

The beautiful entrance - they call it the "marshmallow house"!

Lots of whitewashed walls.  Ernesto designed and built the home himself with helpers

View of Casa Pueblo from the hillside

And a view from above

We then returned to the center of Punta del Este and they let us off by the beach by a famous statue of fingers coming through the sand.  Another photo stop. 

A famous statue on the beach at Punta del Este - a hand coming out of the sand

An interesting restaurant in Punta del Este

The Uruguayan flag

 

Tim and I walked back to the ship.  We decided to have a light lunch on the ship since we are eating in Polo tonight.

We had lunch in the buffet and then relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.  I’m reading Elizabeth Warren’s book “A Fighting Chance” and am intrigued by it.  A good read.

Tim worked out and we had coffee.  We dressed and went to Horizons for drinks at 7.  Then to Polo where Buddha from Nepal waited on us again.  A good dinner.  We had a table at the very back and were able to watch a gorgeous sun setting over Punta del Este behind us as we sailed north.

After dinner we went to the Lounge and watched the cast do their Show Stoppers show – we saw it before and it was excellent.  We ended the evening in the Horizons bar and had fun talking to a couple from Tennessee and Richard from Alabama.  It was after 11 pm when we called it a night but we roll the clocks back one hour tonight so we’ll get a good night’s sleep.