6:30 AM and getting ready to dock in Buenos Aires. Set
clocks back an hour last night, but somehow the clock that does wake-up calls
didn’t get set back, so a lot of people on the boat got calls an hour early.
Lots of grumpy people! We’ll try to be “glass half full” kind of people,
however, and use that hour to write our last blog.
We spent a short day in Montevideo Uruguay yesterday and
chalked off a new country for us (Panama was our other new country). Montevideo
is a lovely city, although a little “tired”. If you can see past the crumbling
facades and desperate need for a power wash, it’s reminiscent of
Barcelona—beautiful architecture.
Our guide told us a lot about the country and it’s different
from other South American countries in many ways. Freedom of religion is
practiced, although there are as many agnostics and atheists as there are
Catholics (40% each). The current president is the second socialist president and
he’s generally well-regarded. It’s a very poor country and most people are
dependant on services from the government. The salaries of policemen and
teachers are the equivalent of $700 per month. The government will pay for a
college education for anyone who wishes, but once you earn your degree, you pay
a tax back to the government—currently $120/year for each degree you have.
Picture 1 is a cityscape of Montevideo. There is a
17-mile-long Rambla from the old city all the way down the Rio Plata that
follows one beautiful beach after another. Our guide told us that a 1000-square foot condo on the beach
would only cost about $200,000!
Picture 2 is the Montevideo ship graveyard. It appears that,
as ships die, they are just packed into this jumble of old ships.
We’ll be leaving the ship for a day in Buenos Aires and then
flying home tonight. Our next blog entry will be in March when we fly back to
Buenos Aires and sail back to Ft. Lauderdale. Thanks for traveling with
us—we’ve had a great time!
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