Rejoining the Ship in Montevideo

It was an early start to get to the airport for our flight to Montevideo.  It was one of those flights that our plane just flew in an arc.... once we reached our flying altitude we were starting our descent.

Our guide was waiting for us for our short tour of the city as we exited the terminal.   Our first stop was at the Montevideo sign …..  every place in South America seems to have one of these.  From here you looked back across to Pocitos, one of Montevideo's popular beaches and very much like any holiday resort town with it's water front lined with one high-rise after to another.  Actually driving to get to this point if felt like we could have been in any suburb in Australia.

Montevideo relies heavily on tourism and just as the Gold Coast is to Australia, Montevideo is to Argentina.  It is very popular with the Argentinians as is not rich in beautiful beach fronts.

Next was the La Carreta monument, a sculpture created in recognition of the Ox cart drivers of the past.  It was here at the small market that something else caught our eye,  Was it the cannabis flavoured Mate ( South American style tea ) or was it the stall owner proudly wearing his Acca Dacca t-shirt?

Legal Weed in Uruguay.  Don't get excited you can't fly in and buy yourself a stash!!  You have to be a resident for this privilege.  You must register first and each purchase is recorded... Pass your 40grm limit per month and they will come after you!

Visiting a small indoor market was a welcomed relief as by now we were all starting feel a little hungry and in need of a coffee hit...

Plaza Independencia, Montevideo's most important square with many important, political and cultural buildings surrounding it was our next stop. It is also the point where the new city meets the old.

The last stop of the formal part of our tour was Plaza Matriz, the oldest plaza in Montivideo. This  square was in walking distance from the ship,  as it was here that we started to see some familiar faces...  A small antique market was in full swing but the highlight is the Metropolitan Cathedral just across the road.












Once back at the port we decided to reboard and drop off our bags and then head back our for a spot of lunch....
We walked along a small pedestrian street lined with cafe's, bars and artesian shops to soak up a little of the atmosphere...  we stopped at a small wine bar for an enjoyable drink and light tapas...

Now this is what happens when you are not on the ship to see the port lecture for this stop... not one street across was the Mercado del Puerto.. the Port Market!....  OMG think Barcelona's Boqueria, but on a smaller scale....  BBQ's as far as the eye can see...  Meat of every colour and shape cooking over the red hot coals... the smell was just divine… this was an opportunity missed.  I mean where else can you find wine in a six pack!!

Well surprise, surprise,  yet another late sailing... but this one came with consequences!
In most case scenarios a late sail away is due to not enough passengers back on board, but this case it was too many were on board!

So we have 2 passengers who under the passport they are travelling on require Argentinian Visa's. If Princess deal with it the same as we do, they would have been allowed to board, but had signed a waiver saying that if they don't obtain a visa by a certain port, they agree to be off loaded..  No valid visa's were produced and we couldn't sail until they had debarked.  In some instances immigration laws will not even allow a ship to enter it's waters if there are illegal aliens on board and if they do Cruise Lines occur significant fines.

Constant announcements were made for these passengers to present themselves, security and officers were running around the ship with their pictures trying to locate where they may be hiding.

After 2 hours witnesses on deck told of two passengers being escorted off the ship and whisked away just before we dropped our lines and set our course for Buenos Aires.  Ship rumours.... they were hiding in a friends cabin... well you think that would have been one of the first places they would look!

Not long out of the port and we hear the dreaded bells that signal an announcement by the Captain....

Now remember in a previous blog entry I mention the brown water that surrounded Buenos Aires, that is because the city sits on a river plate.  One deep channel in, same deep channel going out, single file only... we had missed our time slot, so we will be a few hours late arriving.

But wait there is more, another development,  in the tight waterways around the argentinian port, as one MSC ship was docked another was attempting to manoeuvre pass when a freak gust of wind blew it straight into the stationary ship.... ugg... more delays as now all traffic had come to a halt...

Our expected time was arrival was 2pm..... so much for our overnighter!