January 25, 2020



Montevideo, Uruguay



Sherita and I had made plans to meet by the gangway at 9 am.  Turns out, when I opened my door she was walking by, so we were off.



We walked through town and visited the Metropolitan Cathedral before stopping for drinks and a donut at the McDonalds at Plaza Constitucion.  There was a flea market setting up in the plaza and we looked at the stalls before proceeding to our main goal – the Manos del Uruguay outlet store.  Luckily, this one sold yarn unlike the store in Punta del Este.



When we walked in we saw a couple from the ship that we had met on Av. Raul Scalabrini Ortiz yesterday.  She wanted only sock yarn and was pleased with what she found.  We looked at the yarn on display which was not a huge amount (at least not compared with yesterday) but their yarn is so nice that more than made up for it.  I saw a couple of types not stocked at home. 



While we were deciding, Judy and Pete came in and we were all searching for some bargains.  Turns out, the yarn was about 1/3 of the price we pay in the U.S. 

As we were heading back to the ship we stopped at a small yarn shop (so small you didn’t go in – all the yarn was in the windows and you told the proprietor what you wanted.  Most everything was acrylic and not that great a price so we did not buy anything.



I was also looking for my pitcher and we had seen a couple of possible stores when Sherita spied one across the street.  She ran over and checked and motioned me over.  They had exactly what I wanted!



The shopping bags that the yarn went in were heavy paper with sharp corners.  As we were walking one of the corners hit my leg and I started dripping blood.  Luckily, I had tissue with me so I was able to stop the bleeding but did not have any band-aids so at the next farmacia we stopped and I bought a package.



We stopped at the flea market and each of us tried to use up the rest of the Uruguayan money we had buying a few souvenirs.  We still had a few left so when we got close to the ship we went into a market and I bought some cokes and Sherita some crackers.



Arriving back at the ship just after one, I felt like I had been in a sauna.  I rested for awhile and had one of my cokes.  I only found out the other day that my iPhone counts my steps.  Now, usually at home my phone is dead in the bottom of my purse or when cruising dead in the safe but I had pulled it out the other day to download Google translate (shown to me by Mike at the dinner table).  I had downloaded some Spanish words as well as some questions (like “Do you sell sock yarn”) for my yarn quest.  Yesterday, I noticed the step counter and found out how far I actually walked in Punta del Este (I thought it had been about 4 miles).  Turns out the total for the three port days was over 15.5 miles!



At 1:40 I decided if I was going to get any food I better get to the Lido which closes (except for sandwiches, salads, and desserts) at 2.  Once finished lunch I filled my new pitcher with tea bags and hot water.  I waited about twenty minutes for it to cool some and then went back to my cabin.  I worked on my Linus blanket until it was time for our second muster drill at 4.  After that it was time for trivia.  Diana and I were the only ones from our team so we joined another team.  The winners had 20.5 out of 21 and we only had 18.

1.Which Dutch company launched CD players in 1981?

2.Why are soap operas called that?

3.Which sport requires throwing stones at houses?

4.How many stars in the Big Dipper?

5.  What was the last name of Fred and Ethel in “I Love Lucy”?

6.What is the most recently recognized winter Olympic sport?



On the way back to my cabin I stopped in the Lido to get some pictures of the Chinese New Year festivities (none of which were in the MDR).



After dinner I was too tired to go to the show.  As I am finishing this up I am having my first glass of iced tea in three weeks and hope to be in bed by midnight provided the pictures upload quickly.



Finally two sea days before we reach the Falklands.

Trivia

1.Philips

2.when they began they were sponsored by soap companies

3.curling

4.7

5.Mertz

6.snowboarding

Street scenes

Inside the cathedral

Manos del Uruguay

cute needles and crochet hooks I managed to resist

                                    Pete and Judy 

My purchases

                              my first pitcher of tea

Chinese New Year in the Lido

Smooth sailing until next time!