Small town, big city, and two countries

We were away for 18 days on this trip.  Seven of those were sailing days -- spent entirely on the boat.  At-sea days are what you make of them and it's easy to find things to do -- more activities than we needed actually.  For us, there were no bad days on board -- and some of them were spectacular.   

We can say the same thing about shore excursion days as well.   Or any days at all  for that matter.   Every day can't be spectacular.  But on this trip, almost every day  came fairly close.  Every shore visit was to a new place, often one we'd never heard of before booking the voyage.  And every day brought a learning experience.    We count our blessings.

 

 

 Our next port-of-call was the one day we were slightly disappointed with.  But it wasn't a bad day either.  We were in a new place and it gave us the opportunity to  learn more about the Patagonian region of Argentina.  Puerto Madryn is a fishing port, settled in the mid-19th century when the Argentine government, like Chile's, encouraged European immigration to this remote region.    The first settlers to arrive were  Welsh immigrants.  Settlers from Spain and Italy soon followed, but the heritage of the original Welsh settlers lives on.  

Our shore excursion was a drive-through tour of Puerto Madryn and then on to  the village of Gaiman, where descendants  of the original Welsh families still keep their traditions alive.  It was a hot day for a bus ride along  a not-very-scenic road.

 

 

We had tea and biscuits (sweets) in Gaiman and listened to Welsh folk music.  We were sorry not to have more time in the village as we had time for only a very short  guided walk around the town.   A lot of this excursion was taken up by the bus ride to and from the village.

 

In the afternoon, we took a shuttle bus from the dock into the town of Puerto Madryn where we braved the heat and did a little walking around on our own.    This is the Jupiter at the dock shown in the first picture, taken from the  bus stop across the beach.  It was pleasant to watch local families  enjoying the warm summer day at the beach and it had me wishing to dip my toes into the water as well.   In retrospect, we  should have foregone the bus tour and chosen to spend more time on our own.   

A couple of at-sea days later, we  woke up to an entirely new country  at a very  interesting port of call.

We  were docked at Montevideo, Uruguay.  This, the Capital City of the country, is situated on the north shore of the Río de la Plata, the arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the south coast of Uruguay from the north coast of Argentina.   

Looking out our window in the morning as the ship came in to the dock, we could see what looked like a ship graveyard as well as a thriving commercial port and then the skyscrapers of the city.   

Though we never did find out about the abandoned ships, we did quickly realize just how big the city is.  The Capital of Uruguay, Montevideo has a population of  over a million -- one-third of the country's population resides within its city limits.   Montevideo is said to have one of the highest qualities of life of any Latin American city and it felt to us like a thriving city.  If anything from the brief time we spent there, it seemed more European than anything else.  
 

 

We were comfortable exploring City streets on our own.   Modern skyscrapers co-exist with  historic art deco and neo-classical architecture.  Remnants of the old walled city still exist in some places.

 

 

There was a street art exhibit going on in the old part of downtown, along with some probably unauthorized graffiti.   We window shopped and even sampled a little of the local cuisine.  

 

Teatro Solis is the country's major theater.  Opened in 1865, the building was designed by Italian architect Carlos Zucchi and named after the first European explorer to land in what is now Uruguay.   It served as a hub for society in those days.  According to Wikipedia:

The motivation behind constructing a theatre was to have a worthy place where one could be seen socializing and flaunt one's social and political influence. The necessity behind constructing a theatre in Montevideo was the need to elevate one's social and political status through civil associations that had a cultural, scientific, and commercial nature. Therefore, the new theatre would offer a platform for socializing among the societal elite.

A renovation project was completed in 2004.    I wish we could have attended a performance in this historic theater! 

 

 

We would have two more sea days following our time in Uruguay and then we'd be back in Argentina for the last two days of our trip.  We appreciated the chance to see another country  --   one we did not expect to visit when we decided on this itinerary.   It was also, for me at least, a good geography lesson. Before this,  I honestly wouldn't have been able to place Uruguay on a map.  (I'd at least be able to get close now!)

 

Linking this week to the following sharing opportunities.

Thank you to the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY;   THROUGH MY LENS; TUESDAY TREASURES;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   THANKFUL THURSDAY; and  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;    

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Debbie]

i was scanning through your pictures again, they are so incredible of a land i will never see. you sure do have a "full time life".

[Michelle Keltner]

A dream trip to me! I am loving this series. Thank you for linking up!

[Sharon Wagner]

I've never been to South America. Bucket list!

[Amy]

oh yes biscuits as in cookies, well that's what we call them anyway. It seems strange listening to Welsh songs in Argentina but something unique.

[Eileen]

Hello Sallie,
I have enjoy following your post on this cruise.
You have visited some very interesting places.
I like the cute village of Gaiman. I was not expecting to see such a big city of Montevideo. Take care, enjoy your day and have a great week ahead.

[Beatrice]

What a wonderful and unexpected adventure to explore a country you had not expected to visit, Sallie. I would also have been curious about that ship graveyard and if you do learn more, please share in a future post. Wishing you a very wonderful Easter weekend back at home.

[Soma @ InkTorrents.com]

What an amazing cultural trip. I have always learned a lot more from travelling than from the books. Interesting too see a Gaelic sign in Argentina. I really enjoyed reading your post along with the photos you took.

-Soma

[Lillian]

Thank you for showing me such a great place. Have a great Easter.

[Jim, Sydney, Australia]

Good shots.

[Yogi]

I guess I have heard of the city of Montevideo but that is it. Your photographs are amazing. It is a large city. I learned something new!

[Peter B.]

Montevideo looks like a really interesting city. I wouldn't be able to locate it on a map either!

[Breathtaking]

Dear Sallie :=)
Another fascinating aspect of your voyage, visiting another country. I do enjoy looking at what other bloggers see on their journeys. The village of Gaiman looks to me as though it is very quaint, and I just love that Jug water feature and the Welch folk singing would be my cup of tea. How interesting that the Welsh were the first settlers there. Impressive photo of the boat, and it was nice to see the swimmers having fun, probably cooling off from the heat. Montevideo looks inviting with modern sky scrapers and also historic architecture.

In my studant days we had to know all the countries adjacent to Brazil,I was studying at Art College and I still remember that
Uruguay means "River of Painted Birds." One more thing I learnt was that the first European explorer to land in what is now Uruguay was the Portuguese navigator by the name Magellian, and that's all I remember. I have learnt far more from your fascinating post, and wish I could travel to all these S.American
places, although we did once stay with friends in their home in Fortaleza many years ago, but my travelling days are now over. Your travel arrangements are perfect, touring and sight seeing with 8 days relaxation on board ship with plenty going on if you felt inclined to be entertained.

Before I leave you Sallie I would just like to say thank you for your much appreciated condolences.So sorry this is such a long comment.
All the best
Sonjia

[Debbie]

wow!!! your pictures are amazing!! uruguay and argentina, a dream come true!! it is very exciting to know that your time on the boat was spectacular as well, i would not have believed there was so many things to do on the boat!! and how wonderful you were ok walking the streets of uruguay alone...tea and sweet biscuits sounds pretty good as well!!

[A ShutterBug Explores]

Wow! Sally what a journey for you both ~ there must be some 'gypsy' heritage in you ~ lol ~ Fun and marvelous photos ~ thanks and hugs,

Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
carol l mckenna
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

[mae]

Every day you describe makes your trip sound wonderful! I hope you are planning a post to let us know about onboard ship days. On our one long at-sea day (and 2 nights) between Iceland and Greenland we expected heavy seas and not much to see, but everyone was amazed by smooth sailing and lots of whale sightings! I hope you were as lucky as we were.

best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com

[ellen b.]

Traveling really gives you a good perspective on the world we live in. There are so many places I couldn't pinpoint on a map without help. The more I travel, the more I know. :) How great to be able to say you had so many exceptional days!! Happy Easter week to you!

[tomthebackroadstraveller]

...Sallie, you certainly saw some interesting sights. Thanks for taking me along to see the sights.

[veronica lee]

What an amazing trip, Sallie!
Loved reading about your adventures and seeing your beautiful photos.
It's fascinating to learn about the unexpected connections, like the Welsh settlement in Argentina, and to see the blending of cultures in such far-flung places.

Happy Tuesday!

[Lorrie Orr]

Such a wonderful recap of your trip. I would have never imagined that Welsh people would have settled in Argentina. So interesting. We are going on a cruise around Iceland this summer and will have several sea days. I'm rather looking forward to walking around the ship and having time to relax and look out at the ocean.

[DeniseinVA]

Oh my, I'm just loving these. Fabulous photos and such an interesting read. Traveling is such a great education, reading about your travels is one too. Thanks Sallie!

[::: Heidrun]

Wonderful scenes you bring from your fantastic trip in the post, dear Sallie! I followed you with enthusiasm. Yes, I really do get wanderlust. One day we'll go on a trip, that's our plan. We probably won't be traveling this far, but we'll definitely be traveling all around Europe.

Thank you for this contribution to
MosaicMonday

I wish you and your family a pleasant week, hugs
Heidrun

[Lisa]

How funny to be listening to Welsh folk songs in Argentina, but then I do live in a country known as a Kibbutz Galuyot (the ingathering of the exiles of Israel in the land of Israel).