Montevideo

We had breakfast in the Horizon Court and were in the Explorer before the 8:15 schedule for the city and Juanico Winery tour. I thought this tour might be a waste but it was really quite good. I was surprised by the quality of the guide's English until I learned he was from Maryland and works for American Express. We had a little walk in the old part of the city and then visited the Legislative Palace before taking the 30+ minute drive to the winery. The winery was very nice and the people there friendly. A guide from the winery got on the bus and as we drove through the vineyard she talked about the conditions, the grapes they grow, etc. Uruguay's unique grape is tannat. The grapes themselves are quite sweet but the wine is anything but. It had more tannin than anything I've ever experienced.

Gus really liked it but, though I like meaty red wines, I did not.

Once off the bus, we got glass of excellent champagne and a quick tour of the cellars before sitting in a large dining room for the tasting and dinner. The tasting was of 5 wines in addition to the champagne. The "Preludio Tinto" and the "Extra Brut Cuvee Castelar" were excellent . Though we didn't taste it there, I took a chance by buying 3 bottles of their Botrytis Noble 2003" and it was excellent as well. The meal was excellent as well with all of the meats cooked on the BBQ outside. In addition to our group, we sat with Dick and Marie from CA. Both are ex-marines. They were a lot of fun; especially Marie. Unfortunately, there were some ignorant folks who felt it necessary to talk loudly while the very talented young man was trying to explain the wines.

I really have trouble with the people who earn us the name, "ugly American."

We stopped on the way back at Mario's leather shop and that was a mistake; it was strictly a tourist trap. I bought a nice belt for $15 and a mate cup but most of the stuff was junk. Back on the ship, I went to the pool while Lin laid down in the room. The day went downhill quickly when I came down to dress and discovered I could not find the cell phone. Looked all over in vain, and then went to the purser to check lost and found but no dice. Ricky, our room steward, said that 4 of his other guests had their pockets picked today so I guess I know where the cell phone went. Damn!

We danced in the wheelhouse until it was time for dinner. We were the first at the table; the right one this time. The waiter, Edal, is from Philippines as is his assistant, Vince.

We were really shot so went directly to bed after dinner.

We didn't spend a lot of time in Montevideo but when we were in town I was wishing we hadn't signed up for the wine tour so we could spend more time exploring.  The Plaza Independencia is a beautiful plaza surrounded by picturesque colonial as well as modern buildings.  The Legislative Palace is an impressive edifice both inside and out.  The area surrounding the city was quite beautiful as well .  The fact that I believe that's where a pickpocket appropriated my cell phone takes a bit of bloom off the rose but I guess that was my own fault.