Our cruise’s last port of call was Punta del Este, Uruguay on Friday, February 27. This is a resort town, known for its long beach which is often compared to the French Riviera. We needed a tender to get to shore. It was a beautiful clear day with hardly a cloud in sight.
Mark visited Punta del Este two years ago so was familiar with the way around. We walked through residential streets and saw a thatched house. It wasn’t the first such house we saw in town:
The Don Majestic hotel:
We stopped into the Punta Shopping mall across the street from the Don Majestic and I was stunned by the bluntness of this store’s name:
A little bit of research is necessary, I must say. Turns out TITS (all capitals) is a Uruguayan women’s clothing company, with either four or six stores. I can’t tell for sure how many there are because on the company’s own website, it says six yet when I click on the individual locations, I only see four. It is not the same as the Dutch fashion and jewellery company of the same name. Having a name like TITS is one way to ensure all visitors to the mall take a second look at you.
The beach was long and not crowded.
At the end of our beach walk we saw la Mano de Punta del Este, a sculpture of five enormous fingertips breaking through the sand:
We walked to the southern tip of the peninsula. Amidst the rocks were thousands upon thousands of shells, from some kind of clam:
One of the luxurious residences at the point where Rio de la Plata meets the Atlantic:
The flag at Punta de las Salinas, the southernmost point of the Uruguayan mainland:
Punta del Este lighthouse:
Meteorological station:
Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria:
On the walk back to the tenders we saw some fishmongers by the harbour. Among the seagulls vying for scraps were several seals, snorting and challenging others for prime position. Although one hunk of fish was surely dead meat, one particular seal persistently slammed it into the water, perhaps instinctually, in order to ensure its demise:
I took the boardwalk back to the tender dock. The boards were uneven and felt soft in many places. I did wonder if my next step would plunge me through to the beach below:
I had gone ahead of Mark and secured a place in the long tender line. It was so hot while waiting that I was glad the cruise staff was handing out cool towels. We got a spot on the upper deck as we travelled back to the ship.