February 23, 2012

Thursday, February 23, 2012

We arrived at Punto del Este. It is overcast and windy.  After breakfast, we proceeded to the Celebrity Theater to get our bus assignment and wait for our turn to be tendered to the dock at the yacht marina.  The seats gradually filled and the crew advised us that there was a delay, that the Captain would advise them when the tendering was ready to go. Then, after a 30 minute wait an announcement came that the Port of Punto del Este had been closed due to the high winds.  All excursions were cancelled and credits issued to the stateroom accounts. The Captain will try to find another port or go early to Montevideo if possible. We returned to the stateroom to drop off our gear and went for coffee followed by a one hour walk which covered   3 .75 miles (200 steps per lap). There are 134 stairs from Deck 3 to Deck 10 and another 21 stairs to Deck 11.  Most sun lounge chairs were filled with sun bathers as the clouds thinned.  The temperature was about 22 at 11 and Deck 10 is sheltered from the wind.  There were a good many sun lounge chairs occupied on Deck 11 beside the walking track.  People were taking advantage of the unexpected see day to relax.  Rod Jory was asked to give a presentation that he was still creating about exploration possibilities to Mars at 11:15 a.m.   After we went to the dining room to see the dinner menu and found that it was open for lunch.  We sat with two ladies from Florida and a couple from Düsseldorf, Germany. The lady from Düsseldorf complimented us on our dancing.  Every day one or two people come up to us with compliments saying how many they enjoy watching us.  After lunch, we napped for over two hours then went to Deck 10 for coffee and to read before getting ready for dancing and dinner. An announcement at 4 informed passengers that there were no other ports available and that there was no berth available Montevideo until the morning so we will be hovering near off shore near Maldonado overnight.  After dinner we danced a few dances and wandered to the Photo Gallery to see if we wanted to but any of the photographs of us taken during the voyage.  Then, we went to a Daiquiri tasting until the show, featuring Irish entertainer, flautist, Gary Arbuthnot. We sat with Pat, since Beth has now come down with a cold.  After the show, a few minutes in the Casino then to the Theme Party “Carnival Parade” taking place at poolside on Deck 10 with Latin music and Mojito and Ice Carving demonstrations. We called it a night just before midnight.