Montevideo and the Rounding of Cape Horn

Hello everyone, we have been busy preparing for the South American Member Cruise. The timeline is decreasing; however, my list seems to grow longer every day with the work for the events to take place for the Crown and Anchor members. Luckily, we will have a great staff, you will meet. It will be nice after the long plane ride to drive to port and see the ship. I will then take a great sigh of relief that the fun is about to begin.

Meetings have been taking place between our staff in Miami and the Splendour of the Seas on a recurring basis. In one of the meetings we spoke about your member cruise planning. The Hotel Director asked us to mention the following:

1) Be sure to bring a Brazilian visa. Passengers have been showing up without them and have been denied boarding.

2) Allow up to 4 hours to get from the airport in Sao Paulo to the port in Santos and allow sufficient extra time for boarding once they reach the port.

3) To expedite the boarding process, please have the online documents filled out ahead of time and come with Set Sail pass in hand.

Now that the administrative items are out of the way, let's talk about the fun stuff!

Feb 15^th and Montevideo will follow our beautiful Valentines Day events either planned for us or made up as we go along, We will be in a new port and a new country, Uruguay. As the largest city in the country with a population over 1 million, Montevideo has its beaches, monuments, museums, historical buildings and squares. It's the seashore side and city backdrop that makes Montevideo so spectacular as you walk along its scenery around the ocean.

Some ideas for a day in Montevideo are:

Old Town has the area's restaurant row and offers some of the best grilled beef in South America, along with generous helpings of paella and seafood dishes.

Street peddlers, artists and musicians complete the scene at the Central Market which goes on every day for the shopaholics.For historians, the city was once protected by walls and a large fortress.

On the western edge of Plaza Independecia is the one remnant of the colonial citadel razed in 1833.

As night falls, la Rambla road by the water's edge has the most beautiful ocean views.

Whatever we decide a day in Montevideo will be our transition to the sea. The next three days will be a moment to remember as we round the cape. Known for it's unpredictable weather and rough seas, it is still considered a major yachting challenge to go through Cape Horn and it's hazards. The moment comes when you are in view of Horn Island, which is considered that actual rounding of the cape.

After this historical event for our members, we will go forward to Ushuia and round even further to the Western side of South America. On our three days at sea and as we come to the middle and last days of our trip, this region of the world should promise to be the most scenic portions as we explore the natural world in its beauty.

If you like reading this article there are others about our previous member cruises and travel locations featured in the 'Crown & Anchor Society' group at Gather. Go to the yellow bar at the top of the page and click 'featured articles'. By clicking, you will go to a page of featured articles by me. Clicking on the three buttons to the right: 'articles', 'images', and 'video', you will get a list of items featured from other group members by scrolling down. Enjoy!

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