I see a mountain . . .

If you ever wondered what Montevideo meant, now you know. Too bad there really aren't any mountains, just hills in the distance. Montevideo is a beautiful city. It reminded me of parts of San Juan and southern Florida. We had a Jewish tour of the city, including services and lunch with members of the community. I did not go to services, and instead walked around the area. I happened upon an outdoor market (non-tourist) and purchased a "mate" cup and a neat batik parchment that I will frame. I'm not quite sure where I'm going to put all this art in my apartment. I may have to upgrade apartments for everything! The mate (pronounced, mah-teh) cup is made of a type of gourd and mate is the national drink of both Uruguay and Argentina. I have yet to try it, but I knew that I wanted to purchase one from Uruguay. I'm sure I'll have a chance to try it in Buenos Aires.

Our lunch with the congregation was very nice. The rabbi invited some singles to eat with us. Afterwards we visited the holocaust memorial which is the only one in South America. It was a moving experience, as all holocaust memorials are.

Uruguay has about 20,000 Jews and about 18,000 of them live in Montevideo. We visited one of the old synagogues in the city which is only used for special events since the community has since moved further out in the city.

Once I got back to the ship, I frantically had to pack and get my stuff outside before dinner. I have so much more stuff than before. I don't know what to do with it. I will be paying a pretty penny just to fly this stuff to Iguazu, back, and then to the states. Before dinner we also had a farewell program for our group. It was nice to reminisce about the trip. Also, Malori's husband put together a great slide show for all of us. It's hard to believe now that the trip is almost over. It's almost as if I've been at camp b/c the time has allowed us all to really get to know each other. I still have 4 more days, but most of the group leaves tomorrow and that will be sad. Folks are already talking about the next trips. AJ is doing the Mediterranean in the summer, China in November, and possibly Australia and New Zealand next new years. All I know is I have to start saving as soon as I pay off this trip. Either trip (China or Australia/New Zealand) sounds fabulous.

Tomorrow, after we leave the ship, I'll be in Buenos Aires overnight. We'll have a city tour and then some free time to walk around. I'm hoping that I can take some time and find a leather jacket. BA is the place to get custom made leather jackets, which are priced very well considering the exchange rate. Tomorrow night, after dinner, we have reservations for an authentic tango show. Should be fun. Monday morning, we are off to Iguazu falls.

For now, it's farewell to the high seas. The itinerary and ports of call were amazing. I can now say that I have been to the end of the world. I've seen sites that I never thought I would. I saw penguins in their natural habitats. It was awesome.