February 23, 2025

MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY - Day 2

Today decided to do the Hop On Hop Off bus to cover a larger area of this Capital City. The bus does 2 routes - first the City highlights and the 2nd along the beach / shore line taking in more of the plush suburban areas. I did with mother daughter Whitney & Alionia and ran into several other ship people along the way. Below are from the City loop.

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Below is Shore Line loop.

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Pittamiglio Castle has a fascinating story. This building, now an Architectural College, supposedly hid the Holy Grail ( chalice Jesus used at last supper) from the Nazi's during the War - from 1944 to 1948. Pope Pius the 12th , supposedly had it removed from the Vatican for safety and had his childhood friend, take it here, for safe keeping. The building used to stand alone on the beach, but has since been penned in by the neighboring buildings. Pope John Paul was sent to Montevideo to bring the chalice back to Vatican in Rome.

More port fun, this time with Alionia and this young lady drinking macha tea, the national drink of Uruguay and Argentina. See them drinking and carrying everywhere they go!

ROTORUA CITY HIGHLIGHTS - NEW ZEALAND

By Patricia Patrick • March 3, 2026
Rotorua became a bonus city for us. Our Port stay in Tauranga got cut down to one day, due to NZ biosecurity regulations and since we really wanted to do Hobbiton, we decided to get off the ship and stay in hotels and get back on the ship, in a few days. Due to a variety of factors, the Ship ended up doing a quick pick up of us in Tauranga, three days later. The Kiwi's we encountered along the way, who helped with all our last minute details, were amazingly kind, hospitable and generous. Below is our tired, chilly group huddled at the security shed, outside the Port in the wee hours (1:30 am) Monday morning, awaiting our final hurdle of getting back on our Home. Home sweet home! What an adventure!

ROTORUA, NEW ZEALAND

By Patricia Patrick • March 3, 2026
Rotorua, New Zealand is known for it's geothermal activity ( geysers, mud pools, hot springs) and rich Maori culture . I saw lots of that last time I was here in 2016, so this time I wanted to see their Redwoods in Whakarewarewa Forest. John and Colleen joined me in exploring. Their redwoods are smaller than the ones in Muir Woods California, but still impressive. Both are planted forest dating back to around 1908.

ALONG THE ROAD - TAURANGA TO ROTORUA, NEW ZEALAND

By Patricia Patrick • March 2, 2026
Love the unexpected, along the road, sights we get to see and discover. Along the way from Hobbiton to Rotorua we came across these three unique large buildings. I believe the town was Tirau and lots of cars and buses were stopping to observe the buildings, use the public restrooms, (which are housed in one of them) and grab some snacks, gas and / or souvenirs.