Punta del Este by Bike

 

January 4, 2022 - Thunderstorms forecast for the morning did not arrive. They did arrive in force for our afternoon bike ride. As the shy darkened in the west, we dawned yellow vests and helmets. Off we went pedaling single file as instructed. Before we had gone two blocks, one young lady broke ranks, pedaling hard uphill to fall-in right behind the guide. Stopping at our first point of interest, the light house, our guide looked back to exclaim, “We have lost half the herd already.” The rest of our riders had stopped practically before they started as one lady had fallen off her bike before she got out of the parking lot.

Getting Ready to Ride

With wind blowing now in earnest, off we went the whole herd, mostly single file, with our guide in front and two young Viking females at the tail to assure no one got lost. Yesterday, four riders got lost when held up attempting to cross four lanes of heavy traffic, the rest of riders ahead vanished. Our friends who were on the ride complained, Viking listened and added the young Viking females to ride astern. 

Lighthouse - Looking East                               High-rises Along Beach - Looking West

The Hand from the Sand

Starting  to Get Wet

The wind blew harder; thunder rumbled, lighting flashed in the distance, the sky began to sprinkle, we decided to continue with the beach on our right and heavy traffic beside us on our left. The sky dumped water on us sideways. The roads filled with water. Time to cross the peninsula and return to the marina for a tender ride back to the ship. I was completely soaked but not shivering.

Safe in Tender but Soaked to the Bone with Jan from Sanibel

A few hours later out on the sea as Viking Jupiter sailed for Montevideo, Punta del Este still lay under low dark clouds. We were sailing into sunshine.

Viking Jupiter Before the Rain Came

   "La Mano (The Hand) is a sculpture in Punta del Este by Chilean artist Mario Irarrázabal. It depicts     five human fingers partially emerging from sand and is located on Parada 1 at Brava Beach in Punta  del Este, a popular tourist town in Uruguay. It is also known as either Los Dedos (The Fingers),  Hombre emergiendo a la vida (Man Emerging into Life). In English, its popular name is The Hand.

    It is a famous sculpture[ that has become a symbol for Punta del Este since its completion in February 1982 and in turn has become one of Uruguay's most recognizable landmarks." - LaMano - Wikipedia