Carnival in Rio Cruise: Punta del Este

In this tenth post of a multi-part series, Bethany explores Punta del Este, Uruguay on her Carnival in Rio cruise on Azamara.

Back for my second cruise on Azamara…this time I am exploring South America. The 15-night Carnival in Rio cruise is round-trip from Buenos Aires, going up to Rio de Janeiro and back. Join me as I explore the many wonderful ports in Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil along the way!

Carnival in Rio Full Itinerary

Below is the full itinerary for the trip. This post includes details about Cruise Day 14 in Punta del Este. Looking for info on earlier stops? Check out the ‘Links’ section at the end of this post!

• Pre-Cruise – February 9 & 10: Buenos Aires, Argentina (embarkation)
• Cruise Day 1 & 2 – February 11 & 12: Montevideo, Uruguay
• Cruise Day 3 & 4 – February 13 & 14: At Sea
• Cruise Day 5 – February 15: Santos, Brazil
• Cruise Day 6 – February 16: Ilhabela, Brazil
• Cruise Day 7 – February 17: Parati, Brazil
• Cruise Day 8 – February 18: Buzios, Brazil
• Cruise Day 9-11 – February 19-21: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Cruise Day 12 & 13 – February 22 & 23: At Sea
• Cruise Day 14 – February 24: Punta del Este, Uruguay
• Post-Cruise Day 1 – February 25: Buenos Aires (disembarkation)
• Post-Cruise Day 2 – February 26: Iguazu Falls, Brazil
• Post-Cruise Day 3 – February 27: Iguazu Falls, Argentina

Cruise Day 14

The morning of February 24th brought me back to the lovely country of Uruguay. I was also happy to see the Uruguayan flag flying proudly on the ship’s mast once again! After two-and-a-half sea days, it was great to have one more fun day of excursions before the end of the cruise. This morning was another mostly cloudy one, with small peaks of sunshine here and there. Approaching the port of Punta del Este was another pretty sail-in.

City Tour

Once we arrived in the harbor near Punta del Este, we anchored close to shore. We relied on tenders yet again to get to and from the mainland. A brief time on the tender brought us to the port. My tour group then set out on our morning excursion. The first part of the excursion gave us a brief tour of the area, including a couple of stops at some picturesque spots along the way.

At the second stop we had the opportunity to get up close and explore one of the area’s most famous landmarks, a sculpture called La Mano (The Hand). Chilean artist Mario Irrazabal completed the structure in 1982. It has since become a symbol for Punta del Este, and indeed one of the most recognizable landmarks in all of Uruguay.

Casapueblo

We continued the tour by driving through some residential areas of the city, including San Rafael, Cantegrill, La Barra, and Beverly Hills, before arriving at the next stop: Casapueblo. This is the home and atelier of Carlos Paez Vilaro, a renowned artist. The gorgeous white building is perched on a rocky cliff that overlooks the ocean. While we did not go into Casapueblo, we got to see its striking exterior and the breathtaking views nearby.

Olive Oil Tasting

From here we made our way to the highlight of the excursion, an olive oil tasting at Olivos de las Animas. Tucked in a quiet area outside of the city, this beautiful olive grove produces olive oil.

One of the owners gave us a tour of the vineyards, where he explained the types of olives they grow and how they grow and process them. This area, along with many others in the region, has been experiencing a fairly severe drought so things were a bit dry and dusty, but the views were still stunning!

The tour continued with a view of some of the machinery used to process the olives and produce the olive oil.

We then hopped onto the rugged tractor and got an up-close view of the vineyard as we made our way to the owner’s house. Here we were warmly greeted by a few more family members (including the dog!) and invited to sit and relax at a large table out on the patio.

We were treated to a wonderful plate of meats and cheeses, accompanied by fresh baked bread and olives. We also had three different olive oils to sample as well. Each had a different flavor and texture, and it was really interesting to taste them together to really understand the sometimes-subtle differences. It was a delicious and relaxing afternoon.

Back at the Pier

After the olive oil tasting we headed back to the pier to meet a tender ship. I took some time to walk around the beautiful pier area, including a large stall where local fishermen were selling their freshly caught fish. I also got to see one of the resident celebrities, a very cheeky (and rather large!) sea-lion. He was happy to hop onto the pier and say hello to everyone, for a small fee of some fresh fish by one of the fishermen, of course!

Last Sunset Onboard

I then headed back to the ship to finish packing, as today was the last full day of the cruise. There was a very brief shower mid-afternoon, but then the skies cleared a bit and I got to enjoy one last sunset onboard.

I also enjoyed one last specialty cocktail at Spirits Bar tonight after dinner. The drink of choice tonight was The Parisienne: Grey Goose vodka, Grand Marnier, lime syrup, orange bitters, and sparkling wine. C’est si bon!

Conclusion

My return to Uruguay, in the lovely town of Punta del Este, was a wonderful day. The excursion I did was a great mix of a few different stops and gave a nice tour of the area before heading a bit out of town for the olive oil tasting. The tasting itself was fun, informative, and very delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed my last full day of the cruise. Honestly, I did not know much about Uruguay before this cruise and had no idea what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised in both Montevideo and here in Punta del Este. Uruguay really has a lot to offer!

Links

Click the button below to read the next post in the series:

Click the buttons below for earlier parts of the series:

Click the buttons below for more information about Azamara, and to read about my first cruise on Azamara in June 2022:

Note: I fully funded this trip on my own and received no compensation or any other benefits from any service providers I used along the way. The opinions expressed here are my own and I am not being compensated by any service providers.