The Sea Lion Gagged

Day 9 started at 9am, when we met our driver and guide for the day from Le Club VIP Tours.

Since I'd had the "best" seat on the Valparaíso tour, I was stuck in the front seat for this one. Which meant a full day of small talk.

Letters, a cold plaza, a hill

First stop: the Montevideo letters, where we snapped some iconic shots proving we'd been to Uruguay. That way, when we watch travel videos, we can say "I've been there!"

Next, a plaza in Piriápolis, memorable only because of how cold it was. Then a ride up Cerro San Antonio, where more pictures awaited.

The rescue

Then we took a detour to SOS Rescate Fauna Marina, a marine animal rescue. Sea lion pups. Sea turtles. Penguins, including one named Juan, a repeat visitor to the rescue. Juan keeps coming back.

The Beta got to feed one of the sea lions some fish chum.

He made it gag.

Not on purpose. Inadvertently. But the sea lion gagged.

Sea lions, round two

The detour cost us time, so we skipped Casapueblo and went straight to the marina at Punta del Este, where full-grown sea lions hang around waiting for fish scraps from tourists and locals.

Lunch was at Zazú Puerto: corvina ceviche, calamari, grilled fish of the day, a creamy seafood rice and Angus baby beef.

After lunch we grabbed a coffee and met a second guy with the same name as our guide. This one was in real estate, and he gave us a whole list of recommendations.

The hand and the bridge

The final stop was the hand in the sand, La Mano. The Alpha asked two friendly tourists from mainland China to take our group photo, and they were impressed with her Mandarin.

The tour ended with a ride over the bridge with two humps at La Barra, where The Beta and The Alpha did their roller coaster bit again, for a video. I was asleep.

Home, and the sardine puttanesca

We all passed out for the two-hour drive back to Montevideo, made longer by traffic. Back at the Airbnb around 6:30, our guide gave us alfajores and keychains to remember the day.

The Alpha went for a run while I started what turned out to be a puttanesca for the team. I overcame adversity, namely dried, crumbled sardines in a can we'd bought on day one, and still managed a beautiful meal that we shared.

We ended the night going through the latest pictures in our shared album, which has become a ritual every couple of days.

A perfect Sunday. Then back to the work week.

Day 9 score: two guides with the same name, two roller coasters, one gagging sea lion.