December 18, 2024
Today we did a city tour of Punta del Este and visited the Ralli Museum.
We tendered into the port. While we were waiting for our tour, we watched the sea lions begging for fish. The sea gulls were eager to snatch a treat as well.
On our drive through the city and surrounding beaches and countryside of Punta del Este, we saw the Punta del Este Lighthouse. The 70 foot tall lighthouse is almost 150 years old.
Along the beach, we saw an old anchor perhaps a relic from a historical sea battle.
In the First International Meeting of Modern Sculpture in the Open Air, Mario Irrazábalm, an artist of Chile, created this giant hand sculpture emerging from the earth. It won the contest and remains on the Brava Beach where it is popularly called "The Hand.
The Uruguayan artist Carlos Páez Vilaró designed his home in Punta del Este, Casa Pueblo. He is famous not only for his art, but for his rescue of his son and others who were lost in the Andes Mountains when their plane crashed. The authorities had given up on the hapless travelers, but Carlos would not accept that his son was dead. He joined in the search and rescue effort and was finally reunited with his son on Christmas Eve. The survivors ordeal is immortalized in the movie, Alone.
The Ralli Museum in Punta del Este was the first of the Ralli Museums. Their founders envisioned a museum experience wholly dedicated to the art with no other features like gift shops or cafes. The Punta del Este museum highlights the work of South American artists, as well as some prized pieces by the Spanish artist, Salvador Dali. His sculpture, "A Homage to Newton" is shown below.
We enjoyed wandering around the museum enjoying the outdoor sculpture gardens,
paintings,
and Frank Meisler's intricate sculpture, the "Ark of Noah".
After the Ralli museum, we headed back to the ship where I would begin my day of teaching after a quick lunch.
Comments