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Published: March 22nd 2007
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Today was the first morning we have had free. All the girls took advantage of their free time to ....go to a beach in Montevideo. They spent a few hours there then had lunch and shopped a little. Kali is feeling much better and joined the girls today. Mr and Mrs. Siu along with Tad and Mila and Jose, Mitchell, Mandy and coach went to the soccer museum which is located in the Montevideo Stadium. They toured the museum as well as the facility, walking on the turf field and visiting the changing rooms. The history is rich as this small country of 3 million people have won the World Cup of soccer on two occasions. The first was as the host team in 1930 in the very same stadium and their second victory was in 1950 versus Brazil in the final and the game was played in Brazil. The tour today included several Brazilian soccer enthusiasts and the banter and dialogue between our Uruguayan tour guide and the Brazilian tourists was very entertaining and humourous. On one wall near the home team's dressing room is the front page from the largest Brazilian newspaper, on the day before the final
match (see picture). The headline stated...."Brasil, Brasil, Brasil" will win the World Cup of Soccer tomorrow. Forty-five million Brasilians await their victory. The Uruguayan tour guide made special note of this article, which brought painful memories back for the Brazilians in our group, especially when the guide said that "yes 45 million awaited victory, but the next day 20 million Brazilian's attempted suicide." They take their soccer in this part of the world....very serious.
The bus left from Plaza Independence at 4:00 PM for the 50 kilometer trip to the ranch for the evening of horseback riding and a beef barbeque. We have eaten so much beef over these past few days, we have done our part to support the Uruguayan economy's Number 1 industry. We are very pleased to report that almost all of our group of 34 took a horseback ride and although there were anxious moments when some of the participants were mounting and dismounting the horses (this does not apply to anyone under the age of 19) there were no "moments to remember." After the horseback riding we all jumped aboard a wagon for a tractor ride all around the farm where we listened to
the owner's history of the farm and what activities they are involved in at the farm. Then it was off to dinner and it was another memorable dining experience, Uruguyan style. It was a very, very enjoyable day and a special thanks to Anna, Alberto and Diego for making the transition into the Uruguayan culture so easy and so very enjoyable.
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