Uruguay Part 1

Uruguay is the second smallest country in land mass in South America and the fifth smallest population wise with around 3.3 million and approximately half of those people live in the capital, Montevideo.

Our Uruguay adventure began bright and early Monday, November 18th at 5 am. The car rental wasn't open so we had to wait around a long time before we made our journey to Solanas for our five week stay. The resort is very nice. The accommodation is clean, comfortable and fresh but quite different in many aspects to North America. The kitchen is small but there is a good size refrigerator. The bed is very comfortable and we have daily maid service. The BBQ is in an alcove outside the kitchen and is wood burning and has an outdoor sink. Looks Medieval but the other guests, mostly all from Argentina, use them every day if not twice a day. The resort is very lush with clusters of low rise condos set in wooded gardens. There is a very good recreation centre, tennis courts and beautiful swimming pools including a great children's water park. The beach is across the road and stretches for miles.

There is a new supermarket in Punta del Este which has very good produce and everything that you can buy in North America or Europe. The people are very friendly and our limited Spanish is working o.k.

After our hectic week in Florida the first week here was very laid back. The temperature was quite cool, cloudy and we had quite a bit of rain. It is still Spring. The past few days however, have been very hot and last night we had a huge thunderstorm.

We have been to Punta del Este a few times. The waterfront and the wharf are very interesting. We found the fish stalls with fish fresh off the boats. It is fascinating to watch all the activity. A real reality show. The guy filleting the fish was truly amazing. Then there are all the sea lions and black backed gulls waiting for the scraps. Our El Lobo just prefers them whole and people buy them from the stalls and feed him. He seems to be very old. Construction is going on everywhere, mostly holiday apartments. There are some very nice hotels here too.

Isla de Lobo is situated several kilometres off the coast of Punta del Este (East Point) and is a conservation place for approximately 200,000 fur seals and sea lions. No one is allowed on the Island albeit for the lighthouse keeper. There are some local boat people that will take you out there and apparently you can swim amongst the seals. We are planning to go next week sometime. Isla Girotti is situated approximately 2km from Punta del Este and was visited by the likes of Francis Drake, Magellan and Charles Darwin. We might go there when we stop at Punta del Este on the cruise ship in January.

Punta Ballena pronounced here as Punta Bajena - Whale Point, is just along the highway five minutes from here. Highway by the way is a dual carriageway. It is the home of world famous Uruguayan artist Carlos Paez Vilaro. He just turned 90 years of age, in November and has no thoughts of slowing down. He is an abstract painter, muralist, ceramist, sculptor, adventurer, composer, conductor, humanist, film maker and much more. He has been commissioned to paint Murals around the world from Egypt to New York. He went to the Great Wall of China and thought that would be an interesting project. I guess I should have added humorist into the mix and not only that he is a cat person. His home, studio, art gallery, hotel and restaurant are all encompassed in Casa Pueblo. He built this amazing structure into the side of the hill by himself and with some help from friends. It has been a 50 year project and when a famous person was coming to visit him, he would build them their own room in which to stay. He started with the house and studio and has gradually added the art gallery, hotel, terrace restaurant and several swimming pools. He said it is built like the ovenbirds build their nests. Horneros to the locals. He has met the likes of such people as Pablo Picasso and Dr Albert Schweitzer, whom he travelled to Africa, by rudimentary means, for the pleasure of seeing.

A longer trip took us to Piriapolis, which is west of here. It is about a 45 minute drive but we took the scenic route starting at Playa Colorado where the coast is very rugged with rocks and dunes. It is quite different with all the dunes on the side of the road and contending with sand drifts as opposed to snow drifts. Piriapolis is not a large place, quite quiet in contrast to Punta del Este. It was built at the turn of the 20th Century by a man named Don Francisco Piria. He purchased the land from the top of the hill down to the sea. He built himself a castle on the hill and the town followed below along the coast, where he built the enormous Hotel Argentino. Piria's answer to the Banff Springs. It is quite magnificent, although it has seen better days, but it still costs in excess of $200 US per night to stay there. Whilst here we also rode the gondola up the mount. It is somewhat like a very ageing, very uncomfortable ski lift. However it gets you to the top from which there are beautiful panoramic vistas. We are leaving the castle for another day.

Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, was a much longer trip, around two hours each way. We took Ruta Interbalnearia until we reached the Rambla (Promenade) The Rambla stretches for about 13.6 miles is very wide, constructed out of red granite and accommodates cyclists, joggers, walkers, skateboarders etc. There are various little outdoor gymnasiums for free use also. As you start The Rambla everything is very clean with many huge apartment blocks along one side of the road. The beach side is dedicated as building free, as is all of Uruguay's coast, to preserve the natural vista. It is reminiscent of Miami. However when you reach the other end of the city and drive towards the port area, it is very sad. The old city is basically in rack and ruin. The buildings in the old narrow streets, once vibrant are now pretty much derelict and covered in graffiti. Hopefully someone with insight will start to renew this historical centre and make it vibrant again. We did not venture too far into the old city as we will be stopping here on the cruise, so decided to do the new Hop on Hop Off bus tour that day. We were amazed at the size of the port for such a small country. It is huge but the old port buildings yet again are totally derelict. Our primary reason for visiting Montevideo on Sunday was to experience the world famous La Feria de Calle Tristan Navaja. This is not a market for tourists but essentially a local flea market which is held only on Sunday and encompasses a large area along Calle Pasayandu and surrounding streets. It was difficult to find in such a busy city but we caught a glimpse of it, parked the car and ventured forth. It was absolutely packed with all kinds of "treasures" from antiques, crafts, nuts and bolts to fresh herbs, fruit and veggies. It was certainly not to be missed but after being so totally engrossed we got hopelessly lost. We had no idea where the car was, but luckily I managed to ask a vendor, in Spanish, where the book sellers were and he directed us and from there we knew where the car was. Finding our way out was another adventure but essentially you either come to the Port or the Rambla eventually. We found the Port and from there turned around and made our way back along the Rambla and drove back to our resort and a nice cup of tea...........