Made in Uruguay

This past week was an annual arts & crafts fair that they call "Hecho Aca" (Made Here), held in the exposition halls near one of the large shopping malls in Montevideo (Portones Shopping). We saved our visit until Sunday, the last day. It was actually fortunate, because on the last day, deep discounts might be enjoyed (though we didn't know it at the time). Next year we will be sure and wait until the last day.....

After a year in Uruguay and seeing what many shops had to offer in the way of clothing, arts and crafts- we weren't sure what we would find there. I half-expected to find a rather dismal offering. However, we were pleasantly surprised with the variety and quality of the products. Coming from Seattle, we used to attend a yearly art show (Bellevue Arts & Crafts), where quality and workmanship is the finest. The cost of entry to Hecho Aca was 70 pesos each ($3 US) and well worth it.

We first entered the judged area, where the prize winners were on display, then onto the booths were art, crafts, clothes and food items could be purchased. The cute little flock of sheep above was one of the first place winners in the unique category. There were categories for one-of-a-kind pieces and then also for items which were reproduced for sale. One of the differences between the Bellevue Arts & Crafts show and Hecho Aca, were the prices. We saw art that we, even on a budget, could afford to buy. The selection was as varied as any selection we have ever seen. Among the offerings were: glass art, carvings, oil & charcoal paintings, leather goods and lots of jewelry (of particular interest to my wife). While walking around the floor area, we were delighted to see a small troupe of young ballerinas, wending their way through the crowd and dancing to the classical music we were enjoying.

We almost purchased a complete, tanned and beautifully presented cowhide for our living room floor for $177 (US). At the last minute they didn't take MasterCard (Visa is the preferred card in Uruguay), and we had too many things to carry to stop at a cash machine.

Denise found the picture that we will put over the fireplace. It is an all-wood product, and the individual pieces (much like a jig-saw puzzle) are in high relief and hand painted. This 24' x 30' piece of art cost about $188 (US). These are obviously not individually made, but still a very substantial and unique piece for our living room and with a theme that reminds us we are living in South America. Yes, that is me below in pajamas. What can I say? It is Monday morning, a little drizzle coming down and I'm not getting out of my pajamas.

Taking a break from the show, we walked across the street to the Portones Shopping Mall and tried the Chinese shop in the food court. As Uruguay is not really noted for many foreign food restaurants, it is nice to occasionally enjoy something different (or familiar as the case may be). It was not the greatest Chinese food I have ever eaten, but the portions were generous and for a little over $9, we got all we could eat. We will visit again when the craving strikes.

Then back to the show to pick up some natural peanut butter, some marmalade (orange and whiskey), our purchase (which had been boxed for us) and home again. Hecho Aca will be a regular part of our year, here and knowing what we know about it, now, we will go back prepared to enjoy more of the local art.

Noche de la Nostalgia

Well last night (August 24th) was a national pastime called Noche de la Nostalgia. Apparently during the 70's it became popular to celebrate music and dance and has lasted to this day. Our local restaurant (1 block away) hosted its own celebration, joining hundreds of venues all over Uruguay. Denise signed up for it a few weeks ago, and at about 9:30 last night, we showed up for the festivities.

We were among the first to arrive. I should not have been a surprise, in a country that regularly eats dinner at 10 pm, that things really didn't get under way for another 1/2 hour or so. For a cost of 400 pesos each (about $17 US), we were treated to: 2 complementary drinks (whiskey or martini), a plate of hors douvres, beer and soda, a nice main entry (chicken stroganoff, very tasty) and a nice little desert. In addition, there was a couple of hours of live music. A couple sang songs, accompanied by pre-recorded tracks and did a very nice job.

A word about the martini. I didn't fancy a whiskey, so we selected the martini. Here is how it played out. The martini was served in a tall highball glass, with a lime wedge perched on the lip. It had ice cubes, a drinking straw and my guess is that it consisted of sweet vermouth with a splash of gin. Now the last item might not be way out of place, since this is south of the equator and many things run backwards (including sun dials). However, it did remind me of a joke that martini drinkers will enjoy and others may not appreciate.

A sophisticated New Yorker on his way through the South on business, stopped into the "Dewdrop Inn" for dinner. When the waitress came for his order, he sarcastically asked if they had ever heard of a martini. The waitress assured him that a martini was the "Speciality of the house". Impressed he ordered one. "Would you like the regular or deluxe?" she asked. "What's the difference?" he wanted to know. "Honey, the deluxe comes with grits." (......rimshot....)

OK- back to the evening. The crowd (about 30-40) was seated in a nice large area, normally occupied by a pool table and some electronic games that had been cleared out. The group was obviously from our neighborhood and with the exception of a few couples, most were in their 50's or better (present company included). We felt right at home. The drinks were served and eventually the sound system set up and the couple began singing songs. The rotating disco ball and black lights added to the scene, and anything white (including teeth) shown with a strange purple glow.

The songs were no doubt very popular Latin American songs, as most of the crowd knew the lyrics and either mouthed the words or sang along. We were probably the only ones who didn't know the songs and were not able to grasp the meanings from the Spanish lyrics. But the general tone was one of love and affection and seemed to generate a nostalgic atmosphere (hence the name of the evening). After the first couple of songs, the couples took to the dance floor and the dance floor was not empty the rest of the night. Everybody danced and some danced for hours.

After about a 1 hour set, the couple packed up and the DJ for the night spun 50's rock and roll songs (strictly American), which the crowd also knew and sang to. If you had pulled up to the joint in a '57 Chevy convertable, dressed in jeans and T-shirt and your hair slicked back with oil, you would have felt right at home (except for all of those old people dancing to the music).

Dinner was served and eventually dessert, but there was almost always some couples dancing. This went on for 5 hours, and though some left, it didn't really seem like it was slowing down a lot. At 3:00 in the morning, Denise and I felt we had "represented" well enough, eating, drinking and dancing the night away and so we finally slunk out with goodbyes and kisses for the hostess, determined to mark this on our calendar and be fully prepared for next year. Hey- with a little practice, we could be the "hot ones" on the floor.

On a different note, the other day we spied this house and it's business sign while driving through Parque del Plata (a neighboring area). The sign says that the man offers his service as a carpenter. Hmmm...any takers?

Bug Hunt

Well, the bug hunt is on. After looking over the many choices in transportation and taking stock of our meager budget- it was decided that the only car that could come remotely close to being decent transportation, for under $5000 was a VW Beetle (or "Fusca" in South America). Remember that cars are expensive and a luxury, here and used cars command a premium price. A used car selling for $2000 in the States would go for $4000-$5000 here.





So a budget of $5000 does not give you a broad range to choose from.

While traveling to Montevideo (where a good number of cars are for sale) we came upon this beautiful artful metal door (pictured above). Since Denise loves taking pics of architectural details, I couldn't help including this.

A little later we heard a strange whistling sound and came upon this afiladora de cuchillos (knife sharpener). They go about the town on their bicycles, with the sharpening stones mounted on the back. The whistle that they blow alerts householders that an afiladora is nearby and they bring out their knives, get a price and he sharpens them on the spot.

After settling on a Fusca, now comes the hard part. Finding one that is not a total shell, that would need to be entirely rebuilt. The first one that I looked at, was an '80 (1300) that actually looked pretty good. The body was straight, and the engine ran well. But it would have to be painted and the interior replaced, and with the age of the car- probably the engine as well. Having spent a year renovating the house (and still not finished), we wanted to look for a car that did not need such extensive work. I next saw an '87 with low mileage for $3300, but I suspected crash damage that had been repaired (the passenger side door had been re-attached and many of the body parts didn't fit well).

We have settled on this little '87 (1600) that was recently repainted. It is supposed to have 35K miles only, but I suspect it has more. Still it looks very nice and you will notice the "Krispy Kreme" sticker in the back (given to the owner by his friend who lived in the US). However, I still have one car to look at. Tomorrow I will go up to Maldonado and look at another '87 that is supposed to be impeccable. We will see. It is a good deal more that the Krispy Kreme, but if it is as clean as the ad says, it might be worth it.

Piriapolis

Thanks to the good graces of our friends in La Floresta (Steve and Diane) we were treated with a trip to Piriapolis, the largest coastal town before you reach Punta del Este. Through the early 1900's and up until the 40's and 50's, Piriapolis was the destination in South America for the rich and famous and remained so until Punta del Este began developing into that role.

It is truly a beautiful town. You can see the elegance of the era from the opulence of the Hotel Argentino, with its beautiful marble floors and columns to the many historic and picturesque buildings throughout the city. A stay at the Hotel Argentino would run you about $60-$100 in the off season. As you can see from the pictures, we were some of the few visitors there. Although this was a warmish day (with some overcast), the beach was virtually empty, the rambla had few cars on it and most of the shops and restaurants were empty. While we had been told that the town was "dead" in the winter- we found that midweek (this being a Wednesday) it was quite lively and many shops and services were open. We will have to go back during high season (Dec-Jan) when we are told it is wall to wall people. I am sure I will prefer off season, however.











After a brief lunch stop at the local La Passiva (Uruguay's Denny's) which was particularly overpriced, we made our way up to one of the lookouts where we could see the town and also the third largest mountain in Uruguay (a notably flat country), Pan de Azucar, with it's famous cross on the top. From this vantage point we could look out over the harbor, get a nice view of the city and also the mountain. There is an alpine style chair lift that takes you from the beach to the lookout. It wasn't running today (probably only during the season), but it looks like it would be lots of fun. In addition, there was a small but well-kept marina below, as well. Looks like there were about a dozen slips available and several nice boats were in port.
We continued further along the coast and found lovely beach houses and nice communities, with signs of construction bustling all over. Before heading back into town, we sought out the house of one of the expats who used to blog about his experiences some time ago (Ken M.) and by chance were able to locate his house, from pictures he had posted. It had a nice view of the bay and his wife came out when we arrived, but Ken and the kids were down with the flu and so we missed meeting them.Entering the town again, we came across some of the architecture that makes this place special. We noted that this was a hotel-heavy town, with hotels in almost every block. As you can see from this view of the rambla looking from the Hotel Colón, this beautiful beach and walk are almost deserted. We had the whole place to ourselves.


Heading home, we passed through the inland part of the town, all very nicely paved streets and neat houses. Some very ritzy areas and some modest, but most of the areas were very well kept up. We came across a very nice park close to sundown. It had camping facilities nearby, was in the shadow of a massive granite mountain and you could even see the bay. The park had it's own caretaker. He had a little room connected to the bathrooms, and he was busy caring for the park. This was a little fountain where we could have filled up our water jugs, if needed.

There were heavy duty metal playground equipment. This was special, as many of the smaller parks in some of the smaller communities have such equipment made out of logs or even metal barrels. But this was first class. The center of the park was taken up by a very large circular pond and in the middle a very stately greek style cupola with a beautiful statue. The picture seemed a fitting end to a lovely day. We can hardly wait to go back and spend more time wondering about the town and finding new places to visit.

Salinas

Much has been said about Atlantida (our "big city" to the west). Atlantida is one of the main cities on the coast, with it's own spectacular Tienda Inglesa, many restaurants and full services year around. However, little if anything gets written about the little town within walking distance of our house, Salinas. Since yesterday was such a wonderful sunny day (though cold to the bone), we took Nate back to the veterinarian's to have the stitches removed (he came through well), then walked back to town for the feria.

By North American standards, Salinas isn't much of a town. It would be a rest stop on a trip through the desert. A few blocks of "civilization" to break up the monotony of the long drive. But, on the main highway running from Montevideo to Punta del Este, Salinas is a noteworthy stop. Here are some of it's features. It has: 2 restaurants, one empanada store, several hardware stores a bakery, 2 grocery stores, several pharmacies, veterinarian, post office, several medical clinics, DVD rentals, and actually I could go on an on with many more stores and services. Driving down the street, it looks deceptively sparse, but there are actually many stores tucked in along Julietta (the main street).

In addition, Salinas has it's own traffic light across the Ruta (main highway), an entry arch to the town, paved main roads and many of the side roads are paved for many blocks. Add to that the weekly feria (farmer's market) on Thursday morning and we have almost anything we could get in Atlantida (about 5 k's away) within a kilometer's walk.

After the feria, Denise went out to the Ruta and took some pictures of the overhead walkway, next to the light (above). A sign tells you to use that walkway to cross the Ruta. I don't know that anybody does. As you can see from this picture (below left), at about 11:00 am on Thursday morning, on the main E/W highway, the two pedestrians seem to have no trouble crossing the almost empty road.

Now this picture, below on the right, shows the steep set of steps leading up the the walkway. You will notice that one side seems to be leveled off for wheelchair access. But can you imagine someone actually trying to use this? It would be a herculean feat to get up it and a roller coaster ride down the other side.

We made a decision to try and live closer to the budget, and so this means fewer trips to Tienda Inglesa. To show you just how serious is our resolve, I am heading into Atlantida, today, to cancel our Cable TV service! Yes we are going to be going cold turkey.

The feria is a great resource that we have not been taking advantage of. When you shop at TI, you tend to buy imported items that are very overpriced. For example, you can buy a package of Old El Paso brand flour tortillas for 120 pesos (about $5.25 for 10). You can get pancake syrup, Hershey's chocolate sauce and a host of other imported products for really ridiculous prices. Do we really need those things (well maybe the pancake syrup)? So we have decided to try and buy as much from the ferias as we can and use Tienda Inglesa for items that we can't buy there or at the 2 local stores. And the feria yesterday was loads and loads of fun. The picture above is interesting, because in the background, you can see a bunch of school children with their teacher. This was a field trip. The children had notebooks and the teacher took them to each vendor, and had them write down the items and prices. So we are just learning what school children know from the beginning. In addition to all the stalls selling vegetables, fish and delicatessen items, you can buy clothing, pirated DVD's (there doesn't seem to be much of a law against it), spices and at the end of the street, you even see garage sale items for sale. I bought incense at this little stand (15 sticks for 10 pesos). I love the sandalwood variety and the girl seemed to be amused that I would buy 75 sticks of one type.

After the feria, we walked home on the Rambla. On the way we stopped at a bread store and bought some empanadas, some bread and a few biscochos (like cookies or small pastries). At the end of the main street, there is some type of obelisk to mark the location and the building next to this is a Copsa bus office. Past that the parking for the beach at Salinas. The beach is very pretty there, but during the high season (Dec-Feb) it is very busy, as are most of the beaches. The Copsa office is very sparse and kind of dingy, but, it is an office and I suppose if you speak Spanish well enough, you can get schedule and fare information. There seem to be several of the lines that come up Julietta and make the turnaround at the office.

So our trip to Salinas was very refreshing. And on cold days like these (there was pretty thick ice in the fountain), it is good to get out in the sunshine and enjoy our surroundings. But let's not get carried away. Yes we are opening all the blinds and letting the bright sunlight in. But we are also keeping the fire going.... and I'm going to curl up with a good book and enjoy the day.

My $2 Barber

When we lived in Seattle, I hated paying lots of money for a haircut. To me anything close to $10 is a "lot of money" for a haircut (you can see that I am way out of touch). Still, I found a local barber who had a one chair shop, and for years, Tony cut my hair for $4. That I could live with. I would give him a $1 tip, so my haircuts cost $5. I was satisfied. The last few years we lived there, he upped his price to $5, so I paid him $5 and didn't give him a tip (I am bad). Then I purchased an electric barber's razor from Costco and began cutting my hair myself (how much skill does it take to cut your hair 1/4" all over?). When asked "you mean you cut your own hair?", my reply was, "Do you think I would pay to look like this?"

Anyway, that was then and this is now. I have been going to a local barber in Salinas. He actually worked in New York for many years. "Roberto's" of Salinas. He charges 100 pesos (about $4.25) and I have been satisfied-until today, that is.

While on the way to the feria, Denise pointed out a little shop she always passes by. She had noticed the barber standing outside. She got me to ask, since I needed a haircut and Roberto is in the States until October (I would look pretty bad by then) and I was told that he charges 50 pesos for a haircut (a little over $2). He had my interest. Turns out that he did a great job. He told me he had 2 customers from the US, and I told him he now has 3! Being the big spender that I am, I gave him a 10 peso tip (40¢).

By the way- for any who were concerned for my health and welfare, due to the failed anniversary, I am doing much better. The headaches have almost stopped and the ringing in my ears has diminished significantly.

(Photos courtesy of Denise's of Marindia)

How Could Someone So Smart......

Be So Stupid? And of course I am talking about myself.

This past Tuesday was our 36th anniversary. Coincidentally it was also the 1st anniversary of our house purchase (we closed on our 35th wedding anniversary). We had planned a little trip to Piriapolis, but the weather and other events conspired against us.

So, when Tuesday morning rolled around and I told Denise that I would do anything that she wanted to, today. She simply asked me what would be a romantic thing to have done. Unfortunately I knew the answer to that question and even worse for me, I answered, "Flowers" was my fatal response. Of course, I had not gotten flowers, and so I sealed my fate.

Now, a day later and rueing my lack of any preparation on the previous day- it occurs to me that I should have reviewed my own "3 Steps to A Harmonious Marriage" booklet. The only good thing I can say is that it was not a "multiple of 5 anniversary" (20th, 25th, etc). A failure to properly celebrate a 5'er could have taken years to live down. I can personally attest to from my 20th anniversary fiasco (it wouldn't be until our 23rd anniversary that I recovered). On that fateful 20th, my wife told me that we really didn't need to do anything special to celebrate. And I, being the innocent that I was, believed her. I've learned better, since.

We have talked this through (mainly her talking and me dutifully listening) and I think we may be through the worst. Who came up with the idea of celebrating wedding anniversaries, anyway?

Well, I post this as a warning to those approaching an anniversary. These are dangerous times we live in. It is not wise to anger the person you spend most of your time with. If you don't see any new posts then it has been fun....