Tooth Update

Denise has an appointment at the main office of Medico Uruguaya for the 30th of this month. But this morning, for the third time, the temporary filling came out and we had to trudge down to the local emergency clinic to have another temporary filling put in. A friend asked why don't we just break down and have a local dentist do the job. We want to see how the "free" system works (through our medical insurance). We shall see. By the way, it was pouring down rain, today. What is with this "summer"?

As a result of the little tooth incident, we wouldn't have been good company, so we missed out on a wonderful invitation by our Russian/Argentine friends for a special asado. They were roasting an entire lamb and if we were feeling better, it would have been special occasion, but such is life. Hopefully we will see them one more time before they head back to New York.

Summer Has Really Arrived

Well, after a false start some weeks ago (one beautiful day and then torrential downpours)- we have finally entered the real summer. Now I can see that it begins at Christmastime, for us. Dec 24 is when the families arrive to their summer houses and the festivities begin. By January 2nd- it is in full swing. You can see the difference between the winter beach and the summer beach.

With the hot weather in upper 70's and low 80's, even the dogs are feeling the summer. Here is a picture of Shila eating. Normally, she will eat anything, at any time of day. But today, they didn't care for a morning meal and even Shila only ate, because Denise put her dog dish right between her paws, while she was laying down. That is one lazy dog.

I swept the patios, and washed the windows today. The storms had streaked the windows badly. We now have a pristine view of the beach. Many parts Uruguay to the East (in Rocha, near the Brazilian border) have not fared so well with the rains, this year. Many places had severe flooding and are still just getting on their feet. While we had the rains here, as well, the damage was almost negligible. A few power outages, a little leak here or there is all that we experienced.

So, we sit here with a gin and tonic (the approved drink for hot weather), safe in the knowledge that we are staving off malaria (just kidding), and happy to have finally entered summer.

Neighborhood Fireworks (Fuegos Artificiales)

For the last 20 years or so, I have lazily gone to bed around 11:00 or so, and rarely, if ever stayed up to see fireworks New Year's Eve. I think we went down to the beach one year when we first moved to Seattle, but after that- never. I never even stayed up to watch the "ball drop" on TV. Very boring guy.

My wife, in fact, is the one who loves fireworks. I mostly think of it as a loud, stinky annoyance. But last night was different. This is the first time our house has been in order and last night we decided to sit out on our terrace, overlooking the water and usher in the new year. I had suggested we go to the roof, but Denise declined. We still don't have our roof stairs installed (if we ever will) and the ladder is tricky. So we opted for the terrace, instead.

The weather was mild. Slightly cool, but a refreshing change from the heat of the day. It was a full moon and you could have read a book by it's light. Our neighborhood was in full swing. The neighbors had many guests and there was music and kids playing outside. Before midnight, there were lots of firecrackers and loud explosions. Our pets didn't seem to mind. Because we got them during the remodeling phase of our house, loud noises don't bother them. In fact, they wanted to be outside (in the back yard, of course).

Finally, as midnight approached, we could see some lovely displays from the east and west of us, along the coast. No doubt we were seeing some of the Atlántida show, and San Fortin and no doubt Salinas to the west. But what really surprised us was our local show.

Our neighbors, across the street had such a great production, that we couldn't believe it. They must have had it professionally produced. There was rocket after rocket after rocket- timed with precision. It went on far longer that I expected. Because it was so close, it probably was some of the most spectacular fireworks I have ever seen! Really! But that was not all, the other neighbors and no doubt surrounding streets also added to evening. We felt we were in the middle of some great event- with laughter, shouting and a mariachi band playing in the background. Yes, mariachi music. Even though we are in Uruguay, with no Mexicans around, the local restaurant must have thought that mariachi music would suit the evening- and it did.

So from here on in- no more mister grumpy. I love fireworks! And I can't hardly wait until next year. Actually, I won't have to, since they have fireworks again on Jan 6th, Dia del Reyes (day of the kings) when they celebrate again and give more gifts. You gotta love a country that knows how to party!

Sol de Noche

Well, it is 1:30 in the morning and Denise and I have just returned from night fishing on the beach, in front of the house. Here in Uruguay, it is common to go night fishing for little fingerling fish, some no bigger than an inch, getting up to 6 inches. They use little fish nets (like butterfly nets) and attract the fish with a bright light- typically a lantern, with aluminum foil on one side to direct the light at the water. They call that light the "sol de noche" (or sun of the night). The fish are usually floured and fried whole.

But how, you ask did we find ourselves on the beach that night, fishing and sharing a meal with a large family?

Earlier that day, our doorbell rang. When I answered it, the couple said "Hi!". I knew right then that "they were not from around here" (a phrase I heard many times in 1969, during my hippy phase, when I drove a pink thunderbird from Hollywood to Dallas texas- but that is another story). They introduced themselves and we invited George and Katherine inside. George is (and here is where it gets interesting) Russian, born in Argentina and living the last 22 years in New York. His wife, also Russian, speaks fluent Spanish. In fact almost all of the family speak perfect English, Russian and Spanish- children included. During his early years in Argentina, his family loved coming to Marindia and eventually, many years ago, bought several lots and over the course of the years, built and built and built and now they have a lovely little villa overlooking the beach, just a few blocks from our house. George had run across the blog, quite by accident and determined to look us up when they arrived here for a 10 day visit. We were thrilled to meet them.

He introduced us to Nicholas (his childhood friend from birth) and his wife and sister Xenya (spelling is probably wrong). They and their children planned a nighttime visit to the beach for fishing and having a good time and invited us to go.

So, we found ourselves waste deep, in water not too cold, searching for little fishes. Denise got 2 and I got 5. To be honest- the fish were so small, that you could miss them at the bottom of the net if you didn't look close. But they were fish and I did get 5. The night itself was almost too good. The temperature was just right. The Southern Cross was just at the horizon and the crashing waves had a bright blue phosphorescence that is rarely seen. It couldn't have been more perfect.

After some hot dogs and other refreshments by the fire, we parted company- happy to have been invited to share with them in their family outing.

Summer At Last!

OK- for those of you huddled around your fire tonight, in the cold, cold north- EAT YOUR HEARTS OUT!

Midnight of last night (the 24th) was the traditional fireworks display both public and private (I don't know why). But it must mark some kind of transition, because this morning and afternoon, it is finally summer. While we normally have less than 4-5 people on the street, there are now dozens. Families have arrived and the houses which were having work done (painting and prepping) are now filled with people and children and dogs. Since this is a quiet street normally, it is a nice change.

And the weather has cooperated, as well. It has been very miserable. Overcast, muggy- but today, for the people that came to the beach- it has turned out beautiful.

Welcome summer. Stay awhile.

Pozo Negro

No, this is not some exotic spa that we went to over the holidays. A pozo negro is a septic tank and for the past week, ours has been full. We have lived here for almost a year and a half and never had the septic tank emptied. It is quite a large system, but even large systems eventually get full. The average house, here, on the Costo de Oro, has one or more large septic rings, which will cascade into one another, until they are full. Since the ground is mostly sand, it just leaches into the ground easily (a good reason not to ever drink water from a well, here). When another ring is needed, they will just dig it out by hand, install the ring and the capacity of the system just became doubled. It is not uncommon to pump out the septic system every 3-4 months, depending on the size.

One advantage we had was that there were two separate covers. The picture shows the two holes- one on the left is the pozo negro and the one on the right is a camara (or chamber where all of the pipes come together). The pozo negro, itself is an engineered system and should last for at least a year, before having to be pumped out. However, it had probably lain dormant so long, and we not realized that it would need to be taken care of. So it was good news when the truck came this morning.

They successfully emptied it and the total cost was 1100 pesos (about $55 US). They charge by volume. At least now we can face the new year without fear of overflowing the covers . I am going to go out and clean off the patio, now and then take a shower- secure in the knowledge that the shower water has someplace to go.

I think this gives new meaning to the phrase- "Out with the old and in with the new".

Licensed to Drive

For those of you who have waited with baited breath, please brush your teeth (the phrase is actually "bated" breath, a contraction of abated- meaning to hold) and read the following.

Well, thanks to the Midnight Run, this morning I was able to go back downtown, to the Indendencia (City Hall) and with little trouble, presented my documents (cedula, current US driver's license, medical certificate and passport with an arrival stamp less than one year old), paid a fee of about $800 (pesos) and within minutes, received my Uruguay driver's license, good for 2 years. The next one can be for as long as 10 years. Two interesting differences between US and UY licenses. The number of your driver's license is the same number as your cedula and there is no address on your driver's license.

Now, I will tell you why there were so many problems. The facilitator we had hired (Peter Stross) was supposed to help us get our residency and our driver's license, as well. Back in May and June of this year, we started pressing him to finish his job. He had told us all along that we needed to get a translation of the US driver's license into Spanish, which used to be done by the US embassy. Then, according to him, the US embassy stopped doing that. He asked the Intendencia in Canelones (our department) if an exception could be made and have them issue a UY license without the translation. He told us they would not. What seems to have been his problem, is that he didn't know you could easily make the transfer in Montevideo (where he lives). Because of his lack of knowledge, Denise's license expired and was unable to renew by mail out of the country. She is now officially pissed off at Peter. My license would have expired within the week.

So I, at least, am now allowed to operate motor vehicles of no more than 9 passengers legally in Uruguay. Denise, no thanks to Peter Stross, will have to take the test to get hers.

On an interesting side note, while I was on my way home, window shopping a few streets away- I noticed camera crews lining the sidewalk. I stopped, got out my camera and within a few minutes a car pulled up and the new president of UY, Pepe Mujica, stepped out on the sidewalk and entered the building for some kind of meeting. Others followed. But what was interesting was this- here is the president of the country (OK a small country), newly elected, getting out of a car on a crowded street in the middle of the day. There were probably some security people, but I wouldn't bet on it. He seemed to be just some guy getting out of a car at the sidewalk. You got to love a country like that!