A Night Out On The Town!

Wally doesn't like to drive in Montevideo because of all the wild drivers who straddle lanes and buses that barely squeeze by you. He especially doesn't like going there at night! So I jumped at the opportunity to go with some others who were willing to do the driving.

You know me, always out for a bargain, I was thrilled to be invited to go to a "FREE" concert being held at the sports club , Club Bigua in the barrio of Villa Biarritz one of many Montevideo neighborhoods.

Most towns have a local social club/gym but this neighborhood has "some bucks". There are several high end neighborhoods in Montevideo and this one showed it belonged to their ilk, not just by its pricy high-rise buildings lining the streets but by its amenities like this huge sports center.

We didn't know if the concert would be held outside under the stars on the grassy grounds surrounding the place (it was a beautiful night) or inside. It didn't dawn on us that the singer would be accompanied this evening by the Symphony Orchestra of Montevideo, so yes, it was held indoors this night.

On entering, I noticed the unique 2 story basketball court with its bank of windows above where you can watch the people exercise and work out on the row of running machines. This sports club also had several Tennis courts (a very popular sport here) full of participants. This was a very active place.

The concert started at around 7 o'clock and lasted some 1 1/2 hours. It played to a packed audience (every seat was taken). The orchestra conducted by Maestro ÁLVARO HAGOPIAN played a piece in the style of the "Big band" era.

Then the main attraction came out, a singer named LAURA CANOURA.  She was hard to get a photo of because several bright lights shone on her and my camera washed her face out.

There were several children in the audience and amazingly the audience hushed them as they made noise.  I was impressed that this crowd really wanted to hear this singer sing.

I will try and edit a portion of Laura singing. If not please excuse the first few seconds of blurry pictures and babies crying, it seems to clear up quickly. I liked these song choices but others in my group had heard her on previous occasions singing livelier songs from her stage play in which she stared as "Pia". I don't know about that play, so one day I'll find out what that plays' story was about.

After the concert we located an Asian restaurant. It was down some dark street and it had no windows to the street. You had to be buzzed in. I felt like I was trying to get into a "speakeasy" one of those places to sneak a drink of booze in during the prohibition era in the "Roaring Twenties"(1920s') when booze was banned in the USA. This restaurant was primarily used for delivering Chinese food to people in the local neighborhood who called them up by phone. Foreign food is a novelty here so it was good to have a change of pace food wise.

Finally, before we drove back home, we stopped by 2 interesting sites.

I got to see "The Greetingman" The Greeting man is a giant statue in light blue of someone "bowing in greeting" It is a gift to Uruguay from a Korean artist called Yoo Young-ho. It was installed last year in October, 2012.

It's located alongside the rambla (a road that runs by the water) in the Buceo neighborhood of MVD and it is 1 block from José Batlle y Ordóñez (1 block before) if you are coming from the East.

It is lit up at night and highly visible.

It cost 200 thousand dollars (US). It weights 3 tons. It is 6 meters tall (19.69 feet).

Bowing is the Asian form and Korean way of greeting one another.

"Greeting is the first step in any relationship!"(Yoo Young-ho) That was the point of this sculpture.

The statue is blue so as not to reflect any racial skin color or prejudices and it is naked for the same reason. A dress style could prejudice one by identifying it with a social class.

It was given to Uruguay because Uruguay is supposedly the direct opposite globably to South Korea on the map.

According to El Pais newspaper the artist raised the bulk of the money for the Uruguay statue by selling 800 smaller stautes at $200 each

2 tourists "bowing down" to read the plaque!

Yoo Young-ho has an ambitious aim to put 1000 of these statues around the globe. He hopes to install a second statue between North and South Korea as a gesture of peace. He also wants a third one installed in Vietnam as a way to "ask forgiveness" for Korea's part in the Vietnam war. He believes a forth one should be placed between Palestine and Israel to serve the same purpose for peace as the one he wants between the 2 korean countries. So far, the only one that stands in reality, is in Uruguay.  He is calling this the "Greetingman project" because of his grandiose dreams.

Forgive me, but I thought this YouTube video that I posted below was funny. I never knew about the Greeting man before lastnight. As a side note, in thinking back to my visit there, the statue forces you "to bow in front of it" since the information regarding it is written on level ground in black granite and placed before the statue. Everyone coming up to the statue bends their head down, in order to read, what the plaque says.

The second site we saw was the refurbished Hotel Sofitel Montevideo Casino in the Carrasco neighborhood (another high end neighborhood). It is a beautiful french style classic looking building which has been declared a National Heritage site. It was gorgeously lit up to highlight its facade. The hotel part has 93 rooms and the casino is in the center of the building under a domed roof.

Since we only drove around it in the parking lot and didn't go in, I will have to look inside it another day. I don't gamble but I do enjoy peeking into places, especially beautiful architectural gems. So one day I'll try and snap some inside pictures of that Casino/hotel.

All in all, I enjoyed my "night out" and about in Montevideo very much.
 (photo credit goes to Loren Henry for the "Greetingman", casino and restaurant)

The Cinema in 3D!

The Costa Urbana Shopping Mall.

In a way, this is a followup to my Costa Urbana Mall and boardwalk post. In that one, I mentioned how I would be returning to this mall to watch a movie playing in their theater multiplex. I know they have at least 3 theaters. I can't remember if there was a fourth or not. 

As strange as it sounds, this is the first time that I've been to a movie theater here in Uruguay. I'm kind of glad that I waited and was able to go to the cinema with some experts.

These 3 are sisters, Melany, Katherine and Aphril. They know that I have a blog and wanted to become famous! Here they are giving an Hola/Hello! out to my readers. They were kind enough to invite me along with them this past Sunday to watch a 3D animated movie playing at the mall.

If you readers know anything about me it's that I love a bargain and also that I try to let my readers experience everyday life here in Uruguay and share situations vicariously through me and my expat eyes.

First of all, the people here are so considerate! We were all going to take the bus to the mall but they wanted to make sure we all traveled together. So even though I live in the opposite direction from the mall and from these 3 sisters, rather than risking the chance we might not meet, they had their father drive them back to my bus stop. I was given a time to wait for them and sure enough they all hopped out of their fathers' truck at my stop. Then all 4 of us waited for the bus to come and we hopped on together. They have student bus passes (a yearly pass) so we could only choose the two bus companies that accepted their passes. Still, we only let a few busses pass us by and then an approved one came along and off we went. I paid 29 pesos for a one way trip.

The 3D movie was well advertised, as the posters show on the mall's escalator. The cineplex is upstairs. In my last post I didn't show much of the inside of the mall so this time I took a few snap shots.

The second shot shows just a bit of the upstairs food court with that chinese stand "Canton Palace" that I mentioned in my last post. Prices for a meal (that serve two nicely) are about 210 to 350 pesos. That's kind of expensive ($10 to $15) but that's why I mentioned the large portions and it's a novelty food here. Yet, I digress! On to the movies!

Normally, the prices for a non-3D show are:

Friday through Sunday and Holidays cost for Adults, 170 Pesos (Viernes a Domingo Y Feriados). Children under 12 and senors over 60 get in for 130 Pesos. Senors need to show their senor gold card. 

Monday through Thursday showings cost Adults 140 Pesos and kids and senors pay 100 Pesos each.

Movies shown in 3D and yes, there are those 3D glasses handed out to you to watch the show with when you enter, those are naturally a higher entrance price.  A 3D movie costs 210 pesos for Friday to Sunday and Holidays showings. I didn't see a price break for children or senors.

Mondays through Thursdays showings cost 170 pesos. Again, I saw no discount written for Children or Senors.

Now here is where I mention that I was glad I had my "expert movie goers" with me. Apparently Antel, the telecommunications network for Uruguay sponsors promotions for their clients. They offer a 3D movie special: 2x1 deal for 210 pesos. It's the same price any day of the week but for that price not only do 2 people get in for only one price but that promotion includes pop (pepsi cola) and Popcorn!

The 2x1 promo included soda pop and popcorn with our ticket.

An interesting thing to note is that the popcorn served here is sweeten not buttered like in the states. One time I went to England and to a movie house there and they also serve their popcorn sweetened and with salt.  My experts were savvy enough to ask for a bag to hold our popcorn carton in, how clever! Any popcorn that falls just falls back into the plastic bag to be retrieved later. Not everyone knew to ask for a bag but we 4 had ours!

Normally, The popcorn/soda pack costs 120 pesos for a large soda with popcorn and 115 pesos for a medium soda size. I also saw an Apple juice box and popcorn combo offered for 94 pesos a slightly healthier option. We didn't have to buy this as it was included in the 2x1 deal.  You get a medium pepsi and popcorn with the promo but we were accidentally given 4 large pepsis instead. It wasn't until later and our drinks were half gone that we realized our cup sizes were larger than others. Oh, well! We must have looked thirsty.

I knew that I would probably get in trouble if they saw my camera inside the theater so I grabbed these two quick pictures of the girls and I modeling our 3D glasses and then promptly put my camera away.

Oh yes, this movie was completely in Spanish but since it was one of those animated ones it was easy to follow and I really enjoyed it! The only thing that almost tripped me up, language wise, was that I thought the female character was the guys wife when later on I realized she was his daughter! OOPS!

It was clear that I still need to work on my Spanish but I figured out my mistake quite quickly.

Most Uruguayos here have cell phones and they seem to be on them 24/7. However, It was great that these girls had theirs on them as well since in order to take advantage of the 2 for 1 deal you have to call up Antel and let them know what time the show is that you want to go to. They then call you back leaving you a message with a code to give to the ticket taker. The information is at the ticket counter on what to do but it would be better to do this before arriving at the theater.  Here's the information to use.

call on your phone        *789*2*2#send  confirm opt.1     you will receive a message with the code.

(llamada por teléfono)   *789*2*2#send  confirme opt.1       (Recibirás un mensaje con el código.)

After the movie let out it was dark and we waited together for the bus ride home. They got off first, at their stop, and I continued on for a little while longer than hopped off the bus and walked home under a clear and starry night. I was glad they had invited me. It was a fun night out with the girls/Las chicas!!!

Costa Urbana!

It's been 1 year since the Costa Urbana shopping mall has been built. You might be saying "So what?" What does it matter that a new mall has been built. However, recently I was watching an episode of "Royal Pains" a TV show and I was reminded of how some people picture Uruguay. I'm pretty sure that the writing staff made a blunder. A female doctor (on the show) was going to a backwater place (with no doctors) to help out. The show said she was going to Uruguay into the bush! Well, as the University here is accessible to everyone, we actually have "a lot of doctors" serving this country and the health care system is excellent! Wally and I just looked at each other during those episodes and laughed at how little is known about this country.  Needless to say, I think the writing staff finally figured out that Uruguay wasn't some backwater place and "suddenly" she was in "Uganda"(Africa) in the bush serving as a doctor. Ah!, that was more like it. I mean both countries start with a "U" but other than that what a difference!

The building of this mall, located in Lagomar (lake and sea), had quite an impact on the community because it was built over and alongside a major throughway. Lagomar is one of the beach communities just outside of Montevideo in the department of Canelones on what is considered the gold coast or Costa de Oro.

The reason I wanted to write about this mall is that the builders added a feature to this site that I recently took advantage of. Uruguay touts itself in tourist ads as "Uruguay Natural" with an emphasis on maintaining green belts. So one day as I had to go to Lagomar for some banking and it was a nice day I decided to ver off the straight and narrow. Don't worry, I just decided to check out a side path.

The mall straddles both sides of a busy main road with a connecting skybridge.

 As shown in this picture, I could have walked straight ahead, directly to the mall. However, this was no ordinary sidewalk but a "wooden boardwalk" that gave you 2 path options to take to the mall. I decided to take the meandering one, the one less traveled.

An off to the side detour takes you down alongside a wetland area with a lake view of the water and Pampas grass growing on its shore.

The sound of frogs and of crickets is really loud here. On a sunny day it was relaxing.

The end of the little jaunt leaves you at a playground that is quite professional in comparison to others that I've seen. It's well lit, so it can be taken advantage of at night. There were quite a few children and adults using this cheery space.

You can see how it might be a great place to hang out for husbands, while their wives go shopping in the mall. There is an upstairs food court with believe it or not a Chinese food stand, not common here.

As mentioned, this mall has 2 sides to it that connect together with a skybridge. Your supposed to use that upstairs portion to cross the busy street but most people take their chances running across the road.

Since the mall is only a year old (in March) everything inside is shiny and new. The floors are a polished white. Hey, If you ever wanted to see the inside of a ladies restroom, here's your chance. I just thought you'd like to see that we don't go in the bushes here.

There is also a multiplex cinema in this mall. This Sunday afternoon, I will be coming back here to watch a 3D animated movie with some friends. It's actually the first time in 4 years that I've been to a movie here. I promised my friends to take their pictures and put them in my blog so I'll make a small report on what it was like going to the movies here. I think the movie will be in Spanish.

So next time you think about Uruguay don't think about a underdeveloped place but about how this country is trying to match urban development with a nod to nature. Right now, in reflecting on this mall trip I'm reminded of my own expat journey or path to Uruguay and also of the poet Robert Frost and his poem, "The Road Not Taken". I wonder how many people haven't bothered to take this little side walkway, is it "the one less traveled by"?

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 

Robert Frost

The Rio de la Plata!

The Rio de la Plata between Uruguay and Argentina.

In our blog, Wally and I often mentioned the water view that we can see from our terrace. While it looks like the ocean to us, it is really considered a view of the Rio de la Plata (a river).

We often get asked about this river so using a recent comment as a jumping off point, I thought I'd post about the Rio de la Plata.

Anonymous said...
Hello Denise,  What do you see from your window, the ocean or the “Rio de la Plata”?
I just wonder if the “Rio de la Plata” is really a river or rather a gulf. I guess it is a mixture of saltwater and freshwater otherwise it would not be considered a river, but for me it is hard to understand how the freshwater can prevent saltwater penetration... it is more than 200 km wide at its mouth!

Best regards,Geraldo

Well Geraldo, people say, we see a river from our house. The Rio de la Plata (River of Silver/money) is considered the widest river in the world. The Nile river is the longest in the world although the Amazon river is also contending with that spot. The Rio de la Plata is not very deep though. It averages 5 meters deep unless you factor in the artificial channels dredged into it then it's around a 10 meter depth average. If you click on the Wikipedia link above you can see a Google satellite photo of the true river. The river (proper) lies between the banks of 2 countries, Argentina and Uruguay.

Overnight ferry, crossing the Rio de la Plata from Uruguay to Argentina.

 Geraldo mentions an interesting point,  "I just wonder if the “Rio de la Plata” is really a river or rather a gulf. I guess it is a mixture of saltwater and freshwater otherwise it would not be considered a river, but for me it is hard to understand how the freshwater can prevent saltwater penetration..."   

The America Heritage dictionary says that the word Gulf means "a large area of a sea or ocean partially enclosed by land."  The Rio de la Plata has a large estuary system (wide mouth). This estuary is why some people consider the Rio de la Plata not a river since salt water does mix with fresh there.   While the mouth of the river (that meets at the Atlantic ocean) does lies in a gulf-like estuary system the reason it is also considered a river is because it also has an inner section with upper and middle reaches that are shallow and devoid of salt water intrusion. In other words the ocean is not the only water present.

The Rio de la Plata river is fed by two main rivers, the Paraná river and the Uruguay river which contribute 97% of the freshwater to the Rio de la Plata. There are also many smaller rivers and more than a hundred streams that flow into the Rio de la Plata. The river is funnel shaped with the beginning at it's source, being only 2 km wide (1.2 miles) its mouth widens to 220 km (140 miles), where it then flows into the Atlantic Ocean. It is 290 km (180 miles) long. With a surface area of some 35,000km (14,000 square miles).

 The wikipedia states that A submerged shoal, the Barra del Indio, acts as a barrier, dividing the Río de la Plata into an inner freshwater riverine area and an outer brackish estuarine area.^[6] The shoal is located approximately between Montevideo and Punta Piedras (the northwest end of Samborombón Bay). It is the freshwater of the inner area that causes many to describe the Río de la Plata as a river.^[4]" 

An interesting characteristic that results from all of those fresh water sources flowing into the Rio de la Plata is sediment. About 57,000 cubits meters worth of sediment enters the river each year. If you look at the google photo (on the wiki site) you can see how muddy the river looks and is. The Rio de la Plata although meaning silver or money (plata) has earned the nickname "The lion colored river" because of its brown colored waters. The brown color is attributed to the 90% suspended clay particles and the other 10% to sand and silt. Because of the large amount of sediment, the river would not be navigable except for the dredging projects that keep the main channel clear, allowing ships to pass. Generally, the river is quite calm except when the gales of the Southeast blow. As mentioned in my Alpha zone post, people say that because of the buildup of sediment in this river there are parts of it that some people claim, one can walk upon. 

About once or twice a year the winds or tides or something other will unbalance the freshwater mix and cause a backlash of extra salt content, then all along the coast the result is lots of dead fish.

Now the problem about whether "I" have a view of the river or of the ocean from my house on the coast comes about in regards to the river's length. The maritime maps show the river as not only between the banks of Argentina and Uruguay (it's width) but also spilling out into the Atlantic Ocean, forming a Y(or T) shape. Once the river leaves it's mouth between the banks of the countries of Uruguay and Argentina it meets the Atlantic Ocean but it then travels or flows both up to the left and down to the right, along this stretch of Atlantic coastal line for a while, after leaving the mouth, as clearly seen by the physical brown colored water. So the answer or key in understanding this question about the river and my terrace view of it, comes in the form of the range and extension assigned to this river by observation, laws and legislation, once it spills into the Atlantic Ocean. 

My view of the "river" and the Atlantic Ocean far beyond it.

FREPLATA, is an agency that was assigned a project study of the Rio de la Plata river and its maritime front. One objective was to collect and disseminate data about this river and its surrounding area and maritime use.

They have on their website outlined the legal treaty for the river's use.

Chapter 1 discusses the jurisdiction of the river and article #1 explains its agreed upon area definition.

ARTICLE 1. The Rio de la Plata extends from Punta Gorda parallel to the imaginary straight line that joins Punta del Este (Eastern Republic of Uruguay) and Punta Rasa del Cabo San Antonio (Argentina), in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty of Uruguay River Limits of April 7, 1961 and the Joint Declaration on the Outer Limit of the Rio de la Plata from January 30, 1961.

ARTICLE 2. Establishing a range of exclusive jurisdiction adjacent to the coast of each Party on the River. This coastal strip has a width of seven nautical miles from the outer edge of the River and the straight line linking Cologne (Eastern Republic of Uruguay) and Punta Lara (Argentina) and from this last line to the parallel of Punta Gorda width of two nautical miles. However, its outer limits will be inflected as necessary to avoid exceeding the edges of channels in the shared waters and remaining channels including access to ports. Such limits shall not be approximated within five hundred meters from the edges of channels located in the shared waters and will turn away more than five hundred meters to the edges and the mouth of the access channels to ports.

Did you notice in Article 1, the use of the word imaginary line. This imaginary line joins Punta del Este, Uruguay the river's designated coastal end (or limit assigned to it) to Punta Rasa del Cabo, Argentina ending the other direction that the river flows to along the coast. Those are the agreed upon left and right outer coastal limits of this river. So by law and maritime charts, I have an outer coastal limit river view. The land mass of Uruguay curves at this point so I have a diagonal view of the river not the traditional view of its width between the 2 countries ( from one of its banks). I look at the brown water spillage into the Atlantic, I look diagonally across this (legal entity) towards the bluer Atlantic Ocean in the distance.

Montevideo, the Capital of Uruguay sitting on the Rio de la Plata

Notice how brown the waters are in this photo! This is a photo of the capital city of Montevideo that actually does sit on the bank of the Rio de la Plata it sits at the mouth of it, towards the Atlantic Ocean. Still, that brown water clearly marks this as belonging to the river.

I have a confession to make, most of the photos that I take of the water view from my deck are done on what I call blue water days! The water in front of my house although facing what seems to be the Atlantic Ocean definitely is still influenced by the Rio de la Plata. The only thing that keeps our retirement area from being a true beach paradise is the brown water, instead of having pretty blue water as shown in typical idyllic post card beach scenes.

The brown water from the Rio de la Plata running along the coastline.

In this photo of a fishing boat, taken from my terrace, you can see a very brown line of water in a sea of more brown water. The coastline of Uruguay has many bay-like indentations that result in calmer waters along its coast. This water, right off the coast from my house, is not too deep due to a lot of sediment deposited on its bottom. The water here is very calm with little wave action (it does have some strong undertow in places).  Everyone agrees however, that starting at around Punta del Este in the northeast, the true Atlantic Ocean, free from the influence of the muddy waters of the Rio de la Plata begins. The water at Punta del Este is much bluer and the surfers are out in force riding the Atlantic waves.

So Geraldo, the water view from my terrace is the "brown water" belonging to the Rio de la Plata but if I look past this brown ribbon I see the Atlantic Ocean in the distance. Either way, I enjoy my view immensely!

SEMANA CRIOLLA!

I've been nursing a cold, meaning staying at home for a few days and generally taking it easy. Still, when I suddenly remembered that this "week of tourism"(march 24-31) also included a week of Criolla days or Semana Criolla, a celebration of the Gaucho in it's 88th year, I felt that I should attend.

This event that started in 1925 and is organized by the Intendencia (city hall) is held in Montevideo in 2 separate places in the city during this week. One place, where the Gauchos (think cowboys) meet to perform their skill set such as roping etc... is at the fairgrounds called the Prado. I've been there at those grounds several times before. In September, a similar event is held at the Prado which is a little larger and I seem to prefer that one a little better. The one held in September seems to me, to be a fuller event . That one has more participants and more high end vender booths and cows and other farm animals appearing. It's more like a country fair. Still, September is a long way away, so I decided to go for the day to check out the happenings this month.

As I mentioned, this event is held in 2 places in Montevideo, the second place is in a park called Franklin D Roosevelt Park. He seems to have been a popular US president here as a stretch of the rambla or city beach road is also named after him. This park is located right across the street from the superstore (a Walmart type) called Géant. The trees are nice, it's a mini forest across from a shopping mall so that's cool.

I've often thought about wandering through this park but it seemed to contain only trees with no real trails or benches that I could note. It does have a front section called the" infantile park" or a playground which has some nice climbing structures for the kiddies.

I have heard from others that this locations' event, the one held across the street from the mall is the "poor cousin" to the one held in the Prado fairgrounds so I thought that this site would be more to my speed. The word funky springs to mind just now. I was in a "Funk" because of my cold and didn't want to travel to the Prado and make a big deal about the day and this site was just "funky" enough to match my mood (slightly depressed, mine cold-related) there are several different definitions of that word funky so take your pick, except for the foul oder. I have always found that Uruguay generally smells really nice even flower scented at times, where ever I go. So I'd choose definitions 2 and 3 for this occasion. I just wanted to peek at the FDR park. I had never been to that 2nd event site. The bus was an easy ride, it cost me 38 pesos ($2.00) to get there, oddly it only cost me 29 pesos to return home. It depends on the bus company you get.

Metal wall setup, surrounding the pay to enter, Gaucho exhibition.

This site had 4 things to recommend it.
1) Entrance was free (except for the cowboy event).

 2) There was a professional "amusement ride" section set up this occasion for the teens and kids.

3) Lots of typical snack foods.

Several 33 gallon drum, homemade BBQ's scattered around grilling stuff and other food offerings.

4) Little pony rides for the children.

My first pony ride was in Griffton Park, Hollywood Hills in California, so I know that those types of memories can be special for the tinniest of people.

My camera decided to need recharging so I didn't bother going into the actual paid event. That event was a demonstration of a  concurso de Jineteadas.  "Jineteadas" involving  2  categories of Pelo and Basto. Pelo international and Argentino Basto. Jineteadas (check on for a u Tube video)

After wandering around for a while, I felt I could hop back on the bus and return home feeling satisfied  I had checked out this 2nd gathering. I always think that pictures are worth a thousand words, so I hope you had an interesting glimpse into this low key location.

A World Wide Invitation!

Wow, I can't believe how quick another year flew by!
Next week starts, Semana Santa/holy week. It's that time of the calendar, when I want to invite everyone to this year's celebration of the "Memorial of Christ's Death". We hold it only one time a year. I'm giving you a 1 week heads up, to plan to attend.

The date for this event is next Tuesday March 26th, 2013/ El Martes 26 De Marzo de 2013. The time is after sunset. Every congregation of Jehovah's Christian Witnesses has been busy this entire month going door to door and inviting people to this free gathering in memory of our Lord and Savior. On the invitation you will find the address of your area's local congregation and the hour the service will be held.

You don't have to be a Jehovah's Witness to attend. No donation plate will be passed! Just bring (if you want to) your own copy of your Bible to follow along the re-telling of the night that Jesus Christ met upstairs with his Apostles and broke bread and passed the wine to them, this represented his body and his blood that would be poured out in behalf of them and us. The Scriptures will be read from the platform in case you don't have a Bible. This short service will not only mention what took place that night but also emphasize, "Why", Christ had to die and "Why" it's important for each one of us to remember him. Also, how his death helps us.

Here in Uruguay, in the town of Salinas, the local congregation is located on the north side of the ruta on the street/calle Yamandú e Zapicán y Magaluna en Salinas. It will be held at 18:30 (6:30PM)

In Salinas you have your choice of times to attend this evening. Either at 18:30 (6:30PM) or 20hrs. (8PM). Whichever, is the most convenient for you to attend. The service will simply be repeated.

Directions: Basically, go to the main Arc/arch in Salinas, cross the highway/ruta at the traffic signal. You are now standing on the north side of the town. Go up (north), only 1 block, it's the first street you see (there's an Abitab or redpagos? there). Turn on this street to the left (towards MVD) stay on this street and walk 4 blocks or so? The Kingdom Hall is on this street, on the right (north-side).

The city of Atlántida has it's own congregation which will present the same program. It is located just past the medical clinic in Atlántida, "Medica Uruguaya" no more than a few blocks. You should be able to "see the hall" as it is only a few buildings off of the ruta. Sorry, that I don't know the address or time for that meeting. So be on the lookout for your free invitation. The meeting is after sundown.

It's good to remember this week as not only a vacation week but as an opportunity to appreciate your spiritual side. As one modern language translation of the Bible says (the"New World Translation")  "Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need..." (Matthew/Mateo 5 verse 3).

I hope you can attend!

A Uruguayan appetizer!

Okay, I admit it, we first learned about this starter course, technically in Brazil not Uruguay. It was in the border town of Chuy but Uruguay was literally right across the street! There is no need of a visa for "this town", it is sort of, "shared" by both countries. You can literarily stand with one foot in Uruguay and the other in Brazil, by simply standing in the middle of the main street. You can freely shop the entire town in either country, in any of the stores on either side of this dividing street. Brazil has some great bargains.


Bring and use your passport as ID, if you want to take advantage of the great prices in the duty free shops. Since the restaurant we ate in was on the Brazilian side of this said street, I will credit Brazil with introducing us to this hors d'oeuvre of melted cheese. We ate it, we liked it, and then didn't think about it again, until some immigrating new expats invited us out to dinner at a restaurant and ordered it, some months later in Uruguay!

Brazil on the left, parked cars in the middle and Uruguay on the right.
This border town has no visible dividing line between countries.

Our friends, asked the waiter if they served the Provolone cheese dish in this restaurant and the answer was "Of course!/¡Claro que sí! Ah! we finally learned what type of cheese was used in this melted concoction. I mean yes, any cheese can be melted from cheddar to swiss, I think fondues use Gruyere as it's main base but now we knew what type to use for this appetizer dish of apparently both Uruguay and Brazil.

As a side note, the restaurant they took us to was Don Vito's. Don Vito's is a local expat hangout in the city of Atlántida. I think it's because it is open 24/7 even in winter, when many other places are closed. It also has an extensive menu. For several years many of the "Expat luncheons" were held there. During this winter the first Expat meeting for the Canelones area will be Thursday March 7th, at 1 PM/13:00 hrs. held at Jerry Brunner's "Hotel Via Park" right on the rambla in Parque de Plata near the intersection of calle 11 (street 11). The hotel Piroska has closed down for the winter, that is where the expat meetings were being held this summer.

Getting back on tract about the cheese dish, being forever frugal, Wally and I just had to learn how to make this cheese dish at home and it's incredibly simple to do. First, buy or get an oven proof dish, very shallow. The food stores also sell a dish for this purpose to use for parties. It has several little shallow indentations in it, so you can just use little morsels of cheese to melt as bite size appetizers. We bought a little saucer plate, that was oven and microwave proof. Note: they sell 2 slices of cheese to a package at our supermarket but we only use 1, so we save the second slice to make this again on some other night. What a bargain!

Recipe: Use a shallow ovenproof/microwave dish.
             Provolone Cheese (a thick slice or round)
             Oregano dried or fresh.

*Lay the cheese slice on some oregano, coating it as shown, or according to your taste (both front and backside of the cheese).
*Put the oregano coated cheese slice on the dish (there's no need to coat the dish with anything).
*Bake at 350F/175C. for about 15 minutes or until melted and just slightly bubbly.

Use 2 spoons and ladle it onto your plate as shown. Enjoy with bread, crackers or whatever!
Now, we are enjoying yet another taste treat of Uruguay and being thrifty at the same time!