pilgrim of the south

Colonia, Montevideo and Punta del Este

Early, just before sunrise on January the 24th, I woke up, and loaded the car. I didn’t sleep too well that night, as we were home late after the birthday party of Gabriel, Fernanda’s brother, who was back in Buenos Aires. On our way from Pilar to the city’s center we saw a stunning sunrise, coloring the sky above Retiro red and orange.

We booked the ferry to Uruguay a few days earlier, and were expected at 8.30 in Puerto Madero. After the necessary formalities, I drove onto the ferry. This one, called “Buquebus” was definitely bigger than the one in Tierra del Fuego. The cars’ deck was loaded with pick up trucks and mobile homes. After the ship cast off, we sat on the sundeck, had some overpriced coffee, and watched Buenos Aires and Argentina disappear on the horizon. Crossing the enormous Rio del Plata takes about three hours, and at one in the afternoon I put for the first time in life foot on Uruguayan territory.

The small city of Colonia is picturesque, and full of day tourists from Buenos Aires. We decided to just leave Colonia be, and move on right away to Montevideo, 175 kilometers to the east, for lunch in the harbor. Large containerships were unloading their cargo, next to Cruise ships, unloading wealthy Americans and Europeans. Lucas wanted to eat shellfish, and so shellfish it was. He told the waiter, with these innocent looking eyes only children have, to go heavy on shrimp. The waiter was happy with our order, and promised to put some extra shrimps in the stew. We ate like kings, although I believe kings don’t shell their shrimps with their fingers….Afterwards we walked a bit around the city center with its antique market, but with the mercury rising unto 39 degrees Celsius, we fled Montevideo, and promised ourselves to come back one day.

Back on the autopista it took only an hour to drive to Punta del Este. It is the playground for rich and famous Argentines, Paraguayans and Brazilians. Just before entering the city, you pass by the International Airport. Gulfstreams and Learjets are proudly parked aside rusty Boeing 737’s from Pluna, Uruguay’s national airline. In and around the Barra Mansa area, with the famous Conrad Hotel and Casino, you see Mercedes convertible, Buddha bar and sixty year old women, trying to look twenty, surely spending more money on plastic surgery than on charity.

It is a mixture of Saint Tropez, Cancun and Miami. Apartments for rent, U$D 2.800 a week. Yes, a week! We checked into the Sheraton Resort and Spa hotel, and got ourselves a suite for three days, breakfast with smoked salmon and Moet & Chandon included. Fernanda got herself a massage with mud from the Macchu Pichu, while I tried different types of caviar with seaweed jelly and Prime Vodka on the roof terrace.

No, my friends, just kidding! Fernanda has an aunt, Martha, who lives here, and so we checked into her house, and slept in the maids’ room in the back of the lush garden, while large mosquitoes had their field day and sucked at least a liter of blood from my veins.

Next day we got to know Punta del Este e bit more, had the National Sandwich on the beach. It’s called “Chivito”; Spanish for goat, and has no goat meat on it at all. It’s a bun, slightly roasted, with beef, bacon, egg, tomato, lettuce and onion. Then covered with French fries, and there you go….Later we took the car to Land Rover, for another change of oil and filter, as we proudly passed the 15.000 kilometer recently. For dinner we celebrated Marta’s birthday in an excellent restaurant, where I ordered once more crispy sweetbreads.

Tomorrow, Monday January the 29th, we will leave Punta del Este, and drive north until Chuy, where we will cross the border with Brazil. From there, we will visit Bombinhas; beaches with white sand, a blue sea and juicy shrimps. But that, you will hear later on.

Bye for now