Cut-and-Run

But soon, we head into the old city of Montevideo and in no time at all we are Living La Vida Loca.

We find the Mercado del Puerto, a place bustling with Uruguayan Asados. Smoking fires serving all sorts of meat cuts.

Uruguayan beef is in demand everywhere and is exported to China the USA and Europe.

And enjoyed by locals everywhere.

And by us, too. Have to admit it, Uruguayan beef tastes better than ours at home.

And, of course, Harry experiments with beer and I experiment with wine. Here is the Uruguayan Tannat.

Spain and Portugal battle for control of Uruguay from 1680 onwards. This Plaza Independencia celebrates Jose Artigas who ignites liberation from colonial powers.

Here is Artigas the Liberator of Uruguay on a horse, and my Liberator, Harry in the bottom right hand corner.

Half of Uruguayans are Catholic and the city boasts many churches ….

… with spectacular insides.

Montevideanos live easily in their public squares.

And here is a relaxed trader selling all the paraphernalia required for the drinking of mate, a South American tea enjoyed by most South Americans. It’s not our cup of tea!

An everyday scene.

And a very special scene, in a bus, with a new friend, Catherina. You don’t have to understand each other perfectly to have a jolly good laugh.

Oh, but the harbour and our bikes ‘at sea’ looms during the day ….

… and the night.

Our clearing agent hopes for only a 2 week delay. And so from our balcony we re-route our plans and days to accommodate the delay. It’s starting to fall into place.

So we rent a wee car and spend the next 8 days exploring the coast west of Montevideo.

First up is Piriapolis developed for tourism by entrepreneur Francisco Piria in the early 20th century. It has old school coastal resort charm.

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Next is Punta del Este, the Monaco of South America!

We are told it swarms with the rich and famous from Argentina and Brazil from Christmas to the Carnaval.

But is pretty empty now.

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In the harbour at Punta del Este there is a symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationship between the fishmarket and sea-lions.

The seagulls, and …

… the sea-lions get fish heads …

… and the fish traders get the business of curious tourists.

Captivating!

At Punta del Este, there is also the Casapueblo, the cascading 9 storey home and gallery of the late Uruguayan artist, Carlos Paez Vilaro.

He is a friend of Pablo Picasso.

And his extensive home does not have a single straight line.

Here is a selection of his works we liked the most.

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And as the sun sets over Punte del Este we set off to …

… Punta del Diablo, the ‘Point of the Devil’.

Totally different to Punta del Este, and bohemian in character.

And Punta del Diablo also only really fills up in the holiday seasons. Ask this old timer.

And this yoga teacher.

We test out the Atlantic waters on this side and it is certainly colder than we are used to!

But we recognise this Oyster Catcher, but with slightly different colouring.

… and this aloe …

… but this we don’t recognise …. apparently it is the fertilised egg sack of black sea snails, endemic along the Uruguayan coast.

And here a dilapidated building with some interesting murals.

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The graffiti reads “The Traitors will pay for their Crimes”.

We are super comfortable in our car. But find it hard to stick to the speed limits; 45km/h in cities, 70km/h on the outskirts and 90km/h on the open road!

On our return journey, we reflect on the life of ordinary Uruguayans …. in their homes …

… and businesses …

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Uruguay is expensive. We are told it is 3 times more expensive than neighbouring Argentina and Brazil. Here a packet of chips is the equivalent of R76.

And bread in a supermarket, R72.

And a big slab of Dairy Milk, R150. We are told it is because Uruguay has to import many products.

We really enjoy shopping at little local markets.

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And often make some tasty meals where we stay.

Funny how we try to recreate home; supper in front of the tellie, Dragons-Den!

In the rural areas we see this all over; free roaming and grass fed cattle. That world class beef …

… but nowhere does it taste better than at the home of Barbara, our clearing agent. She invites us for a Sunday afternoon Asado.

Oh boy, and her boyfriend, Jose, keeps braai-ing and Barbara keeps slicing delicious cut after cut of meat.

This is our table at the end of this feast.

Followed by typical Uruguayan dessert, under the shade of a tree. And here is Barbara’s dad nursing his mate. Seriously all Uruguayans drink mate, young and old.