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Published: January 17th 2011
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Piriopolis--beach and mountains
reminiscent of the European Riviera or Santa Barbara Leaving Colonia, it would have been logical to head to nearby Montevideo. Instead, with the dreaded South American summer approaching with its huge crowds, I decided to first visit Uruguay's beaches, so popular with Uruguayans, Argentinians and Brazilians, and explore less-popular Montevideo at Christmas. I was going as far northeast (toward Brazil) as possible and work my way back. I felt as if I were surfing a wave down the coast that I needed to finish before I wiped out at Christmas.
However, I changed my plans to join my Montevideo friend, Alicia (whom I'd met in Salto) in Piriapolis for a few days. It's great being with Alicia because we speak only Spanish (called Castellano here and in Argentina). She's patient with my speaking, and since she has studied and speaks French and Italian, she knows how to phrase something differently, if I'm not understanding. Plus, she's up for adventure, which is great.
Piriopolis has a 25-km coastline and was developed as a planned, seaside community, The Resort of the Future, by Montevideo developer Francisco Piria at the turn of the 20c (when Punta del Este was only a fishing village). He built the sumptuous, now-defunct Piriopolis Grand
Hotel and then in 1930, the Argentine Hotel and Casino (the town's focal point), both in the grand, European resort tradition. He also constructed the attractive
costanera or water-side promenade reminiscent of those in Nice and Marbella, on the French and Spanish Rivieras respectively.
Palm trees and benches lined the promenade and were enjoyed by mate-drinking families and young people. It's so refreshing to see young dudes sipping on their mate gourds rather than getting plastered and obnoxious from guzzling beer as they do elsewhere--great tradtion! Piria also encouraged the railroad to extend its line from Montevideo and sold small plots of land to families from Montevideo, so that they could escape the summer heat in a beach resort.
Piriopolis had grown in a rather charming way (except for a few eyesore high-rises), spreading along the beach and backed by picturesque rolling hills; it reminded me a bit of European and Santa Barbara beaches with mountains and shore. None of the other Uruguayan beach towns are backed by mountains, but are flat, like a lot of the country.
The beaches here were clean and the waves gentle since this was still the Rio de la Plata, not
the Atlantic, and the water was filled with waders. Like all the beaches in Uruguay, the water is rather nippy, like that at home and try at I did, I never got in past my knees. However, I'm a cold weenie, but others did frolic further out in the water.
I also discovered a couple of taste sensations here. First, I must admit I'm not a very adventurous eater, and I generally dislike bread, meat, spicy, slimy, too-crunchy, too-salty or too-chewy foods and the too-sweet pastries here. However, I love all fruits, veggies, all things dairy and wine.
In a pizza parlor, I had
faina--garbanzo meal, rolled into a thin dough and baked, probably with a bit of olive oil and salt since it was so tasty. Another Uruguayan food I loved was pasta with creamy Caruso sauce, developed by a restaurant to honor a visit of the famous Italian tenor. Pasta and pizza--a vegetarian's friend when eating out.
There were also great diversions besides the beach and faina. In 1897, Piria built himself a castle on a hill outside town complete with turrets, crenelated walls, lots of fireplaces and statues of dogs conquering dragons. Looking a
bit incongruous, it was still fun to explore since the period furniture allowed the walk-back-in time feeling.
From the castle, we walked a couple of kilometers up the road to a sometimes wonderful/sometimes pitiful zoo/refuge for native abandoned and injured animals. I was surprised to see many of those from the Argentine Esteros and the Brazilian Pantanal. Uruguay has large lagoons and wetlands like those in her sister countries that shelter egrets, spoonbills and other waterbirds, capybaras, caimen, rheas, and here I finally saw the elusive jungle cats and maned wolf. These were the sad cases, for the cats were in small cages, and the tall, rangy wolf was alone, whereas s/he needed to be part of a pack. Fortunately, many of the other animals had shared cages with plenty of space.
Behind the zoo, was Uruguay's fourth highest peak, the beautiful, granite Cerro Pan de Azucar (Sugar Loaf) at 380 meters, topped by a cross. Partway up, at a viewpoint (mirador), there were all sorts of impressive, big machines from when granite was mined and shipped all over these southern countries. Certainly, I climb higher than 1020 feet back home, but here it was scorching hot with
no shade and after a bit, I turned back.
Later, the evening air was more inviting, and we strolled the board walk to a shrine of Mary of the Fishermen (Stella Maris) on a little hill above the street. A pathway switch-backed up the hill past the Grotto of the Ducks with a natural spring and up to a statue of a sweet-faced Mary. Lots of miracles had been attributed to these two spots, and they felt serene yet full of power. We had a wonderful view of the city and of Punta Fria, one of the many points (puntas) that scallop the coast with bays and points.
Another sunset found us taking a chair-lift (How I love heights and the sensation of flying!) up the Cerro San Antonio with fabulous views of the coastline and the gently-undulating hills with good walking trails behind the town. It was great over looking a town so great and relatively free of high-rises. There weren't the upscale restaurants or nightclubs of Punta, but it was charming.
With a car, one could reach higher peak in the Sierra de las Animas, lakes and great national parks, but without wheels, we stuck
little Punta Fria
one of many points on the scalloped coastline pretty close to town.
As a banker, Alicia stayed in a campground with upscale apartments for those in the bankers' syndicate, as she had in Salto. (Where are our teachers/professors lodges and campgrounds--hmmm). Plebeian that I am, I stayed in the municipal campground which had little bare-bones rooms. With no air circulation in the room I had to keep the window open. With no screen on the window, I was eaten alive by mosquitoes the first night.
After that, I overcame my fear of chemicals and daubed on my new favorite cologne: Eau de DEET: enhanced bug lotion. What are a few gene mutations compared to festering bites (and the scars they leave from face to feet? (I must not scratch, I must not--but it feels sooo good.)
While her place was more attractive, mine had a little stream (thus the mosquitoes) with small frogs that sounded like choruses of new-born kittens mewing or like babies sighing. I loved standing on the wooden bridge over the stream, listening to the sweet musical mewing moving in waves down the stream. Uruguayans had trouble believing that our sweet little frogs say, "ribbet," thinking that only big toads did that.
Imagine, frogs speaking different languages!
After a few lovely days enjoying picnics and adventures, Alicia returned to her grand Montevideo bank to work, and I headed further south to the most celebrated beach resort of all, Punta del Este, famed for its high life and jet setters. Will I be able to keep up?
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Kaye
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I love revisiting some of Uruguay through your tales. I am also jealous of the leisurely time you have had there in places like Colonia. Enjoy BA's culture! Be careful! Kaye