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Published: January 3rd 2008
Sweet sailboats
Anyone else have a sudden craving for a painkiller??We took a quick jaunt to Uruguay to see what some call the ¨Miami of South America¨. The south beaches that we saw are cool and breezy, the mall is the place to be, and the people are addicted to matte. There was actually nothing gay about it if you don´t count the guy crooning in fish-nets and heels on the streets of Montevideo, so we finally stopped the silliness and pronounced the country´s name correctly.
We traveled in style on our usual double-decker bus so we had a great view of the houses from around the world on the way. The neighborhoods outside Punta del Este include Mexican (adobe with red trim), Alpine (my sister, Lauren´s favorite A-frame), Dutch (complete with windmill) and even English (thatched roof cottages). We knew this was a bit glitzier than the usual South American city when we noticed that all the cabs were sparkly Mercedes and the harbor was packed with sailboats that reminded us of a certain sailing adventure we shared with amigos last year in the British Virgin Islands.
Since the Punta was out of our budget-traveler price range, we stayed only long enough to explore the city, enjoy the
South beach strip
First sign of glitz: Mercedes taxis beach, and trade in our usual meat and malbec for some fish empanadas, seafood paella, and white wine. The beaches here have such sweet breezes that we could finally get our bronze on without the searing heat of Central America or as our good friend Dave calls it ¨the Death Zone¨. We still had bright red noses by evening. But ´tis the season to sport that look, right?
Matte drinking is so hot right now. Even hotter here than in Argentina. We decided those holding their gourds for all to see are the equivalent of the coffee connoisseurs who flash their Starbucks cups. Whoever puts the effort into carting hot water, dried leaves, gourd and straw around town deserves some credit, I say. Stay tuned for more about why South Americans sip this hot beverage with friends in 90-degree weather.
After seeing the beach sunsunt, we continued onto Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay with a cool million people. We asked the locals what we just had to see, and they sent us to... the mall. Fine by us since it was frickin´hot and the malls guarantee AC and Xmas decorations. It was strange to see Santa bundled up
Lexi´s cruiser
Lex, I found this purple beach cruiser for you. We´re looking into shipping options. in his sleigh inside, with warm and sunny weather outside. We´re looking for a palm tree to decorate...
Trevor is starting to get the shakes without his usual dose of beef, so we´re coasting across by ferry back to Argentina to see beautiful Buenos Aires. He claims he´s getting weaker by the second and needs steak with a dose of malbec wine stat.
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