Montevideo-Foz de Iguazu with Pluna for $179 RT!

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This will just make my life easier. I used to spend countless hours trying to dissuade every extra-regional visitor from trying to go see the Iguazu/Iguassu waterfalls, a trip to a remote middle of nowhere for a few minutes of a nice post-card view.

Previously, this involved getting to Buenos Aires and from there flying to Foz. I can now say "Sure, you can fly directly from Montevideo! With Pluna! For just $179 round trip!"

That´s the promotional fare, it may not last. Flights debut on October 18. I´d personally still rather do a road-trip anywhere in South America, but I don´t need to argue anyone out of it anymore, now that it´s easy and relatively cheap.

On the other hand, anything making Uruguay more attractive as tourist destination, we´re for. And this no doubt will be a plus for all those Europeans who dream of seeing the waterfalls. I´ve heard many Europeans pine for Patagonia, often unaware of what country it´s in, for the Iguazu waterfalls, and for Machu Pichu, those are the three locations in South America that capture the masses´ imagination, so at least we´re directly linked to one of them. Another, Trellew I think, was sabbotaged by the Ks right before it was supposed to debut. The third, well, I would not be surprised if we were to see an announcement in the near future. Not so dumb this guy Matías...

And if you don´t see the big picture here, what´s in it for Punta del Este? Well, the more extra-regional visitors we attract to Uruguay, the more frequencies we´re likely to have from U.S. and Europe, the easier and even cheaper to get in and out of here. Making Uruguay a hub for South America, if he manages to do it, will be good for all of us.

Tourism slightly up through Sept., cruise ship arrivals to jump 36% this season

Our business thermometer translates pretty well the overall activity in the Uruguayan economy and in Punta del Este in general. We knew the winter was ghastly and most indicators are down through July and August, but thanks to the notorious spike seen in September, the total number of tourist arrivals is already up 2% for the first nine months, and we can expect it to rise even further before year end.

Another encouraging bit of news buried in El País today is that the number of cruise ships expected to make a stop in Punta del Este this season has jumped to 114, almost 36% higher than in the 2008-2009 season. In Montevideo, conversely, cruise ship stops will fall 17% over last season´s arrivals, to a total of 81.

Admittedly, everything written in this blog comes from the perspective of "economic and financial health of the country and Punta del Este = good" although this viewpoint may not be necessarily shared by all.

One day seminar on the history of furniture

OK, this one is in Spanish, but what with the visual aids, the similar terminology, etc., maybe even non-Spanish speakers can get to learn something or enjoy it. The seminar covers everything from antiquity to the 20th century, and it is conducted by architect Daniel Martinez Fuentes, an expert on interior design.

Plus, there´s waffles involved! The seminar will be held at L´Auberge, on Oct. 29, and it starts at 1:45 pm, running until 8:30. If you're interested, get in touch with fellow member Graciela Smink, gracielasmink at adinet com uy.

And we´re off to the races...

So the season is officially open in Punta del Este. It used to be that this past long weekend -- Columbus day, or Día de la Raza -- would provide an indication of how busy or quiet the summer season would be, based on the number of rental agreements closed. Now that indicator appears to be muddled, as Punta del Este was completely packed, but realtors claim to have closed relatively few rentals.

Then again, this is the time of the year when realtor associations come out to gripe about all the factors that are threatening the success of the summer season. This year, as usual, there is a problem with the exchange rate, as the dollar plunges to new, scary lows; the greed of home-owners who prefer to raise the rent and end up with an empty property than to rent it for a reasonable price; and as usual, calls for a greater commitment from the government on security issues. Ah, and the still unresolved issue of bridge border crossings with Argentina. But nobody mentions that one anymore.

To us, the almost euphoric levels of activity seen this past weekend -- the shopping activity had a frantic, like-there's-no-tomorrow quality -- portend another blowout season. It will be hard to top the 2008-2009 summer, but things look like they will be close, a gigantic achievement in light of the equally humongous global crisis.

In addition, with the general growth of "Greater Punta" and changes in visitor dynamics -- shorter stays, increased number of hotel stays versus renters, higher spending per person, continued growth in partial residents staying for three to nine months -- you can be sure that things will get lively in a couple of weeks, and outright busy at the beginning of December, before going bananas after Xmas. The empty aisles at Tienda Inglesa that surprised us on the days prior to the long weekend will be hard to come by until April or May again.

As for the English speakers, many are back or arriving soon, so our November bbq should be fun. Speaking of which, if you would like to attend the wine tasting this coming Friday, please RSVP urgenty. Otherwise, we'll see you at Kitty's next Monday.

More cultural activity this weekend: a piano concert and an organ recital

The Centro Cultural de Música is holding its last concert of the season this Saturday at 7:30 PM, by young Chinese pianist Jue Wang, at the Arcobaleno Convention Center. See contact info above. Tickets are US$35/UYU800 for adults and US$10/UYU200 for children.

The Maldonado Cathedral on Sunday 11th at 8 PM features Polish organ player Witold Zalewski, under the direction of Cristina García Benegas. This one is free, with voluntary contributions requested for paying for the giant screen projection.

Art creation fair on Calle 20 on Saturday, Oct. 10

The organizers of the upscale Calle 20 shopping district have come up with an art-athon of sorts, by gathering dozens of painters and sculptors who will be showing the beginning of their creative process --at least the material part of it, as it must be very hard to get philosophical while personally on exhibit-- on the street, literally.

The press release does not mention the time of the event or provide a phone number to enquire, so we´ll assume the very large workshop will go on sometime during the day, possibly all day long.

The organizers´release mentions that for those who don´t give a rat´s derriere about art (my wording), there will be discounts at the shops.  

Again, for those unaware of the relevance of next weekend, let´s just say it´s a sort of groundhog day for Punta del Este. It´s supposed to be a proxy for the entire summer season, based on the number of people who visit (Columbus day is celebrated throughout the region, so it´s a holiday in all our main markets) the number of rental deals closed, etc.

It´s also the start of the countdown to high season. All preparation work goes into high gear, and in Uruguayan fashion some major works are finally initiated, ensuring that the vacationers will arrive to wet paint and still unfinished buildings, roads and new shops. But that´s why it´s so charming over here...

In any case, expect a lively, busy weekend ahead.

Kindle reader makes a move towards the rest of the world

A recently arrived expat in Piriapolis has been asking about Kindle access for months, and nothing seems to work for her. No network to support the download of books from the Amazon device means she has to download her purchased e-book into her computer and then upload into her Kindle. But that appears to be not that easy to accomplish.

Enter the new "international" version of the device, which, unlike its exclusively U.S. version, runs on a 3G network rather than on a CDMA. The article on Betanews explains a bit pros and cons, but for you Kindle junkies out there, there is hope at least for the medium term.