The joys of buying a car in Uruguay

Instant gratification through consumption is not something of a national trait in Uruguay. It's hard to tell which is the hen and which is the egg here: is the lack of interest in consumption as sport the reason why virtually every manufactured item is deemed a "luxury good" and taxed through the heavens, or is the high taxation the reason why we resort to other, less material pleasures? Probably the former.

In any case, once we come to terms with the high cost of a vehicle, which believe me, in relative terms is more expensive than in most developed countries, considering our per capita GDP, we happily proceed to the fantasy portion of the process. What can we afford? If price is not an issue, or after establishing a price range, which are the relative pros and cons of the likely candidates? This is the brief, happy part. 

But no longer have you narrowed down or made your choice than the disappointments or frustrations begin. Because basically, nothing is available for immediate delivery, and whatever is available is nowhere near what you had in mind.

Say you want a white car with full features, then the only thing available is in royal blue and with no radio, aircon or airbags. "Standard" as they say here, rather than "Full".

"But if you wait one more month, we're receiving our new shipment, and there is just one in exactly the color and with the features you want. If you leave a downpayment today, though, because there's no guarantee that it will last two more days."

Fine, you give in, after all, the more you delay, the more months you will have to wait. You pay the downpayment, and wait. The date comes with no car or dealership calling you. Any calls you make get you the answers "it's shipped already, will be arriving at port in a couple of days" or "it's coming out of customs in a couple of days." Etc. This "couple of days" period is actually shorthand for "a couple of weeks or months" so finally, one, two or three months late, you find yourself in possession of your car.

Hence, the advice is, grab whatever you find for immediate delivery, unless you are in no rush whatsoever, and be prepared to wait up to 10x what they tell you it will take to get the vehicle.

Save these dates: November meetings, the 16th and 22nd

The location of our next Monday meeting is the red-roofed structure on the beach. Not the pool.

So we have two events coming up in November, one is our regular Monday morning gathering, on the 16th, at 11AM at the Club de Pesca, a very old restaurant on the beach, right across the Conrad Hotel, at Parada 3 of the Playa Mansa.

The Club de Pesca has a shabby-unchic style, a step into another, less glitzy time feel about it, that we cherish as a reminder of old Punta, prior to nouveau riche sensibilities where evereything is baptised with names evoking Miami, of all places.

Beyond the "let's steep ourselves in the real history of the place" there's the fact that the Club de Pesca has a fantastic terrace on the beach, overlooking the fishing pier. And a very roomy interior with fantastic views as well if we're rained out or weather is somehow uncooperating.

The next "megaevento" as they like to say in Punta del Este, is our "day in the country" potluck lunch/bbq at our home, on, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22. The address is a bit ridiculous, so the directions are easier: drive to KM107 of Ruta Interbalnearia --the highway to Montevideo-- and make a turn towards the ocean. Drive on this country road for 3 or 3.5 kms, past two little bridges, and when you can see the ocean, on your left is our house. the one with the fence, the shrubs and the dogs.

We are walking distance to the beach and there is a swimming pool as well, so do bring swimming gear.

Being a potluck affair, we will require food and beverage contributions from everyone. ... I am a firm believer that in terms of food, everything evens out in the end, so just let me know what you're bringing in case I need to "steer" the last pledges in any particular direction, and shoot for something that's your best or classic or whatever recipe... or if you're not preparing anything, you can just buy meats for the grill.

Start a business, take up pet sitting!

For over a year now I have received calls or emails enquiring about pet sitters. Virtually every expat we know has one or more pets, and not enough of a local social network to rely on when traveling to take care of their pets. Expats don't have family members to call on, or maybe feel they can't ask for such a favor of people they have known for a relatively short period of time.

Do I know any pet sitters? No, not a one. When I mentioned this word to my Mom yesterday she replied "A WHAAAAAA?" That's right, it's not even a concept that's very understandable to many. So how bout some expats out there with too much time on their hands start a pet-sitting business, or a nice pet B&B?

If you do, please let us know, I have a request for services in December, and more requests will likely crop up.

In the meantime, if you do have any household staff, they are the ones supposed to do your pet-sitting. The advantage of this mode is that a) the pet remains in his/her/its home, and b) there is human life at your home during your travel absences, making it safer from burglaries than an empty, closed up home.

Absent that, see if you find any kids in your vicinity willing to do it for a few bucks. There are not many chances of child employment in Uruguay, so they may be particularly enthusiastic about it.

A call to boicot taxis this Friday

Uruguay is awakening to community action and concern in the age of email, Facebook et al, and an example of this new awareness is the call to boicot taxis on Friday, Oct.30, in protest against the death of two young people in two separate incidents in which taxi drivers disregarded stop signs in Montevideo, ultimately causing the deaths of one passenger, in one accident, and of a young mother of two who was mowed off the sidewalk in another.

A third young woman has been in a coma for almost a month. The bitter irony is that her boyfriend, when leaving a nightclub, had decided to act responsibly and leave behind his own car, in favor of a taxi, because he had drunk alcohol that night. This is particularly ironic because the awareness of drunk driving being a killer is not something very ingrained in Uruguayan society, so it is particularly sad to hear of this kid dying as a result of such responsible behaviour, uncharacteristic of Uruguayan society.

Hence, the call to not take taxis on Friday. I don't know if the blame here is 100% on the taxi trade. Frankly, everyone drives like mad, especially in Montevideo, although I can say that in Punta del Este taxis show particular disregard for safety, speed limits and traffic rules in general. So although they are not the only one to blame in a society where safety is not such a great priority for anyone, I would personally participate in this boicot if only to call attention to the matter, and also to taxi drivers.

A weekend for the pious and the heretic both...

November 2, all saints day, the day of the dead, or however you call it, coincides with Halloween celebrations. It must all go back to the same thing, way back when, right? The point is that it gives us a long weekend, and with it cultural activities, high and low both.

The Maldonado Cathedral is offering a vocal/instrumental ensemble concert with a Bach repertoire (see poster above).

Meanwhile, Il Belvedere (Parada 29 of the Brava Beach, that hotel bungalows place) is hosting a grownups Halloween costume party on Saturday, Oct. 31, starting at 10 PM. Tickets are only being presold, no tickets at the door, so call Ileana at zero nine nine eight one one seven seven seven. Admission is UYU500 and buys you unlimited drinks (of what kind I don't know) and fingerfood, as well as a chance to enter costume contest to win unspecified prizes. Party on.

Election results

Uruguay's coat of arms

The general elections held Sunday, where the Presidence and higher and lower chambers of Congress were elected was a display of civic culture that made everyone proud, but in which the two leading contenders came out as losers.

The left wing coalition and incumbent, the Frente Amplio, or Broad Front, appeared as the clear leader in the polls with between 47% and 48% of the vote, pending final counts, but crucially short of the 50% + 1 votes needed to win in the first round. Hence, the ballotage, or second round scheduled for November 29.

In addition to not reaching the outright majority, the FA showed the first decrease in voting percetange in its history, with final numbers not out yet, but in the vicinity of 2 to 3 percentage points. To top the sense of "defeat" that clouds the FA campaign, none of the two referendums sponsored by the governing party were approved.One proposed the annullment of provisions granting amnesty from prosecution to government figures who participated in human rights violations or crimes during the military dictatorship in the 70s and 80s. The other one proposed allowing overseas vote by mail to the hundreds of thousands of Uruguayans living overseas and presumed to be predominantly FA sympathizers. All together, the results produced a press conference with somber faces and a visibly irritated presidential candidate, Pepe Mujica, who didn't hide his contempt for the press and who, rather than make use of the free national broadcast to the entire country, rushed to dismiss the Q&A.

On to the front runner. The "Blancos" (whites) or Partido Nacional had a pathetic election, with a steady decline in votes over the last couple of months of the election, finishing below the 29% mark. Candidate Alberto Lacalle, who will now be disputing the presidential office with the FA's Mujica, gave a good, sensible speach, which some pundits accused of being too long, and managed a few tears in the end.

The colorados were the big revelation. Pedro Bordaberry voted way above pollsters' projections and almost doubled the party's percentage of the vote in the 2005 election. Bordaberry --well, he now goes by Pedro-- immediately announced his support for Lacalle, to great cheers from his own supporters.

The Independent party also made strides ending with 2.5% of the vote, but failed to get the wished-for senate seat.

The crucial issue of legislative majority is still undefined, it was that close. Should the Frente Amplio win the second round, it will win the majority thanks to the seat occupied by the Vice President. Otherwise, it may still obtain this majority from the division of "leftover" votes that is prorrated between the parties.

Maldonado coat of arms, ain't it cute!

In Maldonado itself, the Frente Amplio did worse than overall nationally, as it garnered just 40% of the vote, with the Partido Nacional reaching 31%, the Colorados 21% and the Partido Independiente 2.8%.

The FA also slid drastically with respect to the performance in Maldonado in the previous election, when it had managed 49% of the votes. The greatest advance was seen in the Partido Colorado, with more than double the party's votes this time around, while the Partido Nacional also lost hugely, 8 percentage points.

This all came about as the voting base in the department grew more than 12% over the 2005 election, when there were 108,000 registered voters, and about 28% over the 1999 elections.

Montevideo Swing performs at C Bistro on Friday evening

The trio will be performing jazz standards from the 30s through 50s at C Bistro (formerly Company Bar) located on 29th street between 20th and 18th streets. Across from the Tommy Hilfiger store... There will be a collection of 1920s movie star photos on exhibit as well.