Pet sitter and art of living workshop

So thanks to pet lover and adopter Cristina Soria we now have a pet-sitting service to recommend. No, Cristina is not doing the pet-sitting, but she has test-driven the services of one Teresita Fontoura, tel. zero nine five, nine zero one zero seven five, who regularly offers certain pet-sitting services, and recommends her whole-heartedly.

Teresita´s services take the form of 15 to 20 minute visits for up to three pets, where she 

• checks all is well in the home
• does the feeding
• clears litter boxex for cats only
• changes water
• pooper scoops the yard
• calls and waits for vet if necessary
• pets and plays with the critters

Her fees for the Playa Mansa area from Parada 1 through 39 are UYU150 per visit for up to three pets, and UYU20 per additional pet. Please call and ask if you are outside this area. Payment is 50% on first visit and 50% upon return. She will email a form for the pet owner to fill.

Another one of our frequent contributors, Gabriele Preusse has sent us notice of an "art of living" workshop to be held at Casa Grande. 

According to the promotional flyer, if you take this workshop, you will:

• Eliminate stress
• Increase your creativity
• Awaken your awareness and energy
• Learn to enjoy each minute of your life
• Find a feeling of belonging to your surroundings

All for UYU1.500, or UYU900 for students under 24 and retirees. The dates are December 3 through 7. On weekdays the hours are 8 through 10 pm, and Sat. and Sundays from 9 am to 3 pm.

To sign up, email marianoel.gonzalez at elartedevivir dot org or call Alejandra (zero nine nine eight one two four two four), Maria Noel ( zero nine nine six one three five six nine), or Silvain (zero nine four four four one zero five five)

Have you firmed your plans for New Year´s Eve yet?

Sounds a bit early, doesn´t it? And yet... With Punta del Este becoming an increasingly Brazilian town, and with Brazilians concentrating their visits during the famous Reveillon period, from Dec. 26 to Jan 5, all the better to enjoy their New Year´s Eve in style, the local way of life has been gradually changing, some might say for the merrier.

However, waiting till Dec. 31 at 5 pm to make dinner reservations at the harborside spots may not be an option anymore. And the strategy of driving down on January 1st with a car loaded with luggage and family but without a rental, hoping for a good last minute deal from unrented property may not be so smart either, depending on your requirements.

You see, the Brazilians start thinking about Reveillon in September, and go into a frenzy of planning and reservations in October. By November it´s only the procrastinators who are still scrambling to confirm their lodging, dining or partying venues for the biggest night of the year.

Locally, the rental market has been turned upside down by this famous Reveillon (pron. ray-vay-yon) that no realtor can spell right (my favorite spelling in a real-estate advertising was "rebellion"). It used to be that Brazilians would attempt to rent a house for those 2 weeks, only to be told "No way! Can't be done! You will ruin my month of January!" meaning that a landlord would be renting out the first week of January and thus lose out on the most expensive rental month.

The market was not that quick to realize that nobody was renting out for the entire month anymore, or that they could charge our spending-happy northern neighbors the equivalent of the full month of January for those 10 to 15 days, and still have 3 weeks left of January to rent at whatever price. But eventually they got it and Reveillon became established in Punta del Este. And the white dress-code extravagant parties with Brazilian DJs multiplied.

Now here´s a way we can all share in the Brazilian New Year´s Eve joy: meet on harborside promenade across from Lo de Tere restaurant for the countdown, dressed in white please, lugging your own bottle of champagne. Enjoy the fireworks show put on by the restaurants and by every home across the bay, and then dance till dawn on the street. That's free.

Otherwise, reserve a table at one of the restaurants along the harbor (usually a steeply priced prix fixe menu), don the ridiculous hats provided as party favors, and then join the hoi polloi on the street for some real fun. Remember to say "Feliz ano novo!" to lots of strangers.

Monday´s gathering, next Sunday´s potluck lunch

So this is how we roll... Frankly, a day like today makes us all feel smart to live here. Nobody could stop sighing and marvelling at the beautiful weather and the even more gorgeous views from our terrace at the Club de Pesca.

Several attendees suggested this is where we should meet every month throughout the summer. If they will take us, I guess. Otherwise we can just stage an invasion without reservations...

In addition to several returnees from the northern hemisphere there were, as usual by now, a few recent arrivals, other newcomers who have been living here forever and were not a part of the group yet, and a couple who were on their initial exploratory trip. All from the U.S. of A. this time, and not from Canada, or elsewhere as in previous meetings where the balance tilted in other directions.

Now on to Sunday´s potluck. Please email if you plan to attend, and let me know how many people are coming with you and what you plan to bring.

Starting time is 1 PM. Bring both some beverage and something to eat. If you don´t or can´t cook, we accept things to throw in the BBQ.

The directions, again, are

Go to Kilometer 107 of the Ruta Interbalnearia highway. Turn towards the ocean.

Drive for about 3.5 kilometers along winding country road, past two small bridges. After a stone house on your left, pass the speedbump and once you see the ocean, directly on the left, below is our house. It looks like this

Novelist wants to chat one-on-one with expats on Wednesday

Author and Buenos Aires resident Maya Frost will be in town doing research work for her upcoming novel and would love to meet and chat with expats wishing to share their experiences.

Her intention is to work ideas she gets from these chats into a composite character for her new novel, which will be set in Piriapolis.

If you are willing to meet her on Wednesday, between the hours of 1pm and 4pm, write to her at maya at mayafrost dot com.

Also, check out her blog New Globals, which is a great read and dead on on many issues.

The blueberries, the blueberries!

They´re in season now, and are being offered to us, with free home delivery in the Piriapolis-Punta del Este area. See announcement below from the producers themselves.


We are glad to announce that we started the BLUEBERRY picking season in our little farm. They are - as usual -SWEET, ORGANIC & TASTY. This year we are NOT opening the farm for people to pick their own, but we are delivering fresh picked berries. The season will be only for about 6 more weeks.

Interested buyers should call / send SMS at 094 301684 or send an e-mail to berrypde@yahoo.com . Special discount for the regular Expats members of the Punta del Este, Piriapolis and Montevideo groups and for those interested in buying a larger amount for freezing are available.

No delivery charges to the Piriapolis and Punta del Este area and yet a fair price to Montevideo.

Regards
Alex von Graevenitz
Lafimar SA - Alex von Graevenitz

+ 598 (0) 4102666
+ 598 94 301684 (cel.)
+ 094 301684 dde. Uruguay
Chacra Las Garzas- Laguna del Sauce - Punta del Este - Uruguay

Ballet studio led by world-class dancer coming to Ruta 12

Our friend Patricia at Swan Lake Forest was excited to share the good news with us: Not only will renowned ballet dancer Julio Bocca become the spokesman for their development, but the recently closed deal includes setting up a dance studio on the premises, to be called Estudio de Danza Clásica y Comedia Musical Julio Bocca-Ricky Pashkus.

Bocca, who retired a couple of years ago, has been visiting Uruguay often. This year press reports indicated he would start a ballet company for the Teatro Solís, the country´s recently restored performing arts center.

Frankly, besides the clever marketing idea, having a world-class dancer set up a studio in Punta del Este is a clear positivie for our town, and the fact that it's located on the less commercially developed western corridor is also welcome..

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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.