Open skies for Punta del Este airport! Hip, hip, hurrah!

I have often ranted about the moronic decision by whomever takes those decisions to have Punta del Este airport reduced to a local landing strip. As a result, people travel here not when they would like to, but when they can find a seat, which is a rare occurrence that comes at a steep price (I recently flew to Buenos Aires round trip for USD400).

Well, this is about to improve, as national aviation authorities have approved operating Punta del Este airport in open skies mode during the high season, from Dec. 20 through March 15. It´s a start. According to press reports, any airline will be allowed to land in Punta del Este subject to a 24 hour application/notice process.

Authorities also allowed BQB (Buquebus airline) to operate the Punta del Este-Cordoba and Punta del Este-Rosario routes with Argentina (the second and third largest sources of Argentine tourists after Buenos Aires), as well as Montevideo-Ezeiza (the international airport in Buenos Aires).

In addition, a third airline, Sol, which already operates in Argentina, was also allowed to fly the same Punta del Este-Córdoba and Rosario routes through March 15, in addition to Montevideo-Buenos Aires and Montevideo-Madrid.

And, uhhh, yes, the Montevideo airport´s new terminal´s opening date has been postponed again, this time without a new deadline to blow. Its inauguration is now "imminent" but not so imminent as Dec. 15, as previously planned. Originally the terminal was set to open in October, then November, then December. It´s hard to see how they could possibly accomplish the transfer from one terminal to the other in the middle of the holiday season, so my bet is mid to late January.

Corrected details of our December dinner

I don´t know what I was thinking, but all key details came out wrong... The right time of our potluck dinner at Doris´ on Saturday, the 18th, is 8 pm, not earlier. 

And the food contribution, which reads like it should be something for the grill exclusively, is actually anything you want, from snacks to side dishes, salads, desserts, etc....

December gatherings

As usual I mix up the date of the month and day of the week. So the right day and date of our third Monday meeting is the 21st of December.

That one will take place as usual at 11AM at Las Ostras, located on the waterfront, towards the tip of the Peninsula, about a block past the seafood vendor stalls at the harbor. The place used to be called El Mejillón, hence the sign of the photo below... It´s huge, with great views, and they can accommodate us rain or shine.

But our "special" year-end event is a potluck dinner party graciously hosted by Doris Hernández at her place. This will take place on Saturday, December 19, starting at 7 pm.

Please bring both a food contribution (can be meat or anything to be cooked on the bbq grill) and a beverage contribution.

The directions to get to her place are below, but if you have any questions, please contact her at dorisher at gmail dot com.

Directions:
 

a) If you are coming from La Barra or Punta del Este,

• take Roosevelt Avenue towards Maldonado, following the bus stop signs that say "Parada (number)"
• go one block past the sign for Parada 17 (corner of Mar Chiquita street), and
• turn right on Salt Lake street. Drive for one block and you will see the house in front of you

b) if you are coming along the Mansa beach,

• Turn inland at the traffic lights on Parada 24 of the Mansa Beach, into Avenida España.
• At the first roundabout, turn right on Roosevelt Avenue.
• After you cross Martiniano Chiossi street, turn left on the first entrance (Salt Lake street), and drive for one block. You will see the house in front of you.

This is what her house looks like.

A new member´s life journey to Punta

The stories of how people come to choose Punta del Este as their home are as diverse as the number of people we talk to. At our store a few days ago I had the pleasure of meeting Leslie (Raymond) who says that in several years coming here he never met an expat of the gringo variety.

He is now in our mailing list and will surely be attending one of our meetings in April, when he returns. In the meantime, here´s his story:

Yes, it is true I am from the Rancho-- western Kansas. I assume that is why I like space, since I grew up with miles of vistas and great food from our own gardens, cattle, chickens, fish from our bordos and river, and dairy products. My family was European and maintained many of those values, including education. So, I had many educational advantages due to family efforts to seek out those venues... even if that mean driving miles. College was always assumed as the normal route and I proceed through the BA in Kansas and then to Colorado for my MS and PhD. This experience lead me away from the ranchlands and to New York and Washington where I had new experiences through private and governmental work, including the White House office of the first President Bush. During those years, especially when relocating to the west coast in California, there were many opportunites for travel to Europe and to Mexico. But, I had started keeping a file on Punta de Este since an article appeared about 15 years ago in Town and Country magazine. And acquaintances who were social friends spoke of this part of South America, including their bird shooting and fishing trips. And, a very close friend whose father represented General Motors in South American spoke of the number of days travel to fly on a DC3 from Buenos Aires to Boston where she attended Smith College. And, I reminisced about my flights on a DC3 to college from Kansas City to Denver with several Kansas rural stops where it seemed to me the navigation system was to align the plane with rows of corn that were planted in front of the approachs. However, since flights to Europe were always so cheap compared to South America, it was not until several years ago that I came to Buenos Aires and then to Uruguay. I was then living in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where I have a real estate company which is associated with Sotheby´s International Realty --and had become a Mexican citizen (dual)-- but I immediately found Uruguay my new found home: it reminded me of my younger days when I was in Europe and admired the way of life. It is such a contrast to Mexico; the amenities here in Punta del Este would be difrficult to duplicate any other place in the world. To me, it has the best features of the best world options as a place to live. I always ask myself "why did I not come years earlier." My realtor called one day in January 2008 and said the new YOO building is open and selling out quickly: are you interested? I wrote to say, YES, and buy one for me-- which we did that day and now it is announced occupancy will be in April of 2010. It is a great location for all services with the Shopping Center and Devoto within a short walk. And the beach at Parada 8 with the dunes that remind me of our beach home we had in Carmel California. But, I have my eye on an old Pathfinder or Defender Range Rover for driving out to the beaches and to the campo. I don`t know many people here and I now live alone as I have no immediate surviving family members. I am looking forward to meeting others who have experienced the same attraction to the beauty, the culture, and the language of Punta del Este. My biggest regret of the moment is that it is difficult to travel with my dog who would truly love evening walks along the beach or the tree lined streets. I look forward to the coming years of residency. I return in May 2010 to take YOO occupancy. (Raymond) Leslie Dugan

Uruguay tourism up 9.5% in November, and the war of the Casinos rages on

Tourist arrivals in Uruguay jumped 9.5% in November against the same month last year, impervious apparently to the crisis so severely affecting other areas in the world. The total to date is about 2 million arrivals, according to the Tourism Ministry, as cited by El País.


Maybe part of it is fueled by the current "war of the casinos" raging in the Punta del Este Peninsula. This weekend, a momentous one marked by the start of the First Southamerican Beach Games, the usual motorcycle "convention" with several hundred bikes roaring around, and the national holidays in both Argentina and Brazil, saw the inauguration of the new Nogaró casino, now "by Mantra."

The occasion was celebrated with a Ruben Rada live show minutes after (or was it concurrently) with cranes putting the finishing touches on the revamped facade of the decades old establishment located at the beginning of Gorlero. Back at the farm, I mean, at the Conrad casino, a poker tournament dished out USD1.5 million in prizes, but management was really rankled when it found out its hotel guests had received in their rooms hand delivered invites to the rival´s opening party.


Opening night, with scaffolding still up...

Conrad has been fighting in and out of court to prevent Mantra from taking over the Nogaró casino on grounds that its license granted over a decade ago guaranteed it exclusivity foreverandeverandeverandever in the private casino field, and that Mantra is benefitting from Conrad´s advertising budget. The hotel claims it spends USD10 million in promotion overseas. Authorities say competition is healthy, and frankly, seeing the Nogaró clean up and join the 21st century seems to be "for the greater good," and that includes Conrad.

Ruben Rada live and free on Saturday at Nogaró re-opening

If you like or are even curious about Afro-Uruguayan music, Ruben Rada is as good as it gets. And this Saturday, Dec. 5 he´s playing for free at the opening party for the refurbished Nogaró Casino, now "by Mantra" at the corner of Gorlero and Calle 31.

"El Negro Rada", as he´s known to his fans, is expected to play sometime after 10 pm, as per the invite. How long after is anyone´s guess...

Let the games begin

The First Southamerican Beach Games kick off today, with double venues in Punta del Este and Montevideo. That´s the reason for all those people milling around who look like they stepped off a cruise ship although no cruise ship appears to be in sight.

The event will bring 1,500 competitors to the country, with Montevideo hosting all the ball-chasing activities and Punta del Este the sailing, surfin, triathlon, swimming and water skiing competitions. 

The games will run through December 13, so plenty of chances of catching something or other, weather permitting.

Here´s a shout-out to Monica and Brian: Surfing runs from the 9th through the 13th, in Montoya! Enjoy...