OK, I am getting excited about this one, we're hosting a wine tasting on Friday, October 16, at 7 PM at the common party room of Brava 28, where we had our pot-luck brunch a couple of months ago.
The wines will be from the Pizzorno, Marichal and Castillo Viejo wineries, which are excellent wines and not the most commonly available at the supermarkets. Usually our event's hosts, Tim and Amelie Plaehn, also bring along some reasonably priced bottles for those interested in purchasing any of the wines tasted.
In addition to the wines, there will be cheeses, crackers and empanadas so we don't all stumble out knackered.
The ticket will be 200 pesos per person. Because of the nature of the event, I will need positive confirmation from those planning on attending, at least three days before the 16th. The sooner the better. Please be nice and confirm as soon as possible and thus contribute to making my life easier.
Following this evening event, we're holding our regular third Monday meeting for October, which happens to be on the 19th, at 11 AM as usual, at Kitty's, a restaurant and cafe right inside the harbor. Should the weather be nice, their tables on the esplanade overlooking the boats are a delight, otherwise, we'll have enough room indoors.
These two events are close together but a) people are still arriving back from their warm winter destinations, and b) not everyone can manage either the AM or the PM times, so we offer a couple of diffferent options.
For November we're planning a pot-luck barbeque lunch at our place on Sunday, November 22nd, and we still haven't decided on the location of the third Monday meeting. One suggestion that sounded great was L'Auberge, which is both roomy, good for good or bad weather, and beautiful.
Lastly, we may be having a year-end pot-luck party at one of our member's homes, still to be confirmed, on the 19th of December.
On with the space for rent. It's a very conveniently located 40 m2 (400 square feet more or less) space overlooking Plaza Mexico, complete with bathroom and small kitchen, renting for US$700 per month, with no condo expenses. Please contact dorisher at gmail dot com if you're interested.
Many readers may not be aware that the recent influx of foreigners settling in Uruguay has spawned many expat groups along the coast, all the way from Colonia to Punta del Este.
One of the most numerous, or fastest growing is the lunch group in Piriapolis. It started over a year or so ago as a "ladies lunch group," which sounded quite unappealing to many ladies by making us feel really old and useless, but subsequently changed its name and nature to simply a lunch group, and better yet, a co-ed one.
Under the organization of Jean Petley and Kristy Tonsing the group meets once a month in various spots in and around Piriapolis. My favorite was Silvana's house, but when that became unavailable, the other lunch spots were nice on views but terrible on the food front, so we were thrilled to hear they finally went the pot-luck way. You can't go wrong with a pot-luck bbq.
My correspondent at the latest lunch, Karen Nelson, confirms it was as fantastic as expected. Unfortunately I could not make it but Karen sent us some pictures and tells us the setting was beautiful, the company great and the food bountiful and delicious. The venue was the the brand new home in Las Flores -- west of Piriapolis -- of recent Seattle transplants Rex and Sharri.
Rex, the host
Hector the bbq-meister and Judith Levy
Neal Nelson and Dennis Tonsing
Other expats groups meet in Montevideo every Sunday for brunch, and on certain Thursdays for happy hour, and there is a monthly meeting in Atlantida as well. There is much "cross-pollination" going on, and it would appear that Harold and Judith Levy, who live in a farm in Soca, attend all of them!
The guys at MundoMac are holding an introduction to the Snow Leopard operating system this Saturday, at 7:30 pm at the Liga de Fomento, that white house located on the corner of 31 and 18 streets. Enjoy.
For now... further delays are always possible, right? It was supposed to be opened on October 5, but the launch of operation of the new airport has been moved to Nov. 15, with a fake inauguration with the president (before he becomes the lame duck) still on for October 5.
Despite the disappointment in the postponement -- yes, we held the naive hope that the works would be concluded on schedule -- after living our entire lives with an embarrassing airport, a few weeks more or less don't change the fact that Uruguay will have its first dignified international airport in decades.
I'm not counting the Punta del Este airport, which is tiny-but-dignified, because it's not truly international. That's because the Carrasco airport concession terms hold Punta del Este airport hostage, barring it from becoming truly international by limiting the number and types of flights allowed. Some day someone will pay a bribe in the other direction and Punta del Este airport will take off. We pray.
A word of warning for those flying out of Carrasco and coming from points east. Road works on new access to the airport means that Ruta 101 will remain closed for a few days more. If, like we did recently, you take a right after the second toll-booth on your way to the airport, you'll find that when you're almost there, you'll be forced to detour to your left and get lost with no signs whatsoever indicating how to get to the airport.
Our advice is to abstain for the time being from making that turn and just go to Carrasco on Giannatasio Ave., or even better, on the waterfront road that starts at El Pinar, and then turn back on Avenida de las Americas (where that bridge/overpass are at the entrance to Carrasco.)
This is not the shortest possible, but then again, you don't get lost, confused or obfuscated right before a flight, and you may actually save time by avoiding Giannatasio traffic-lights, traffic-jams, suicidal moped drivers, pedestrians, jugglers and other video-game-like perils, especially if traveling around rush hour.
If you've never used the El Pinar waterfront road, it's a good alternative to Giannatasio at all times. The only bad part is accessing it (going through fourth-world roads/commercial center through El Pinar where the gas station is on the Interbalnearia highway, then making a right onto that road that ends on the waterfront, all the time going into video-game mode). But for those 5 minutes, the rest is considerably less scary than Giannatasio all the way to Carrasco, and faster.
Coming back form Montevideo all you do is continue on the Rambla after Carrasco (making a right after the bridge) and go on until the road ends and forces you to turn left. When you reach the main commercial street, you make another left that will leave you by the Ancap gas station.
As our friend says, at ten months, this is not the age you can get away with taking a dog to Tienda Inglesa in hopes of finding it a home.
Jordan is medium sized, neutered and living with his sibling, part of a litter of three that appeared last December at the farm she was living in. Two is one too many dogs for Kathryn who is no longer living in a farm. Post a comment here if you're interested and I'll put you in touch with Kathryn.
This sounds exciting on many fronts. The first edition of the Punta del Este Food & Wine Festivalis scheduled for March 18 - 21, spanning the length and breadth of Punta. (See lists below)
Chefs and sommeliers confirmed so far range from the local to the regional and international, although heavily concentrated on Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and the U.S. Undoubtedly if it takes, which I'm positive it will, in future editions the festival will grow in size and diversity. But for a start, this is fantastic. Kudos to organizer Gabriel Byalistocki.
Besides the obvious fun of having this wealth of culinary events to choose from during a time of the year when the crazy crowds are gone and things are back to civilized, we see many positive aspects in this festival, including the potential for other chefs to discover Punta del Este as a market and choose to set up shop here, as well as the encouragement and exposure to the local ones who serve us year in and year out.
And, as a firm believer that the further internationalization of Punta del Este will benefit everyone living or traveling here, there's the additional benefit of the PR effort surrounding this event, which will attract foreign lifestyle press and help to consolidate Punta del Este as an international holiday and residential destination.
Tickets go on sale October 15. Below is a list of chefs and sommeliers, and of the events programmed.
Participating chefs and sommeliers
Paola Carosella Arturito, Sao Paulo
Hernan Taiana Restaurant T, Montoya (Punta del Este)
Gastón Yelicich Isla de Flores, José Ignacio & Montevideo
Charlie Betbeder Lo de Charlie, Punta del Este
Pam y Hubert O Farrell O Farrell, Manantiales (Punta del Este) & Buenos Aires
Floyd Cardoz Tabla, New York
Douglas Rodriguez Nuela, New York
Francois Payard Payard, New York & Rio de Janeiro
Ben Ford Ford Filling Station, Los Angeles
Rodrigo Oliveira Mocoto, Sao Paulo
Federico Amandola Al Forno, La Barra (Punta del Este)
Carla Pernambuco Carlota, Sao Paulo
Fernando Trocca Sucre, Buenos Aires
Germán Martitegui Casa Cruz, Buenos Aires
Martín Rebaudino Oviedo, Buenos Aires
Pablo Massey Restaurant Uruguay, Buenos Aires
Francis Mallmann Hotel Garzón, Garzón-Uruguay, Patagonia Sur, Bs.As.
Máximo López May Palacio Duhau - Park Hyatt, Buenos Aires
Montse Estruch El Cingle, Vacaresses (Barcelona)
Federico Fialayre Sommelier, Tomo I, Buenos Aires
Charlie Arturaola Master Sommelier, Miami
Rodrigo Kohn Sommelier, Grand Hyatt Sao Paulo
Raul Moreira Beefeaters, Punta del Este
Luis Acunia El Pobre Luis, Buenos Aires
Events
Thursday 18/3 8 PM Welcome to Punta Solanas Convention Center US$ 50
Friday 19/3 1 PM Modern Jazz & Cigars Finca Narbona US$ 100
Friday 19/3 1 PM Women on Top Las Cumbres US$ 100
Friday 19/3 8 PM Best of Argentina Fundación Atchugarry/E. VIK US$ 100
Friday 19/3 8 PM New World Great Bottlings Mantra Beach Club US$ 100
Saturday 20/3 1 PM Great American Restaurants Finca Narbona US$ 100
Saturday 20/3 1 PM Garzón: An experience by Malmann Pueblo Garzón US$ 100
Saturday 20/3 8 PM Uruguay Paseo por los Sentidos Fundación Atchugarry/Estancia VIK US$ 100
Saturday 20/3 8 PM Aquarela do Brasil Las Piedras/Fasano US$ 100
Sunday 21/3 12:30 AM Gauchos & Barbeque La Pataia US$ 50
Curious about safety and crime in Maldonado and Punta del Este, this week I talked to people on the frontlines of the issue, from cops to security companies and insurance agents. Sometimes anecdotal evidence may cloud the bigger picture, and on the other hand a vague, blanket statement such as “Uruguay is safe” may be the cause of disappointments in the face of frustrated expectations.
So here´s what I found. First of all, Maldonado, the province where Punta del Este and Piriápolis are located, is by all accounts a world apart from the rest of Uruguay. Within Maldonado itself, the coastal towns, villages and neighborhoods are likewise in a different league from other urban enclaves such as Maldonado town, Pan de Azúcar or even erstwhile sleepy San Carlos.
This is because where the poor and working class reside, the infamous pasta base (crack cocaine) has taken hold with a massive epidemic that is still a few years away from subsiding. Thus, the daily robberies of small businesses in towns across Uruguay, often violent, for the few pesos found in petty cash.
The relative security of coastal Maldonado is not an accident. Security here is the hen that lays the golden eggs, and it has to be protected as such. According to the people I talked to, there is an express message from the government to the cops, and down to the crooks here –they all know each other apparently— which is: “No violent crime here guys, or else”.
On the other hand, burglaries are a fact of life in our area, but the good news is that they are on the decline. This according not only to cops but to private security company owner and one of the leading insurers in town, who two years ago gave me a completely opposite impression.
On the recent turnaround of the areas of El Golf and San Rafael, which for years suffered a disproportionate number of break-ins, the consensus is that a neighborhood watch effort with professional help from a former police chief produced the intended results.
Police I talked to stressed the need to be vigilant, to communicate among neighbors and to call either the local station or the 911 line to report suspicious characters or activity. Please call, they said. Uruguayans are not naturally given to community efforts, but any initiative involving security is sure to find positive reception.
About the forms of burglary, modus operandi varies between summer and off-season crimes. In the summer apparently professional bands of robbers come from Argentina and elsewhere looking for cash, jewelry and art. Summer break-ins also happen during gatherings at homes where people retire to the back yard, and often leave the front of the house unattended, doors unlocked or windows open. Opportunistic theft also involves breaking the window of a car where a bag or a jacket are left in plain sight on the car seat.
Another classic tale of burglary involves cleaning out a house on the same evening of people’s arrival. You are seen unloading a car with various bags, and later are seen leaving to have dinner out or to go shopping for groceries, only to come back home and find the cash, the laptop and the digital cameras gone. In winter, the M.O. is to go in looking for laptops and flat-screen TVs, the only two items of any resale value.
The common sense tip is to hide your laptop and valuables when you leave. Usually the burglars are in the house for just a couple of minutes and they do a frenzied, general sweep that may look like the aftermath of a tsunami to the returning owner. Another piece of advice is to abstain from throwing out boxes of new electronic equipment in front of your house. Rather, flatten down the boxes and take them to a dumpster.
On the issue of dogs, where the folklore says that a dog in a yard may be subject to poisoning by a burglar, everyone I consulted scoffed at the idea. Burglars have tricks to leave a dog locked inside a room of a house if the dog is left inside, and there were no known instances of dog poisoning in burglaries that anyone could recall for me. There are however instances of dog kidnapping for ransom, so don´t let your dog roam the neighborhood alone, especially if it is a pure breed, and more especially if it’s a Golden Retriever, and don´t leave your yard gate unlocked. Have a fence surrounding your property.
Lastly, there´s the importance of having an alarm system with a security company to respond to a break-in, if possible with outdoor alarm sensors, to further cut down their action time. Some of the companies working in Punta del Este have extremely fast response times (3 to 5 minutes with Maxima, the others should be checked out) and this reduces the damage that can be suffered in an eventual burglary and can lead to the arrest of the crooks.
In the case of burglaries with the owners inside, the alleged use of a “sleep gas” was downplayed as a myth. What happens is that burglars go in when we are in our deepest sleep, and for vacationers or weekenders they may even be helped by our own alcohol drinking beforehand, making it unlikely that we will hear a sound. Another good reason to have either the dog or the alarm system or both in place.
