Sunday, December 04, 2005
Ready to Retire in Uruguay
When we are rich and ready to retire, we are moving to Uruguay. We hope this happens sooner rather than later. We've found the perfect spot. Plus, if all goes according to plan, we'll be able to keep a couple of mopeds in the garage.
We bit the bullet and rented a moped today. I wanted to go to Casa Pueblo, the white-washed castle of a local artist clinging to a cliff overlooking a watery expanse. It's outside the limits of Punta del Este and without a car we were left wondering how to get there.
We asked about a bus at the bus station, but were told there is no direct bus to Casa Pueblo. Instead the woman behind the infomation counter suggested we board a bus towards Montevideo and tell the driver we wanted to get off at Casa Pueblo. The driver, she said, would drop us at the side of the road and then we could walk the rest of the way. We suffered flashbacks of our horrid walk along the road outside San Miguel de Allende, Mexico while we were trying to find the hot springs called "La Gruta". That option was out!
Next we checked with a couple of tour outfits who were more than happy to take us there for $20 US each. We decided renting a moped and driving ourselves there would actually be a little bit cheaper and a whole lot more fun.
The trip was a lot of fun, although a teensy bit harrowing at times. We rode our little scooter along a busy four-lane road, sticking close to the shoulder. We were glad the scooter rental handed us helmets along with the keys. We made it to Casa Pueblo, and understood immediately why the owner had been inspired to build right there. We wanted to build a house there, too. The view was awesome. And in no way do I mean "awesome" in the slack, over-popularized version of the word. I mean "awesome" in the most powerful sense of the word, the religious sense of the word.
We rode our scooter on the crest of a thin penisula that reached far out into the Rio de la Plata. The river reached to the horizon. Each side of the peninsula dropped into the water. Black, volcanic-looking rocks jutted from the landscape. At the peninsula's very tip, we turned and looked back to the mainland. Beaches reached for miles and miles in both directions. Far off in the distance, the peninsula that is Punta del Este was visible.
We'd come a long way on our little scooter. When we were done soaking in the view, we plopped our helmets on and made our way back to town. Tomorrow we say good-bye to Punta del Este and move further up Uruguay's Atlantic coast. We head to Cabo Polonia, a secluded beach town with no elecricity, which means no blog updates for a few days. But we are sure to have lots to tell when we make our way back to electrical currents, so stay tuned.
We bit the bullet and rented a moped today. I wanted to go to Casa Pueblo, the white-washed castle of a local artist clinging to a cliff overlooking a watery expanse. It's outside the limits of Punta del Este and without a car we were left wondering how to get there.
We asked about a bus at the bus station, but were told there is no direct bus to Casa Pueblo. Instead the woman behind the infomation counter suggested we board a bus towards Montevideo and tell the driver we wanted to get off at Casa Pueblo. The driver, she said, would drop us at the side of the road and then we could walk the rest of the way. We suffered flashbacks of our horrid walk along the road outside San Miguel de Allende, Mexico while we were trying to find the hot springs called "La Gruta". That option was out!
Next we checked with a couple of tour outfits who were more than happy to take us there for $20 US each. We decided renting a moped and driving ourselves there would actually be a little bit cheaper and a whole lot more fun.
The trip was a lot of fun, although a teensy bit harrowing at times. We rode our little scooter along a busy four-lane road, sticking close to the shoulder. We were glad the scooter rental handed us helmets along with the keys. We made it to Casa Pueblo, and understood immediately why the owner had been inspired to build right there. We wanted to build a house there, too. The view was awesome. And in no way do I mean "awesome" in the slack, over-popularized version of the word. I mean "awesome" in the most powerful sense of the word, the religious sense of the word.
We rode our scooter on the crest of a thin penisula that reached far out into the Rio de la Plata. The river reached to the horizon. Each side of the peninsula dropped into the water. Black, volcanic-looking rocks jutted from the landscape. At the peninsula's very tip, we turned and looked back to the mainland. Beaches reached for miles and miles in both directions. Far off in the distance, the peninsula that is Punta del Este was visible.
We'd come a long way on our little scooter. When we were done soaking in the view, we plopped our helmets on and made our way back to town. Tomorrow we say good-bye to Punta del Este and move further up Uruguay's Atlantic coast. We head to Cabo Polonia, a secluded beach town with no elecricity, which means no blog updates for a few days. But we are sure to have lots to tell when we make our way back to electrical currents, so stay tuned.
