A Day in Carrasco

Mark and I spent a day in Carrasco just recently and had a delightful time.   There are many great restaurants and shops there.  For those of you not familiar with Carrasco, it is a neighborhood within Montevideo US$250.  There a few consignment shops for women's clothing that are fun, too.  Prices are a little bit better there.

If you are planning on dining, we would suggest you try the Cafe Mysteria.   An acquaintance of ours owns the restaurant.  He also has a restaurant in the airport in MVD and in Jose Ignacio.  All are good.  We haven't eaten at Cafe Mysteria but hear it is good.   We have sent friends there and all are happy with the food and service.  Garcia's is also good for parilla.   It is located on the main street.   And for those of you who are not the least bit adventurous, there is a McDonald's.   There is a great ice cream shop called La Delicious for dessert.

There are many great homes and pretty church located in this small little area.   Seems like it would be a good place to live if you like the big city.

We have been busy with Burbujas.  It is almost finished.  We have been saying that for the last three months so I am not really sure when it will be done.   I guess once we run completely out of money!
We certainly hope it will be ready to rent in January/February, the high season.   It has a gorgeous view overlooking a great, family oriented beach that stretches for miles.  We believe we will earn better than most bonds pay in the US on our investment.   Of course, that would not be hard to do!  Our big concern is our neighbor, Argentina.  They seem about to implode daily and that would effect our real estate values.   There is definitely a slowdown occurring here.  I think Uruguay got a bit carried away with the condo market.  So prices should be coming down soon, at least on condos.   Homes like ours should continue to hold their value but who knows in this global economy what is going to happen!

We had lots of visitors over the high season this year.  Suits Us got quite a workout.  Brittany, Bailey, her boyfriend, Will and his parents came and my best friend, Pat, visited.  They all had a great time and hope to come back again soon.

One of the many beautiful homes in Carrasco

Renovation of old building into the new Sofitel Hotel/Casino

Consignment shopping in Carrasco

New handmade leather purse purchase!

Famous "Garcia's" restaurant in Carrasco

Our local carniceria - excellent carne!

View from the living room at Burbujas

View from the terrace at Burbujas

Grilling chicken breasts in the fireplace on a cold night!

We are now in the winter season here in Uruguay.  It is getting cold, windy and rainy.  Best to light the fire and snuggle in with a good book for the next few months!  We do a lot of cooking in our fireplace.  Hoping to get back to the US in August.  If all goes well with a dog/house sitter, we should be in Charlotte for a few weeks.  Looking forward to that and some warmer weather.

Spring is on the Way

Ahhh, the signs of spring are popping out all over.  On my daily walks, I see signs of it everywhere.  Flowers are blooming, trees are budding, more people are out roller blading and walking or jogging.   The birds are chirping and all the municipal workers are putting in overtime.  It's the time of year that Punta del Este begins it's annual sprucing up for the tourists.  It is quite a buildup to January!

Well, folks, we have just celebrated our one year anniversary here in Uruguay.  We have had a wonderful year.  Lots of up and downs, lots of learning experiences and many new adventures.  We have learned the old adage "When in Rome...." over and over.  We try to eat meat & fish more than chicken and pork because it is plentiful and less expensive and delicious!  (But so is the chicken and pork.)  We make our own steak sauce and salad dressing because that is imported here and very expensive.  I am going to give you the recipe for our favorite salad dressing so far.  It is "The Best Salad Dressing Ever!"

Ingredients:

2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbs Worcheshire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup ketchup
1 Tbs instant minced onion
1/3 cup sugar

Place all ingredients in bowl, mix well and refrigerate for at least one hour.   Taste better after a day.

It is delicious on regular salad or spinach salad.  We add chopped cabbage to our greens of rucula, and italian lettuce plus mounds of fresh veggies of all kinds.  These use hearts of palm here alot in salad. 

We are amazed at the abundance of fresh veggies all year long.   The markets are full of fresh fruit, fish, cheese, honey, homemade bread, etc.  The big on is on Sunday so that is when we do our shopping for the week.   There are also smaller ones on Wed and Thurs.   Everything is cheaper than at the grocery and alot more fun.

We survived the winter with all of our toes and fingers intact!  As I mentioned in previous blogs, it is colder inside the houses than outside.  Homes are built only for summer here.  A big topic of conversation among the year round local expats is how to heat most efficiently and cheaply.  Fireplaces are nice but not efficient and I have about had it with the smoke.   I had to repaint my walls this spring because of all the smoke that came into the room when the wind blew too hard.  There is a trick to building fireplaces so that they don't back up but apparently our builder did not figure it out!  The split units for heat/cool are great in the summer, horrible in the winter.  Most new homes have radiant floors but electricity is very expensive so many people are leaning toward solar, gas, wind or a combination thereof.   We just bot a gas heater and sat in front of it most of the winter.  Then we had electric blankets on our bed at night.   Makes for great sleeping.   Did you know that if your head is cold at night you sleep better?   That is true.  Look it up on the internet!  We slept like logs all winter!!!

Ok, so what did we do all winter, you asked?  Not too much.  We have met alot of people from the Expat meetings and we all did dinners at each others homes.   (Most of the good restaurants are closed during the low season.)  We worked on our Spanish a bit.  Definitely know alot of words now, just need to start making sentences.  Although, you would be amazed at how you can communicate with only words!

We bought an investment property overlooking the Atlantic ocean.   It is on a hillside with an awesome view in a beautiful little area called Punta Ballenia.  (That means Point of Whales, and yes, the whales hang out there in the spring.)  This property needs a major overhaul and we will begin work on it this week.   The name of the house is "Burbujas", which means "Bubbles".  At one time, it had alot of round windows.   They are long since gone.   This home is one of the oldest in Punta Ballenia.  Not sure how long it will take us to remodel but would like to have it ready for the high season. 

One of our favorite things to do is visit the remates (auction houses) in Montevideo and Maldonade.  You can get some fairly good buys if you know what you are doing.  Of course being Americano's is a dead give away for raising the bid.   Everyone here thinks ALL Americans are rich.  (I hate to dissappoint them but we are NOT!)  And I have a feeling alot of Americans aren't feeling too wealthy these days.  Uruguay, on the other hand, is thriving!  Everything here is growing:  employment, GDP, cost of liviing, etc.   It is getting more expensive here but still cheaper on the big things like health care and taxes.  Back to remates---we have bought some very nice pieces and knick knacks and we have sold a bunch of stuff.   We love our one remate, Palmeres.  The auctioneer, Todo, is great and he speaks a little English.   We always knows our name when we come and we feel right at home.

We added MagicJack to our communication options.   If you ever need to call us, our phone number is:   704 464 9437.   It is free to us and you.  Skype address:  Mark.and.JanetBial2.  Talk to you soon!   Janet

Last weekend we attended a baptism in a very old, charming church near Montevideo.  Our very dear friends, Rosamee and Emilio, had their one year old daughter, Sophie, baptised there.  There was a birthday party for Sophie (1) and Emilio (??) at their home afterwards.  They are very good friends of ours and they have both been invaluable in helping us accomplish our residency, home purchases, construction, etc.  Don't know what we would do without them.

Our newest property, Burbujas!

Looks like us on moving day

Puppies for Sale at the market

Citrus is available all year round

View from Burbuas

Enjoying a dinner and music at Viejo Almacen

Emilio, Rosamee, Joshua and Sophie

Beautiful old church where Sophie was baptised.

Pictures!!

Hi Everyone,   Couldn't add pics to blog but figured out how to add as a new blog.   Please read the previous textblog to go along with pics!     Besos,   Janet

Mother's Day at my sister's house in Ft Myers



Deposito with Outdoor Shower



Outdoor bathroom in Deposito

Pool and Parilla area in background

Waterfall at far end of pool

Front yard, driveway and walkway, very Feng Shei!

My pool boy!

Back to Blogging

Boy, it has been awhile since I brought folks up to date on our adventures!   No excuses, just didn't seem like there was alot to talk about.   We got so busy with the house and that seemed a bit mundane to write about that over and over.   But finally finished it.  We are now enjoying some gardening,(an herb garden) and tending to our landscaping.   It is getting colder so not sure how long the herb garden will last and will wait till spring to see what trees, etc. made it through the winter.   We planted a wide variety of plants and trees, including an orange and lime tree and 2 avocado trees.

As I sit here today, I now realize why so many people put in radiant heat in the floors.   My toes are freezing!  It is actually warmer out in the sun than in the house.  Most homes are made of cement and it tends to hold in moisture and cold.  The heating systems are individually located near the ceiling of the wall so heat is more up and than down.  I use my ceiling fans to push it down.  Will be needing some heavier socks and booties.  We keep a fire in our fireplace almost daily but especially if it is rainy and windy (which is typical of our winter here--but luckily no snow.)  A truckload of wood runs about $125 (delivered and stacked) and lasts about 2-3 months (depending on how often you burn.)

About a month ago, I was out walking Sunshine and on my way home I stopped by the neighbors because they were out in their driveway playing the drums.  This is very much a party thing in Uruguay.  This family invited some others over to play with them so they had about 5 drums/drummers all playing away.   I went and got Mark and we went back down to listen and be neighborly.  I even got in on the drum playing!  As it got dark, the father started a fire in the backyard.  The family invited us to come sit around the fire, which we did.  We were offered wine, beer and food.  They passed around a jar for everyone to drop a few pesos in for the libations.   It was a very enjoyable, spur of the moment evening and beneficial evening.  Frederico, one of the sons, does yard work in the neighborhood and gave us the name of a firewood person.  We got our last load from them and the wood was very dry and burns beautifully!

We had some visitors in late May.  Bryan and Kelly Madiera and their son, Brandon, from Port Charlotte, FL came down to check out the area.  They are in their late 40's (I think) and are looking for a retirement area.  They connected through a blogger who writes on Uruguay--not ME.)   We happened to know the blogger and he asked us to take over communication with Bryan and Kelly because he was going to be traveling when they visited.   We gladly took over emails, etc. and helped them to plan their trip.  They came for a week and that gave them enough time to check out most of the country.  Their favorite area was the interior vs the shoreline.  We love the shoreline, but agreed that there are some very nice, quaint towns not far from Punta and Montevideo.  They are beginning to be inhabited by very wealthy Americans, Europeans and Canadians as second or third homes. 

Last week, for instance,  we celebrated our 37th anniversary at a great restaurant in Eden.  Eden is about 25- 30 minutes from Punta and is a beautiful countryside drive.  The town has a restaurant, a park and a darling church and sits in a valley.  There are some beautiful new homes being built and some renovations going on.  The restaurant was fantastic.   All fresh food, prepared and served daily.   Mark had lamb and I had rabbit--absolutely delicious.   They served a candied sweet potato (like creme brulee) with the lamb and we had rice pudding and apple pie for dessert.  Two bottles of wine all for about $75 US dollars.   Incidentally, the wine was from a local vineyard was pretty darn good!  Right beyond the town, up the hill, sits a property that Mark and I looked at when we first arrived.  It has the most stunning view of Eden.   A forty acre chacras, with a small home and hired hand home + 80 sheep surrounded by a manmade stonewall.  Awesome property for someone!   Cost:  $350,000 or less.

Some of you may have heard of another small town called Garzon.  A famous restaurateur, Frances Mallman,  bought the whole town and put in a restaurant.  Now it is growing with a few shops, etc.  They held the Punta Wine and Food Festival there the last week of November and I put up pics on my blog.  It is a very exciting time for Uruguay.  People from all over the world are beginning to recognize the merits of this small country!

Speaking of Expats--we have been to several fun outings.  It is always interesting to hear where people are from and why they are here.  Last meeting I met a Canadian who now lives in Dubai but is thinking of moving here.  Our American friends, Moises and Laura, have begun hosting a Mexican Fiesta once a month at their house.   Moises is a chef from San Diego and wants to open a restaurant here eventually.  So once a month he invites expats and for $25/each you can eat and drink all you want at his house.   Everything is homemade, chips, salsa, guacamole, soups, etc!  Great get togethers!

We continue to scout out our area and have found new restaurants, like our new favorite pizza place.    We ordered a pizza with 5 ingredients and when they brought it out, we had 5 pizzas with one ingredient on each!   That was a hoot and little embarrassing at the same time!   Little by little, we are finding the "gems" (bakeries, consignment clothing shops, etc.) around here and not just the tourist spots.  We continue to enjoy the beach near where we live.  In addition to shells, you can find pieces of old, colored glass in blue, green, white and amber.   We collect it!  It is fun walking the beach looking for it.   Reminds me of mushroom hunting in Illinois. 

Lately we have been hitting the movie theatre.  During the week it is 2 - 1.  So far $7 + $3 for popcorn, we can enjoy a new movie in a comfortable seat the movies.   Saw Hangover II and Solo Tres Dias (with Russell Crowe).  Both good to mediocre!

Since my last blog, one of my highlights, was going home to visit my mother, sister and our girls, Brittany and Bailey.   It was over Mother's Day weekend and we got together at my sisters house, in Fort Myers for a week.   That was a very memorable Mother's Day, as one might expect.  We got my mom a new computer so that she can Skype everyone on a regular basis.  She loves it and has taken two computer courses to learn everything about her new "picture phone" as well as the Internet, etc.   We look forward to many visits in the coming year!  Skype or email us--No Reservations required!!!

SORRY FOR NO PICS, HAVING TROUBLE UPLOADING!!

Six Month Anniversary

On March 4, 2011, we will celebrate our six month anniversary in Punta del Este, Uruguay.  Some people said we wouldn't last six months....well, here we are proving them wrong!  Those naysayers should come down to visit.   I think that would change their minds pretty quick.  People that say that kind of thing obviously have not done their homework.... I am not saying we haven't had our ups and downs but that happens in the US, too.  Overall, we have really enjoyed our stay.

The high season is slowly coming to an end.  Traffic has let up and many of the regulars are coming back to town.   As I may have mentioned earlier, many, many locals rent their homes out during high season and receive enormous amounts of money for 4 - 8 weeks.   One of our expat friends rented their house out for 7 weeks and took a trip to Bariloche.  They really enjoyed it and found it to be alot lower cost of living than here.  So,  they more than paid for their vacation and had money left over from the rent they charged.  (A three bedroom house like ours would probably rent for $15,000 for 6 weeks.)  Their blogs and pics were spectacular.  Mark and I are thinking we may try to do that ourselves within the next couple of years.  

The work on our yard, pool, etc. continues at an excrutiatingly slow pace!  I thought it took a long time to build our own home in Illinois but this beats all.  Workers here move at a very slow pace and that is to our disadvantage.   We have to pay their social security, insurance, etc. for every day they work.  It is hard to describe but basically, the estimate that we got included a charge for all of this and if they go over the amount of time estimated for the job, we will have to pay extra.   So, whenever I see them taking a two hour lunch or leaving early, it sort of makes my blood boil!   We are making progress so I need to look on the bright side but I tell you, I will be glad when everyone is out of our yard and we can lay down some sod/seed/grass, etc. 

Our job is to pick out all the trees, plants, flowers, etc. that will be planted once all of the other work is finished.  We have visited so many "viveros".  There are so many beautiful trees and flowers to choose from.   It is very relaxing to go visit but difficult to decide which might be best for our yard.  We have had many landscapers come out to give us their opinion.  We will hopefully be deciding soon.

We finally visited a museum on a rare rainy day.   It is located in LaBarra.  Great little museum with history of the area and many pictures to view.  It has one of the largest collections of shells and fish, fish vertibra, whales bones, etc. that I have ever seen.   An absolutely must see when visiting here.  The best $5.00/each we have spent in awhile.  The website is: www.museodelmar.com.uy. Check out the site, it is very cool.

We haven't been doing much lately.   Been recuperating from our 4 visitors in Dec/Jan and we are waiting to see how our expenses turn out on the house.  For this reason, Mark will have to forgoe the Shakira concert at the Conrad Hotel.    He is a big fan of Shakira, "Hips Don't Lie", "Gypsy", etc.  We just bought her new CD.  We are into music down here.   Another CD just purchased is Charlie Garcia.  He is probably the most famous rock musician in SA.  We continue to visit our favorite little restaurant, the Viejo Almacen.  They have good food and great live music.  So for a mere $40, you can bet pizza, beer and a live band for the evening under the stars.   We feel very at home there.  It is owned by a Uruguayian family and they are so welcoming and kind.

We love to take our drives around the countryside.   One of these days, we will find our perfect lot with a perfect view of the ocean.  In the meantime, we enjoy seeing the countryside, taking pictures, stopping for lunch and a beer and meeting the locals. 

Look out point near Punta Colorado

Church we came across on a country drive.

Thinking these will look good on our front porch.

The owners and our friends at Viejo Almacen

Envisioning a finished backyard!

Oh, by the way, the state of NC has decided to give me a break and renew my drivers license.  It was a battle but they finally gave in so I won't have to take the drivers test down here in Spanish, thank God.  We really do intend to learn Spanish but want to wait till weather forces us inside and we have nothing else to do but buckle down and start studying.   Absolutely, it will enhance our living standards once we learn so we are going to tackle it.   I just hope I don't get too frustrated.  This extended vacation we are on is making me LAZY!!

High Season is Here

As you know from the last blog, our daughters and their two best friends were here to visit late December and early January during the highest part of the high season.  Of course they had a wonderful time.  We were surprised by how easy it was to get around as we had anticipated traffic similar to Hilton Head or Mrytle Beach at springbreak.  It really seemed like normal city traffic.  The city was built out to accommodate 200,000 for high season but high season is only for 2 months max.  After that, all the vacationers leave and it turns back into a city of 10,000.  Mark and I can't figure out why more people don't come other months of the year but it remains a mystery as no oneseems to have a legitimate answer to that question.  So the big highrises remain empty 10 out of 12 months of the year.   We see some opportunity there for travel agents!

The summer has been really pleasant with dry air and temperatures up to 90, but mainly around 80 - 85F.  Great beach weather.  There are so many different beaches to go to, you never really feel crowded, each vary in type of sand, wind, number of jellyfish, etc.  Haven't been to the beach much since the girls left but do enjoy walking daily on the sidewalk across from the beach.  Some days we have up to 4 cruise ships in the harbor.  If you are thinking of traveling down this way, it would be a great option.   Most ships itenaries include a stop in Punta del Este.  And did I mention, the shopping is great?


Pool almost there!



Finally hit water!

We are currently having work done on the outside of our home.  The pool is almost finished, and the well as been completed.  The work is really rudimentary as I mentioned before.  For instance, the well was drilled manually and it took 10 days to hit water.   They drilled down about 140 feet.  It amazed us to watch the workers go around in circles for 8 hours a day.  It made me dizzy so I am sure they were!  The pool was laid with rebar and then cement blocks were laid around the sides.  Now they are smoothing cement over the blocks.  They have the lights in and I think the drain and pipes so we will be picking out a blue paint color soon.  We will be SO GLAD to get it done and be able to start putting in our irrigation and lawn.  The dogs will be, too!

Check out those feet!



My newest buddy, Sunshine



Speaking of dogs, we have a new addition to the family.  "Sunshine" is a little red female daschund that we stumbled onto when we were taking in Hal for some treatments.  She is adorable with beautiful eyes and shiney red coat.  She might actually be perfect if it weren't for her clodhopper front feet.  I hope this no indication of how big she could get! Of course, we were not looking to get another dog since we already have two but it seemed like she was meant to be.  She is a combination of Blue and Hazel, our two female daschunds that we lost last year due to illnesses.

Last week, we went to pay all of our taxes for the year.  This included are car tax, property tax, school tax, etc.  If you pay before the end of January you get a 20% discount.  So for everything we paid $1500!   Not bad, heh?  We also went into get our new drivers license while we were at the municipal building.   Had a little bit of a surprise there.  My D/L was expired so that now requires me to take the written and drivers test in SPANISH, with no translator.   Hmmm,   I knew I should have been studying my Spanish all along instead of putting it off till the winter.  Now, I have to hire a teacher that is specifically versed in this area and she/he will help me pass.   I hope I can do this on the first try....we will see.   Mark doesn't have to do anything because his US license is still valid.  Lesson learned!  At least we have one valid driver.   He is not too happy about "Driving Miss Daisy"!

The cost of living is reasonably good here.  I am not really sure about the food inflation aspect.  The grocery stores are about the same as in the US.  But many things are much cheaper, particularly things that are grown here like oranges, peaches, and rice.  But it still  seems we spend the most on groceries.  Maybe that is because we don't eat out alot.   Electric has been high here over the summer months, especially when you have alot of company!  The best aspect as far as costs are concerned are taxes and health care.   We pay our h/c once a year and it runs about $3000 for VIP treatment.  Those are the two things in the US that really hurts retirees so we will at least be here till social security and medicare kick in, if there is any when we get that age!

One of the things we have been missing, in addition to friends and family, is ethnic food.   You cannot find a mexican, chinese, japanese, vietnamese restaurant hardly anywhere around here.   There is one chinese restaurant and it is OK but very expensive.  We don't complain about much here but that is one thing we do miss!  We are going to go to Montivideo, about 1 1/2 hours away, and find an ethinic food store and start making hot and sour soup, etc.!   Today, we are cooking a turkey, which is also hard to find, but we asked our local butcher the other day and they had some so we bought it.   Wish we would have had it for Thanksgiving/Christmas but better late than never!  It is smelling good in the kitchen right now.   Can't wait!   Am making dressing, mashed potatoes, and fresh green beans!

We are hoping to get the Super Bowl on TV in February.   Were sorry to see the Bears lose, being from Illinois but go PACKERS!  If the game is not on TV, we will purchase on the internet and hook our computer up to the television.   We have a pretty big Samsung HDTV.   It also has 3D.   Nice picture so we should be able to enjoy the game.  Will miss the parties, though!

Thank goodness for Skype.   We call our family almost daily and it sure helps with the distance.  Our Skype address is:  Mark.and.Janet.Bial2, if you ever want to call AND see our smiling faces...:)

These grow wild.  Found in the vacant lot next door.

Mas Jamon y Queso



Arriving at airport after long flight!



Arriving at MVD

Yes, that is what it says "More ham and cheese"!  This became our mantra while our daughters and their two best friends were visiting over high season.  At last count, in a two week period, we had eaten ham and cheese as a meal at least 10 times.  We had it on pizza, as an appetizer, in a sandwich, in an omelet, in a chivito, etc.   We didn't intend to eat that much jamon y queso but many times it was the only choice.  For instance, one evening we had it as an appetizer before we went to a concert.  At the concert we thought we would be able to order off the menu but no, lo and behold, the only thing available was a jamon y queso appetizer!  Then it became a running joke.   I don't think they will ever eat it again!  They did, however, have some excellent meals in between the jamon y queso.  We took them to La Huella, Nam, and the best prilla restaurant in BA, La Cabrera.  We also took them to the Mercado de Puera in MVD on the way back.  In addition to those fine establishments, we cooked homemade pasta, prilla, green noodles and chicken (my specialty), and mexican food.  Of course, each meal was accompanied by plenty of Uruguayan wine to wash it down, with an occassional martini or caphrina thrown in.    But enough about food and drink.  Here are some of the highlights of their visit!

Coming back from our impressive new airport in MVD, we drove to the top of the hill in Piriapolis where a statue of St. Anthony resides.   It is said that if you go there and pray to him that you can find the man of your dreams so we told each girl to put a prayer together and we gave them a flower to leave at the foot of the statue.  We will see if this old folklore really works!!

Then on to our house which is a mess right now.  We are in the middle of trying to put in a pool and yard so things were not looking as good as I had hoped, but it didn't seem to bother the girls.  They were more interested in the beach, which we hit immediately.  After a day of relaxing, we had some friends over for a prilla at our house.   Mark cooked steaks and cherizo with homemade french fries.  Mmm good!

Wednesday we headed over to Colonia de Sacramento.   A three hour drive with 6 of us in a small VW Boro.  Very uncomfortable but well worth it.   Colonia is a beautiful city full of old cobblestone streets and buildings.  We then hopped on the Buquebus to BA and spent the day sightseeing and shopping.  It was a whirldwind tour but it gave them a taste of the city and I am sure they will want to go back someday.

Most the of the rest of the time was spent shopping in Maldonado where ate foot long hotdogs from the street vendor  and Punta shopping on Fashion Road where we salivated over the clothes! We attended a couple of music concerts to give them a taste of Uruguayan music.  Our favorite band was playing both times so it was a pleasure for us as well. We took them to the Conrad to gamble a few dollars in the slots and to see a fashion show (which never did happen!).  We went down to the beach on New Year's Eve to watch amazing fireworks that lasted for about an hour.  We also went to LaBarra, Jose Ignacio and Bikini Beach.  This area is north of Punta and is where the young kids hang out at night.  Britt and Crystal got to go to some high season private parties, which I understand were, AWESOME!  Megan and Bay were leaving the next day so they opted to stay home and party with the locals they had met, Santiago and Ignacio.  Great guys who really enjoyed meeting the girls.  Don't worry guys, the girls loved it and will be back soon!

The high season has turned out to be much more tame than Mark and I expected.  It is much less traffic than if you go to Hilton Head or Mrytle Beach in the spring/early summer.   Yes, the beaches are packed but there is 40 miles of beaches to spread out on from Piriapolis to Jose Ignacio so it doesn't seem that bad.  The good thing is there is alot more activity and things to do.  Punta really bustles with life for two months and then it is back to normal.  The locals don't like high season much because the grocery stores are crowded, etc. but Mark and I thought it was rather normal.  The other good thing is that you can rent your home out for two months and average about $5000/month for Jan/Feb for a house of our size.   That would pay for a couple of plane tickets back to the US--unfortunately it would be winter there!

We are still struggling with the language barrier.  Although, we do continue to meet residents who speak English, it is not fun when you are trying to deal with a contractor, etc. that only speaks Spanish.   Britt was pretty good with her Spanish so she helped us quite a bit during her stay.   This is a priority item on our winter agenda!   We will be dusting off the Rosetta Stone and getting busy in front of the fireplace.  But for now, we are enjoying the summer weather and the beach and beautiful sunsets.

Sightseeing in Coloni

Footlong hotdog in downtown Maldonado



Mercado de Puerto in Montivideo




Colonia del Sacramento

 Hope you are all enjoying your snowy weather--we did miss that at the holidays!

For tons more pictures, visit Brittany or Bailey's Bial's facebook.