Uniquely Uruguay: 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.