Uruguay Expats Blog April Archive blog.topic

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Cabo Polonio, Uruguay and Ombu Trees By Wilbur Corncob at 04/30/07 17:04 Kelly Westhoff has an excellent article in Go Nomad about Ombu trees and Cabo Polonio, Uruguay. Of course if you are in Montevideo you can see an Ombu tree up close a and personal without traveling to Cabo Polonio, though that might be a great trip on its own. Kelly find Cabo Polonio (home of about 80 people) to be a faraway galaxy, but stops just short of calling it outerspace, and hesitates to even call it a town, prefering instead "the final outpost on the edge of a rugged frontier." And unlike Montevideo there is no traffic as they arrived on a monster truck that drove through the sand dunes. The Ombu tree forest was an hour boat ride up a wide river... If you want to see an Ombu tree check out the intersection of Blvd Espana and Luis de la Terre in Montevideo, Uruguay. If you want a real adventure try and find Cabo Polonio and the Ombu forest! Tags: montevideo • cabo polonio • 1 Comments. - Permalink Driving in Uruguay By Blog Happenings at 04/30/07 09:11 Urufish tells us in Driving and automobiles in general some key points to remember: My wife and I have been driving her for over 20 years, albeit for a few weeks a year First of all, there is nothing threating or dangerous about driving in Uruguay. Like many other countries, Uruguayan drivers are aware of the rules of the road, but dont pay a lot of attention to them. The main rule is... go read Urufish's blog! Tags: montevideo • driving • 0 Comments. - Permalink A Different Year In Uruguay By Wilbur Corncob at 04/29/07 11:01 Many of us are familiar with Chuck's blog, A year in Uruguay Well, I found another A year in Uruguay blog. Both are journals of an expat living in Uruguay. Both give interesting, and different prespectives. Tags: expats • blogs • 0 Comments. - Permalink Keeping Warm in Montevideo By Wilbur Corncob at 04/29/07 09:02 With fall well underway and winter approaching its starting to get cold in Montevideo, Uruguay. No more going outside without a jacket. Many apartments are heated with hot water pipes in the floor. I think these are the way. You hop of bed in the morning to greeted with a warm floor and warm feet. Although the air is never exessively warm, it is very comfortable. Now our only problem is waiting for them to turn it on. I think about two days ago would have been great. I think once its on the memories of the cold feet on the cold floors in the morning will quickly vanish. We're not the only ones waiting for our feet to warm up... Our new house was built with radiators fed by a woodfired boiler. Over the years it changed to coal and then gasoil. This year, we changed it to a natural gas, heat exchanger for both hot water and central heating. But there is one small piece the equation that is missing in order to enjoy the luxury of central heating. It only works if it is on!! Tags: montevideo • heating • 0 Comments. - Permalink The Ombu Tree By Wilbur Corncob at 04/27/07 15:12 The Ombu Tree is a massive evergreen herb native to the Pampas of South America. This Ombu Tree is at the corner of Luis de la Torre and Blvd Espana in Pocitos. Some say that General Artigas drank mate under the Ombu Tree, though I'm not sure if it was THIS Ombu tree, or a Ombu tree. According to Wikipedia, it is the only tree that grows in the Pampas of South America, the only one able to survive on the little water available. The Ombu tree has an umbrella-like canopy that spreads to a girth of 12 to 15 meters (40 to 50 feet) and can attain a height of 12 to 18 meters (40 to 60 feet). The ombu grows fast but being herbaceous its wood is soft and spongy enough to be cut with a knife. Since the sap is poisonous, the ombu is not grazed by cattle and is immune to locusts and other pests. For similar reasons, the leaves are sometimes are used as a laxative or purgant. It is a symbol of Uruguay, Argentina, and of Gaucho culture, as its canopy is quite distinguishable from afar and provides comfort and shelter from sun and rain. The tree is categorized in the same genus as the North American pokeweed. The species is also cultivated in Southern California as a shade tree. Tags: gaucho culture • montevideo • 0 Comments. - Permalink A ride to the airport By Wilbur Corncob at 04/27/07 06:12 Last night I took a trip to the airport to pick someone up. The whole trip took an hour and fifteen minutes. I went by cab from Pocitos to the airport, had the cab wait and returned in the same cab. The fare came to 468 pesos. Taking a Montevideo cab to the airport runs about 200 pesos. The airport taxis run about 500 pesos from the airport to Pocitos. The first time I took an airport taxi to Pocitos they gave me a flat rate. Once I figured out the rates for the Montevideo taxi's I thought I'd be slick and make the airport taxi use his meter. Same deal, 500 pesos. So for less than the cost of an Airport taxi one way, I had a Montevideo taxi go both ways and waiting! I asked one of the airport taxi drivers why they were more expensive. He told me they were safer! While I was waiting at the airport, I noticed the currency exchange. Their sign said they'd give you 21.15 pesos for the dollar. The currency exchanges in town show 23.35 pesos to the dollar (and usually give you more than the sign says). Although I think it's common at most airports, but I think it would be a great idea if airports welcomed people with competitive prices and great service. 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