Leo´s cousin (prima), Pamela and Alvaro, drove us out to Punte del Este on Sunday. It is about 2 hours away and on the eastern (east) most point (punta) of Uruguay. It is where the Rio Plata feeds into the Atlantic Ocean.
As soon as we got out of Montevideo we ended up behind these fine gentlemen. I think they are ¨gauchos-in-training,¨ at least that´s the what I got from the conversation and my limited spanish. They just rode out of the woods and onto the street. Later we saw a futbol team training in the same spot. That should have been interesting... (and the motorcycles aren´t escorts, they are just trying to get by the cavalry).
People drive really fast here. I mean, really fast. The trip to Punta del Este takes 2 hours because we went 130 k/h the whole way. That´s roughly 80 mph. Driving in one lane seems to be optional as does stopping at signs or for pedestrians. One of Leo´s cousÃn´s hit a motorcycle on Friday because the motorcycle was going the wrong way on the highway. Apparently he saw it as the fastest way to get across the road. Needless to say, I wear my seatbelt religiously and am thinking of buying a rosary.
This photo is of Alvero, Pamela, Juani, and I in Las Tunas.
Here´s what Leo and I look like when we started to feel like we were actually on vacation (it takes a while to sink in) and not completely jet-lagged.
These are some very expensive condo´s that were behind the previous viewpoint. Their view of the playa is completely unobstructed and will never be. These are extremely expensive homes.
This is what I look like holding up a 3/4 Pilsen. It´s local beer and quite good. Sorry Julio, Leo made me do it. A lot of menu´s list beer and wine by 3/4, 1/2, 75, and so on. The numbers, we learned, represent the size of the bottle in liters. So 3/4 Pilsen is 3/4 of a liter or 75 cl, or 750 ml. The same as a bottle of wine. 
Missy, they have Manos del Uruguay products EVERYWHERE!!! But, alas, no yarn. The products are nice and not too expensive. They also have tons of other things besides knitted items. There are a lot of products here made of leather. Remember, this is a country whose primary industry is beef (unaltered) and they let nothing go to waste.
Leo and I had dinner at El Tonel in P. del Este. The food and service where amazing and it was our first adventure on our own. This was a very special date for us.
From what I understand, this is a typical breakfast. It is a sweet croisant (Luna media or half moon) with ham and mozzarella, a cortado and aqua sin gas. You have to order water here and it comes with or without gas. It´s like tonic water and very popular. Coca-cola is also extremely popular. Coca and Coca Lite. We´ll talk about the packet of Aspertil I was given along with the sugar later.
This is the famous (or not so famous) El Mano! The Hand! I´m not sure what the history is on this, but it looks like it just got a manicure. It´s only been in place since 1983, so I´m guessing its an art piece. There´s lots of that around here.
This picture is a little hard to see, but in the center of the photo there a bunch of clothes. There are people that walk up and down the beach and sell clothes. The poles they carry are loaded with shirts and they about 15 feet long. It was 93 on Monday and the sun it a lot closer here. I don´t know how these people do it.
The beach was, what seemed to me, packed. But its still spring here, so we were able to get a couple of chairs, towels and umbrella and take in the sights. Yeah for the beach!
Leo took me to La Paciva. It is the only place in the world that he will eat a hot dog. I can see why. They are really good. All beef, of course, and tasting a bit of pepperoni. I could have eaten quite a few, but Leo beat me to it.
This is Leo and I at the bus terminal headed back to Montevideo. You can´t see it here, but being at the 34th parallel and being white like snow, I fried. And this, my friends, is what makes my skin burn! I wore sunblock and reapplied every 30 minutes, but that just wansn´t enough. When we got to P. del Este Leo and I had a conversation that went like this:
Me: ¨Do I look like a foreigner?¨
Leo: ¨Big time!¨
Indeed I did. Today, I look like I might just belong here. Tomorrow... SPF 80!
We came back from the beach just in time to enjoy another graduation celebration for Federica.
This is Maria and Federica after the performance. Maria is married to Leo´s cousin, Fernando.
And here is a super cute picture of Federica and Juani.
The graduation performance was a celebration of the countries they had learned about and the English they had learned. Fede was dressed up in western wear and her class mates did a really cute line dance and sang Oh, Susanna. Absolutley precious!
I will try to post more often as I´m already behind. The connection is a bit slow so it takes a really long time to upload pictures. The next post will have lots of photos too as we went downtown!
I miss all of you and hope you enjoy seeing and reading about our adventure.
Heaps of Love,
Johanna and Leo
Leo´s Tio and I enjoying our Cortado.
