Author: doug

What a difference a year makes

A year ago, a friend of ours did an epic canoe trip in Patagonian Chile. He described an incredible find in Lago Copa, in the middle of the middle of nowhere: a first-class lodge, probably 15 km from the closest road.

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Nestled at the base of a mountain,

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obviously unattended,

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but also unlocked.

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So they set up camp for the night there. We heard about it, and saw the photos, not long after he returned. They never learned who built or owned it.

Recently, our friend returned to Uruguay, and we had him over for dinner. The lodge came up. Someone had flown over the lake in December and sent pictures of it now.

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UPDATE 2016+02+27: the location is -44.89179, – 72.623403. The landslide happened in December. As of today, Google Earth hasn’t caught up:

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Uruguay Natural (ANCAP)

NACAP's daily air pollution over Montevideo

Someone who stayed in Montevideo several years ago asked me about the horrific black cloud he saw every day over the city. I knew nothing of it, but learned it’s the product of the ANCAP refinery in the city. ANCAP is the scandal-ridden national oil company which, despite its monopoly on petroleum, alcohol, and Portland cement, and which, in response to crude oil prices dropping 60%, lowered prices at the pump by almost 3%, manages to “lose” money.

Ah yes, in the most progressive, least corrupt country in Latin America!

 

 

Slow construction in Uruguay

Slow construction finally finished in Atlántida, Uruguay

This attractive duplex on the Rambla (beachfront road) appears to be nearing completion after what seems to me an inordinately long time. I remember specifically because the owners, Argentines, rented the  El Nido Beach Hotel last summer, whether to house workers or run as a business I don’t know.

Anyway, as I have documented nearby in the past, by the time the place is ready for occupation the high season will have passed. Rents here are massively higher than the rest if the year, from 15 December through 15 March. So if you wanted to rent in the high season, you’d want to have it ready in December. Should be able to build a house in a year, no?

But then again I have no idea why they built it.

Count the dogs

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The Spinky-Faced Oriental Sandhound and I have walked a few times now with Syd and his five dogs on his private 197-acre reserve. Well, OK, it’s not actually his private reserve, but hey. Nobody else seems to particularly own it.

At this rest stop, one — Jordie, the alpha male — had temporarily abandoned his haram, searching, no doubt, for rabbits.

Leaving five dogs, pictured. Turns out the Spinky-face has found a kindred soul (Kiya, foreground).