Category: Uruguay

What’s going on here?

A few days ago, I speculated on what might be going on at this house. I did not express the thought that they might just completely tear down the wooden house, but that is exactly what they did, creating a mountain of plastic trash and another even bigger (center right) of asphalt-coated wood that will, as far as I can imagine, be completely useless. The room to the left had a huge amount of fiberglass insulation from the previous roof. Today it was boarded shut, so presumably they’ll re-use the insulation.

For some reason, the image of a puppy chasing its tail comes to mind.

What’s going on here?

A year ago, I posted these photos of a most wretched and entirely shoddy little house being built. It is still unoccupied, but more money has apparently been found.

First they added a strange brick structure on the left (gray) with no way to enter it from the house (maybe changed?). Now they’re enclosing the thing with ticholo, which has better insulation properties than brick. So what will happen to the previously exposed pine boards now hidden behind the ticholo? Dry rot? Black mold? Termites? Other critters?

It will be fun to monitor. Throwing good money after bad….

Fires

On New Year’s Day 2009 a huge fire deforested much of the area in which we walk dogs.

Almost 12 years later, in October 2020, another fire raged through.

Fortunately, many of the trees survived this time.

Satellite view of burned woods, Villa Argentina, Uruguay, April 2021

14 months after the last fire, last week, another big fire.

And yesterday on the dog walk we see this:

Wind from east northeast. The others came from the southwest. No sign of any activity. Around an hour later, Syd heard a helicopter (we leave from his house to walk), and this morning it appears to be out.

Satellite view showing path of probable-arson wildfires near Atlántida, Canelones, Uruguay

Almost 12 years between fires, then 14 months, then just over a week. Following that progression, we could have expected the next fire in 3-½ hours. Glad it didn’t happen.

Industrial chic

Construction update: the neighbors on the corner have almost completed their [whatever] with parking for 3-4 cars. And painted everything gray.

This is what it looks like from our bedroom porch. Note the three flagpoles in the upper right. Obviously a business proposition of some sort, but what?

The neighbors on the other side have erected a fence around the front yard that can only be described as industrial.

From our upstairs patio, we can see the front yard has enough pavers—the workers told me they were for the Jacuzzi—to pave most of the yard.

Here is the warehouse-like addition. Look closely: they’re…

…painting it gray.

And here’s their lovely industrial stovepipe, obscuring the view of the neighbors’ weather vane.