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.

The 50s of Uruguay

In 2017, Uruguay issued polyester 50-peso notes.

Unlike the previous notes, which were red, these 50th anniversary notes were blue.

And ugly in a brutal sort of way. Then in 2020, the polyester notes became red again.

There must be something about the 50-peso denomination that causes impishness. In 2011, they created a ridiculous and misleading 50-peso coin that nobody wants (an earlier blog post of mine).

After the fire

A huge swath of our dog walk area became scorched earth during the fire. It will be interesting to watch what grows next.

Meanwhile, while there were still spot fires burning, someone rode through on a bicycle. Go figure.

Burning stump

A scene from yesterday: dried stump from last year’s fire springs into flame.

Bye bye boo tree

The “Boo!” tree, 30 November 2017 and 20 October 2020

31 December 2021

Fire, again

This afternoon. Again. Last time was just over a year ago. This looks to be a lot worse.

[lost video from Daniel Machado – driving through stretch where fire jumped the highway, El Fortin]

The industrial house next door

Our neighbor’s industrial remodeling became a little more industrial over the weekend with the addition of a very industrial-looking carport.

Pavers along the side lead to the back,

where most of the yard is now tiled.

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.

The Elusive Mexican Restaurant

It should have been fairly straightforward: after my wife’s eye appointment, head down Blvd. Artigas, left, right, left, and ta!

After that first left, Google clearly shows a one-way street. No problem. However, here’s the view inside that rectangle:

It is quite clear that you are not to make a right turn here. We did go a couple streets further and found some guys who seemed to know exactly how to find the restaurant. But the maze of one-way Montevideo streets seems designed to prevent you from getting back to where you started, and in the dark of night it only took us a couple blocks to give up and head home.

I suspect anyone who has attempted to find things in Montevideo, especially at night, has a similar tale.

Large plate glass doors – how yesteryear

I haven’t ventured into the neighbor’s project in a while (I let the workmen park in our front yard so it’s cool). The project is definitely developing an industrial look. I’m undecided whether to call it Casa Industrial or La Fábrica. Apparently this stovepipe, erected yesterday, does not sit well with the neighbors beyond the wall, and I can understand why.

Meanwhile, closer by, I see there’s been a boo-boo, perhaps because of the wind today. The walls of this addition are going to have a huge proportion of large, sliding glass doors.

But—ye northerners—notice anything odd? Yes, the glass: plate glass, which when broken will form large, dangerous shards. Plate glass sliding doors, which have not been allowed in United States construction for over 45 years. Hmmm.