The gardener

gardener

The German touring rig to end all German touring rigs

As I have mentioned before, when you see a conspicuously over-wrought, out of place, ready-for-all-comers vehicle here, its owners probably speak German.

German monster touring vehicle in Atlantida, Uruguay

In case you missed the license plate (or couldn’t guess), there’s a little flag on the side. Ja wohl!

Have moto, will massage

Massage therapist with table on motorbike in Uruguay

I have shared my fascination with motorbikes here, their number of passengers and what they carry. This rigging of our massage therapist’s to carry his massage table strikes me as rather clever — though I didn’t notice if it hides the brake light.

Down a door

nodoor

Almost every time I walk the dog/s (the neighbor’s usually goes along), I pass this car, which has been there a very long time.* Some time ago it lost the driver side window. As of today …. Theft? Vandalism? Owner’s doing?

* you can see it in the background here.

Ah, the good old days …

bike-license

… when bicycles had license plates.

Memorial

memorial

Beetles weekend in El Pinar

Racing VW Beetle
source

I’ve wondered what they race at the autodrome between here and the airport, and the answer, this weekend, is fuscas, only they refer to them as escarabajos (beetles). Despite my fascination with them (example, example), I won’t be there. Other plans, and it will be cold.

The “Superescarabajos” are reportedly the largest and most popular category here. There will be 30 of them racing.

Una Harley para papá

If there’s one thing I’d care to win less than a trip to Brazil for the UY-UK match, it’s probably a noisy, rattling and dangerous (especially given Uruguayan drivers) pile of outdated technology. Not that I stand a chance of winning (oh, such stinkin’ thinkin’!) but fortunately cupones (coupons) were only offered upon purchase of certain Father’s Day (today in Uruguay) items, and we’ve only bumbled into a couple of those the last few weeks.

Around $9,000 new in the land of the Untied Snakes, prolly $19-20,000 here. I found the local web site, but under precios it has no prices. It does have an enticing shot of snow-capped mountains, though …

… amusing because Uruguay has neither snow nor mountains. Oh, details.

Hitchin’a ride

man riding brush cutter

I don’t like taking pictures out the car window, but couldn’t resist when I saw a guy riding on the brush hog on the back of a tractor.

Why not?

Such a deal, Uruguay style.

Yes, you can buy this tiny 34-year-old Fiat 600s toy-looking car for only 3,100 US dollars. And you can call any time during the day!*

New vehicles in Uruguay are ridiculously overpriced. You can expect to pay close to double what similar would cost in the US. Comparative used vehicles, however, can cost much more than that—not that you could back this thing out of your driveway in northern North America without getting arrested.

When we moved here in 2009, I had sold my 2002 Toyota 4Runner in Texas. In mint condition, I might have gotten $8,000 for it. Here, I saw same year, diesel engine, same mileage, advertised for $32,000. Yes, USD 32,000.

You think this is an anomaly? Look here to see other Fiat 600s for sale in Uruguay. “U$S” means US dollars; “$” means Uruguayan pesos, currently trading at 22-23 per dollar.

* see comments; doesn’t mean what I thought