Adventures with Julia

Saturday, February 18, 2023

We left Montevideo on the morning of February 17 heading south-east through the countryside with a driver named Tomas . The weather was cold, windy and threatening rain. He spoke reasonable English and could carry on a good conversation with us. The countryside was fairly flat and green with lots of trees, shrubs and grass. We saw cattle, sheep, pigs and horses all in pastures. Soon it began to rain and was pouring by the time we picked up our guide, Paula, along the roadside near Garzon. She spoke excellent English told us we would be visiting a winery and learning about the history of the local wine operation.

Then we proceeded to the village of Garzon, where we would have lunch in a restaurant owned by Uruguay’s most famous chef, Francis Mallmann, who had a number of fine dining establishments in European cities and opened this one in 2002. He likes the small town atmosphere of Garzon, however, and spends a good part of the year in the village.

Meanwhile, the owner of the wine and olive operation is a billionaire from Argentina, He is the chairman of Panamerican Energy, an oil and gas company he acquired from his father. He arrived in Uruguay in the 1990’s and, after careful study of the land, he purchased 10,000 acres in the area and planted 1,200 parcels of vines in 23 different varieties. The vineyards were planted in the early 2000’s and are only now beginning to produce good harvests. He also planted many acres of olive trees, which are also just coming on line. Our first stop was the 205,000 square foot facility that houses the winery, restaurant, tank storage an miscellaneous other activities. The building is extremely modern and sophisticated and mind-blowing. We began a walk about some of the parcels, but soon it began to rain again and our guide called for a golf cart to pick us up. I did get to sample a few grapes that missed the harvest. They tasted sweet. The harvest has just begun and 300 people work the grapes every day. They are transported by bus from the nearby towns and are glad to have good jobs. We were invited to a wine tasting and walked from room to room tasting 2 different whites and 2 different reds, including the Garzon flagship grape, Tannat. It has become a popular Uruguayan wine. The wines are stored in large concrete tanks for a time and then transferred to large oak barrels for further aging.

After the wine tasting we went to Garzon for lunch in Francis Mallmann’s Restaurant. The menu was very interesting. Mark had fish and I settled on Suckling Pig. I knew it would be too much food, but I wanted to taste the pig and figured others would share. It was absolutely excellent–tender and sweet. We managed to eat about half of the animal and saved the rest for our driver Tomas. He said he loved the portion we gave him. Francis was in the restaurant when we finished lunch and we had a short chat with him and got a photo. After lunch Tomas and Paola drove us to our lodging, Bahia Vic, on the beach in Jose Ignacio. It was still pouring rain. We could hear the rain on the roof as well as the pounding surf. Delicious. Happy to go to bed early. This is our last hotel before home.

No more tours or guides. Just beach walks and meals in beachy restaurants. Nice. Well it was nice until yesterday, the 19th. It was a warm sunny day, if a bit windy. We went for a long beach walk in the morning. Saw a bunch of shops holding forth on the beach. Also saw many bubble-like translucent balls that are made by snails, who lay their eggs in them and set them adrift.

Eventually the snails hatch and make a hole in the bubble to crawl out. Took a ride to a restaurant we had booked only to find out they were closed for a wedding. So we began another long walk toward the hotel thinking we would find an eatery somewhere. We did and had a delightful lunch at a place called Il Faro,

named for the nearby lighthouse. At the suggestion of the people at the table next to us, we ordered white clams in a white wine and parsley sauce. Neither of us had ever seen white clams. We loved the meal and were glad to have learned about it. We continued our walk and eventually got back to the Bahia Vik for a nap. But it was impossible to sleep as the music and dancing at la Susana Restaurant next door was penetrating.

At about 6:30 we saw some smoke and looked out the window. to see that it was coming from Susana’s. We did nothing for a few minutes, but the smoke, which was blowing in our direction got thicker. As I watched, I saw it erupt into flame and decided it was time to pack up and get out.

Mark was not so anxious and took more photos while I packed. Finally, he got into gear and hastily packed, but had not left room for a pair of shoes and decided to leave them behind. While packing, the power went off. Knowing we had no elevator to use, we were just thinking how to get to the ground, when a hotel worker ran in to get us out. He led us across the roof and down the far side of the building on an exterior stairway. We managed to get all 4 bags to the stairs, but somehow, Mark’s small bag got separated from us. We ran with the bags to the front gate and watched the scene unfold as more and more guests were evacuated. They had not seen the fire coming as we did or they were away from the property at the time and not allowed into the building when they did arrive. Finally 4 fire trucks arrived along with many cops and other personnel. The scene got pretty chaotic. We heard from our guides that they were working out a plan for what to do with us and their other guests and to chill, which we did…for real. I was really cold by the time our ride arrived. Without the shoes or Mark’s small bag, we were taken to the sister hotel, Playa Vik, where we had wine “on the house” until dinner time. We were taken to our restaurant, Solera. After what was a lousy meal, our guide came to take us to the lodging they had found for us. It was a place called Posada Luz, an estancia a few miles out of town in the countryside. It proved to be a nice facility, with a whole new setting from where we had been. Not being able to see anything, we went to bed.

In the morning we could see the countryside, hear hundreds of green parakeets feasting in the vineyard and enjoy the quiet. Our room had an upstairs terrace that was pleasant for hanging out. The slight breeze was most welcome after so many windy days. Eventually we went to breakfast in the outdoor garden. After many calls and texts, Mark’s bag and shoes were finally located with the help of an Apple AirTag he had installed in the bag when we left home. Posada Luz is 20 minutes from town and the beach, so we are spending our last day enjoying the estancia.

We walked around the grounds, stared at the parakeets, took a few pix and hung out at the pool. At 7pm, we were served a few simple tapas, said good bye to the staff and joined our driver for the 2 hour ride to the Montevideo Airport. Once checked in, we waited three hours for the 1:30am flight to Panama. That 7 hour ride will be followed by another 7 hour trip to LAX, where we will go through customs and wait 3 more hours before flying to SAC and a grateful ride home with Ken Zuckerman.

It has been a an interesting trip full of adventures and unexpected turns. We hope you have enjoyed reading about it. Apart from the beautiful scenery in Patagonia that was expected, I have been most surprised by Uruguay. The people were most friendly and welcoming, the city most attractive and appealing, the beaches and the scenery especially pleasing. If it were not so far away, I would come here to visit more than once. Until next time.

Happy trails, until we meet again,

Julia and Mark