Land of the Meat-Eaters

Argentina and Uruguay have an ongoing competition for the title of the country which eats the most meat per capita annually.  Our guide told us that the people in Uruguay eat 2.1 kilograms of meat per person each year.  All this was said as part of the guide’s tongue-in-cheek description of his fellow citizens.

We revisited Uruguay at Point del Este, a peninsula that divides the estuary of the Plate River from the Atlantic Ocean.  The beaches on the estuary side have mild breezes and gentle waves.  The Atlantic Ocean side is a surfer’s paradise.  The warning flags were red – no swimming allowed,-but dozens of people were enjoying the surf.

The standard of living is high and so is the cost of living.  Many foreigners retire to this area and build houses that remind them of the country they left.

One of the unusual houses belonged to a famous Uruguayan artist.  He was strongly influenced by Gaudi and Dali. The house is now a museum, which we saw only from the outside.







Although his work may not be familiar to you, part of his life story may be.  His son, a player on the national soccer team, was in a plane that crashed.  The passengers were given up for dead, but survived for 72 days before they were rescued.  The story was recounted in a book and a movie,  Alive.







This country must breed artists.  Another famous sculpture, this one one the beach, has several names.  Some call it Mankind Emerging from the Earth, but the artist just calls in Hand.

The largest sea lion colony in the southern hemisphere is on a Wolf Island just off the coast.  You are not allowed to go to the island, only take a boat around it, but that does not stop the sea lions from coming to you.  These fellows were waiting for a hand out from the men cleaning the day's catch.