Arapey Thermal

The five-star hotel appears on the horizon in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by vast stretches of open land inhabited by sheep, cattle and the occasional ostrich.  This isolated place north of Salto, Uruguay, is Arapey Thermal, a destination where total immersion in hot mineral springs, white terrycloth bathrobes, lounge chairs and enormous helpings of barbecued meat engender a relaxed sense of well-being. 

Buqebus aircraft



 We are booked for two days, all-inclusive, courtesy of Buquebus, a company that offers boat, bus and air travel throughout Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina.  Their fleet of aircraft are ATR 72-500 high wing propeller planes made in France - a practical and eco-friendly option for short-distance flights.  The Buquebus advertising states that these airplanes are more fuel-efficient and less noise polluting than regular jets.  



Resort bracelet, just like a hospital band

The restaurant has an indoor asado, which is always full of beef. There's a long line-up for carne.

The extensive salad bar is virtually untouched.

Spa fashion



Steaming pools and tropical foliage



The water temperature is 38 degrees Celsius

  

Outdoor pools of varying depths

The thermal pools are fed by natural hot springs, and the water contains healing minerals.  We are surprised (and more than a little pleased) to find that the outdoor pools are empty, although the afternoon weather is sunny and warm enough for swimming and lounging.  That's warm by our Canadian standards - the Argentine and Uruguayan guests find 23 degrees Celsius far too cold!  They've congregated at the indoor pool, which is crowded with bathers who float in the warm water, bodies buoyed by styrofoam tubes, while a recording of Deva Premal's hypnotic yoga music is played on the stereo system.  When it's time for afternoon snack (la merienda) everyone gets out, dons terrycloth robes and flip-flops and heads en masse to the bar.   







 The Arapey Thermal is a fine place to simply retreat from the world sans the distraction of computers, cellphones and newspapers.  We sit outside on the terrace in the evening, enjoy a glass of wine and instead of television, watch the total eclipse of the moon. 





Old Stones and Cellulose

With the height of the tourist season now finished and the fall weather still sunny and pleasant, we decide to take a day trip to Colonia del Sacramento, located 177 kilometers northwest of Montevideo   The bus ride takes two and a half hours, following a route that passes through a factory zone in the industrial east end of the city and gradually becomes scenic as green hills dotted with dairy farms replace billowing smokestacks.

Porton de Campo, the gate to the old town, built in 1745

At noon we arrive in Colonia del Sacramento, the oldest city in Uruguay, settled in 1680 by the Portugese governor of Rio de Janeiro, Manuel Lobo. For the early inhabitants, this area represented a strategic bit of coastline on the Rio de la Plata, located near the mouth of the Parana River and directly opposite the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires.  Prosperous Colonia, an active port and center of contraband trading, changed hands many times in the course of history, in military disputes between the Portugese and Spanish. The Spanish eventually succeeding in making claim to the area following a siege in 1777.

Today, the Barrio Historico is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Once you cross the wooden drawbridge and go through the massive stone Porton de Campo, the rough cobblestone streets lead to a central plaza surrounded by a living architectural museum that's often compared to old Lisbon.

Cobblestone street next to the ramparts lead to the waterfront

Early Portugese colonial house on Calle de los Suspiros

Patina on a stucco wall

Ruins of the 17th c. convent of San Francisco, and the lighthouse, completed in 1857

View of Rio de la Plata from Colonia

Fishing on the rocky shore

We visit several museums in Colonia - the Portugese Museum, the Tile Museum, the Indigenous Museum - all within walking distance of the Plaza Mayor.  The collections are small with precious groupings of ceramics, weaponry, furniture and maps displayed in buildings that were once private houses.   Wandering around the old town, we find a sharp contrast between Montevideo streets (dirty, noisy, full of traffic and graffiti) and those in Colonia del Sacramento (clean, quiet, well-maintained, pedestrian-friendly.)  

At the top of De Portugal, the Basilica de Sanctisimo  Sacramento, 1808

The church interior - stark white, undecorated

Virgen de Treinte y Tres displayed inside the church

Just opposite the old church, we stop at a restaurant  that has tables set out on the sidewalk.  With roasted chicken and green salad, we enjoy a glass of G Sauvignon Gris, a wine from Casa Filgueira bodega.  

Uruguayan Sauvignon Gris - a crisp patio wine 

Waiter at the Viejo Barrio restaurant

Ceramics in an antique shop

1717 Fine Arts Cafe features black and white photography

The beautiful terrace and courtyard at 1717 provide a relaxing spot for ...

espresso coffee!

Typical streetscape in Colonia, with stone construction

 On the way back to Montevideo, we notice that almost every farm in the area surrounding Colonia is marked with a "For Sale" sign.   A friend who owns a small apple farm offers an explanation as to what is happening in rural communities.   The government approval of a cellulose plant, a project funded by a conglomerate of Chilean, Finnish and Swedish companies operating as Montes del Plata de Uruguay, has caused the sudden glut of farms offered for sale.  At 1.9 billion U.S. dollars, this is the largest foreign investment that the country has ever seen. The plant and industrial port will be located at Punta Pereira near Conchillas, within a free trade zone on the bank of Rio de la Plata, just north of Colonia del Sacramento.  To provide enough trees for continuous production of pulp and paper, Montes del Plata is intent on acquiring property for planting forests - in fact, they already own 250,000 hectares of land in Uruguay!  And they're not alone: UPM-Kymmene from Finland owns 225,000 hectares, and the U.S. company Weyerhauser owns 140,000 hectares.    The large-scale foreign ownership of prime land will mean that smaller food producers are squeezed out of operation, just like our apple orchard friend, who is seriously considering a forestry company's attractive offer to purchase.  Goodbye to his annual harvest of Granny Smith, hello to fast-growing eucalyptus and pine.

Ad running in the national newspaper, "El Pais"

One hopes that the heritage sites in Uruguay will be preserved, with each stone intact for future generations to appreciate.  One hopes that industrial growth will not destroy the sustainable, small-scale farms that feed the population. One hopes that the environment will remain pristine, that water resources will be protected, that soil quality will be maintained, that the air will stay clean.  One hopes that Uruguay, with its rich human history and natural resources, will remain distinctly Uruguayan.

Piria - Utopian pioneer

Francisco Piria

There are characters in history whose gifts of intelligence, tenacity, vision and timing work together to produce a life blessed with good fortune.  Francisco Piria, born in Montevideo in 1847 to Italian parents, was one of those determined and lucky men.  Educated in Genoa by an uncle who was a Jesuit monk, Piria acquired a lifelong interest in ancient mysticism and alchemy along with a strict Christian upbringing.

He returned to Uruguay after completing his studies and found employment with an auction house in the Old City Market, selling clocks, watches, overcoats and boots.  When the market was destroyed by fire in 1870, Piria decided to re-establish himself as a real estate auctioneer.  His business grew and prospered as Piria bought and sold land for upscale neighbourhoods in Montevideo, Rosario and Buenos Aires.


In 1890 Piria acquired 2700 parcels of land in an undeveloped coastal region 100 kilometers east of the city of Montevideo.  His trips to the French Riviera had convinced him that this location, with its white sand beaches, granite hills and virgin forests had the potential to become a successful seaside resort town.  The site also had metaphysical qualities that appealed to him, falling in line with harmonious magnetic forces that he claimed existed in a triangular connection with Salto, Uruguay and Cordoba, Argentina. It was an excellent area for positive energy and healthy living.

Castillo Piria

 Piria wasted no time in getting an infrastructure in place for his proposed settlement.  He built a seven mile long boardwalk along the beachfront, a port and a railway. Workers were hired for mining granite and planting a vineyard. Piria financed the construction of a church, a bank, a bodega and a hotel.    The layout for the town he named "Piriapolis" incorporated geometric principles of alchemy, with significant points in the terrain marked by sculptures and fountains.   By 1897 the construction of  his own grand residence at the top of a hill overlooking the town was completed.   The house was also situated in a strategic spot, surrounded by granite cliffs, with a view of Piria's empire,  the nascent town nestled between Punta Fria and Playa Grande.  The railway was conveniently located just steps from his own back door.

Castillo grounds, with statuary and exotic trees

We visited Piriapolis and toured the Castillo, to see how pioneer Piria lived and to experience firsthand the mystical environment which inspired him to take on the challenging project of building his own Utopian community.  The castle was designed by Piria as a replica of an Italianate villa.  The park-like grounds are full of exotic trees which he imported from Spain and Italy.

Dining hall, with Limoges dinner service

The interior of the castle has high ceilings, dark woodwork, tiled floors and medieval style furnishings. The museum guide took us upstairs to tour the private living quarters of the Piria family and admire the stunning landscape from the walk-out terrace.  It seemed as if the view from each window of the house had been carefully planned to frame basic elements of nature - rocks, water and woods.

Interior view with chapel

The Castillo's atmosphere is contemplative and soothing, and one can imagine Piria seated at his desk working on his writing, (articles to be published in his own newspaper "La Tribuna") looking up from his manuscript now and then to enjoy the magnificent vista of the "Pan de Azucar". A flock of parakeets chattering in the garden's lush palm trees reminded us that the secret codes of alchemy, Kabbalah and Renaissance magic were known as "the language of the birds."

Argentino Hotel 

The aging but ever-ambitious Francisco Piria embarked on the construction of an impressive resort hotel in Piriapolis in 1920.  The Argentino Hotel took ten years to build and boasted that its facilites were the most sumptuous in South America when it opened.  Piria promoted the resort as a healthy vacation destination with an excellent climate, and did not hesitate to mention that visitors should consider investing in a piece of land in Piriapolis.   That opportunity is still available in 2011, with lots in subdivisions on Cerro San Antonio and Pan de Azucar being sold by real estate developers.

Lobby of the Argentino Hotel

 The hotel is still operating today, with 300 guest rooms, health spa, casino, banquet and convention facilities centrally located on the Rambla de los Argentinos overlooking the Playa Piriapolis.  The original details of the interior have been preserved, retaining the charm of the 1930s.

A monument to Francisco Piria stands next to the hotel

Piria died in 1933 at the age of 86, but local legend tells us that he simply disappeared and his body was never found.  A large cross was erected in honour of Piria at the top of the Pan de Azucar hill.   Some believe that Piria found the philosopher's stone and achieved immortality.  Others believe that the place called Piriapolis - the lasting legacy of a man who was a remarkable blend of visionary, eccentric, pioneer, entrepreneur, and socialist - is magic itself.

The boardwalk, Piriapolis

Flora

Parks and gardens in Montevideo are full of flowering trees and shrubs that add maximum colour and drama to horticultural displays year-round.  I've just learned the names for some of the extraordinary varieties that thrive in Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina, the ones I had never encountered in colder zones.

Floss Silk Tree (Palo Barracho, Chorisia speciosa)

This pink beauty is in full bloom in Montevideo right now, a tall tree covered with clusters of five-petaled flowers that are similar in colour to Stargazer lilies.

The Floss Silk tree  is called "Palo Barracho" (drunken stick) in Spanish.  Its bark is traditionally used in cooking the hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca, a drug linked to rituals conducted by shamanistic tribes in the Amazon.  The trunk of this tree is studded with sharp thorns, making climbing a painful, if not impossible operation.  Each thorn acts as a water reservoir, to help the tree survive through times of drought.  

.  

The national plant of Uruguay is the Ceibo, a small tree covered with red flowers, also called "Cockspur Coral."   This tree represents the soul of Princess Anahi, who was burned at the stake by Spanish conquistadors, according to a native Guarani legend.

Ceibo tree (Erythrina crista-galli) Uruguay's national plant

The crimson coloured flowers of the tree are hermaphrodite, and attract hummingbirds for pollination.  Ceibo wood is light and porous, and is used for constructing beehives, model airplanes and rafts.

Planted as a hedge or border, the sky-blue Cape Leadwort or Plumbago attracts butterflies to the garden.  This plant is a native of South Africa that migrated to this side of the Atlantic during the 18th century, a stowaway aboard the Dutch East Indies ships that carried slaves to South America.  In native African culture, Plumbago is used as a poultice to treat warts, as an emetic to dispel bad dreams and as snuff for relieving headaches.  A branch placed in the thatch of a hut is believed to protect the home from lightning.

Cape Leadwort (Plumbago auriculata)

The sticky flowers are used by children to make blue "earrings"

A beautiful umbrella-shaped shade tree at the corner of 21 de Setiembre in Parque Rodo is a mature example of Golden Shower Tree or Yellow canafistula. The leaves and bark of this tree are used in Ayurvedic medicine as an anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer treatment.  

Golden Shower tree, Yellow Canafistula (Cassia fistula)

The central location of my favourite Canafistula  makes it vulnerable to the abuse of lovers who can't resist carving their names into its sturdy trunk.  I have a feeling the tree will survive for many more years, defying the damage and outlasting the romances recorded on its bark.