Housesitting in Uruguay: Two Dogs, Three Cats, and Some Poultry

As I began writing this blog post back in Uruguay, a typical scene surrounded me: two dogs waiting patiently by my side and another three cats circling nearby. A rooster crowing in the distance and a duck wandering past the open patio door. Just another day on the farm.

Our housesit in rural Uruguay strayed from the usual scenerio we’ve grown accustomed to. The recreational farm was home to 22 chickens and 8 ducks, plus the aforementioned pets and an additional stray cat. Three houses sat on a five-hectare property with vegetable gardens and fruit trees aplenty.

Our gardening efforts yielded plums, lemons, oranges, apples, tomatoes, and green beans on a daily basis. Homemade apple crumble and sweet lemonade graced our palates several times throughout our two-week stint. Breakfast was also covered courtesy of the two or three hens dedicated to laying an ongoing supply of eggs.

In between all the farm work we found time to visit several beaches along the Uruguayan coast, all of which are beautiful and in no short supply. The country has over 600 km of sandy shores on offer, drawing beachgoers from neighbouring Argentina and Brazil for the weekend.

Our closest beach was a quick 20-minute drive but we also made our way further over to popular Punta del Este, an affluent city known as the Hamptons/St. Tropez/St. Barth’s of South America, depending where you’re coming from. This shimmering metropolis is a far cry from its surrounding towns, where poverty is apparent and the high cost of Uruguayan living takes its toll.

Protruding from the sand in Punta del Este is a slightly creepy but nonetheless striking cement sculpture of five giant fingers. Constructed by Chilean artist Mario Irarrázabal, it won first prize in a monumental art contest in 1982. Some might say it sticks out like a sore thumb...

During our regular driving excursions we’d often notice a large cross statue on a mountain nearby, seemingly within reasonable hiking distance from bottom to top. We set off one day on what would’ve taken a few hours of strenuous hiking in the scorching heat, only to find that the trail was near closing time. The collective relief was palpable. We wandered instead through a wildlife reserve at the mountain base housing dozens of capybaras, which are akin to an oversized gerbil both in appearance and curiosity.

We spotted many other animals closer to home, including armadillos, parakeets, roadrunners, and massive insects that I’ve chosen to forget rather than list here. Every animal seems to outdo its North American counterpart either in size or distinctive colour.

On the homeowners’ advice, we made our way to a nearby winery one afternoon. Viña Edén is nestled into a rocky mountain slope overlooking its vineyards, scoring itself points in both the wine and view departments. We were living on the edge for the short drive back home thanks to Uruguay’s zero tolerance alcohol policy.

I think we can all agree that our favourite site was Casapueblo, the former summer home and art studio of Uruguayan artist Carlos Páez Vilaró, pal of Picasso and painter of murals around the world. His artistic legacy is spread over five continents and many decades, and yet somehow he found time to personally build the intricately curved walls and peaked roofs of his unusual home (over 30 years and with a bit of help). Having passed away in 2014 at the age of 90, Páez Vilaró’s former home is now a bustling hotel and museum with stunning views from its cliffside peak.

After wrapping up our time in Uruguay, we ended up back in Buenos Aires for two nights before continuing home. I think we can all miss the animals now from a safe distance. It was no small feat rounding up the herd each night.

Buenos Aires: The Paris of South America

Currently checking in from a housesit in Uruguay after a five-day jaunt through Buenos Aires, Argentina last week. It’s been surprisingly challenging to find time for a blog update here with the upkeep required to run a small farm. This post is coming to you while my travel partners collect chicken eggs and tend to the fruit trees. I’ve somehow managed to avoid poultry duty but do dabble in some light gardening.

The long trip down to South America involved about 15 hours worth of plane travel and a short layover in Chile. Is it pronounced chill-ee or chill-ay? Either way, it was neat to see part of the Andean mountain range as we made a pit stop in Santiago.

I found a sense of familiarity in the architecture of Buenos Aires and wasn’t surprised to find that it’s often referred to as the Paris of South America. It turns out that much of the city’s landmarks were built in the golden era when Argentina was one of the wealthiest countries in the world, with rulers at that time looking to Europe for architectural inspiration.

Our Airbnb was within short walking distance of La Recoleta Cemetery, an enchantingly eery maze of endless corridors. The cemetery is perhaps best known as the final resting place of iconic first lady Eva Perón, idolized by the public until her death from cancer in 1952. After being confiscated by the then-military government, her body was hidden for more than 20 years before its eventual burial in Recoleta. She now lies in a crypt five metres underground, visited by adoring fans and chance passersby alike.

An unusual find in our barrio (neighbourhood) was the aesthetically distinctive Palace of Running Water, built in the 19th century to supply the city’s water after several cholera and typhoid epidemics. Occupying an entire city block, the “palace” features over 300,000 terracotta tiles and bricks shipped all the way from Europe. We never did figure out why so much effort was put into dolling up a water treatment plant.

We spent several hours on Sunday wandering the extensive San Telmo street market that’s famous both for its scale and eclectic goods. The market stretches along 13 blocks of cobblestone street and spills onto a few side roads, making for a cumbersome journey at best (we weren’t complaining about our feet at all). Visitors will pass stall upon stall laden with silverware, figurines, leather goods, military regalia, artwork, antiques, and more. We walked away with... six placemats and a T-shirt.

Our journey through the market led us back to the city centre and right through the doors of the main Catholic church. The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral, finished in 1827 after being rebuilt seven times, is where Jorge Bergoglio—now known as Pope Francis—served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998 to 2013. The Pope Francis Museum inside the church exhibits some of his personal effects.

La Boca, a delightfully colourful neighbourhood full of postcard-perfect shanties, is a tourist favourite in Buenos Aires. El Caminito is the barrio’s most famous street, full of art vendors, buskers, and tango dancers competing for your spare pesos. You can also find an association football stadium nearby that’s home to the Boca Juniors, our new favourite soccer team. We even have a jersey to prove it.

The highlight of our final day was the National Museum of Decorative Arts. Housed in a mansion built in the early 1900s, it was once the residence of a Chilean-Argentine aristocratic couple. The mansion is well worth a tour to drool over the Palace of Versailles-inspired ballroom and their other extravagant belongings.

Over the course of the week, we fuelled our non-stop walking with different kinds of empanadas and parrilla (grilled meat), the latter of which can be served in a sandwich with your choice of toppings, including a fried egg. We also enjoyed the helado (gelato) on offer, which is sold by the cup, cone, or kilo in many corner shops. We chose to forgo the kilo option.

Despite the mutual language barrier, we found the locals to be extremely helpful in time of need, particularly when trying to tackle the metro system (which we never really figured out). It’s a small miracle that we made it back to our Airbnb each day as the city is quite expansive. I’ve certainly noticed the foot complaining has reduced drastically around here the last few days.