Our Trip to Minas, Uruguay, Part Two

article from July 9, 2012

By Jamie Douglas

Minas, a charming town located in the sierras of Uruguay, has held an attraction for us for some time now, and we recently went there in search of housing for the near future – in vain, unfortunately.

Nevertheless, I highly recommend a visit to this small city in the “mountains” of Uruguay. There are various direct bus services from Montevideo, Piriápolis and Punta del Este. The ride is about one and a half hours from any of those places. If you are coming from the central or northern Atlantic coast, there is a shortcut by taking the bus to Pan de Azúcar and walking a block to the COOM “office,” a stale, rundown bar inhabited by strange creatures at all hours of the day. A bus leaves from there at noon. This bus schedule information website offers the details on most services available in the country in English.

So we took the ride from the stinking bar up to Minas, an incredibly clean town with 25,000 mostly friendly people and clean air that is surrounded by lovely rolling hillsides. The town itself features just about anything your heart might desire: well-stocked stores, restaurants and confiterías featuring world-class coffee and a great assortment of pastries, as well as several very nice hotels. Our favorite is the Posada Verdún, located at 715 Washington Beltran, just a couple of blocks from the bus station, in the heart of town. The posada features its own dining room, which serves world-class food at very affordable prices, and the chef’s pride is his bread. Judging by his waistline, he eats there, as well. All the rooms are well appointed and heated/air conditioned. We have been to this particular location several times, and they really do treat us like family. Their motto is “Su casa en Minas.”

Walking around town, we were constantly amazed at how clean everything was, how many smiling faces we encountered and, even late at night, how safe we felt. The little city just does not give off the aura of fear and crime that you encounter in so many other Latin American cities.

Another thing that was very pleasing to the eye was the architecture. With a couple of newer exceptions, all the buildings are no more than two stories, with many polychromatic fronts. The entranceways are tall and feature very ornate doors, most lacking iron grates.

The town features several well-groomed parks, the largest of which is right in the center of town, with a large statue of General Lavalleja sitting on his horse (with the occasional pigeon pooping on his chapeau). There are several vacation parks just outside of town, the best known of which is probably the Parque Salus, the source of the mineral water of the region as well as the local beer, Patricia, which recently got gobbled up by the Belgian multinational Ambev, then Inbev, the company that bought out Anheuser-Busch and Corona Modelo and is looking to become the world beer monopoly.

It is nevertheless a very nice excursion to go there. An ancient bus takes you the 10 kilometers from the Minas bus station to the nature park, where you will enjoy an abundance of eucalyptus and pine trees.

Other local attractions include the retreat village of Villa Serrana, 25 km northeast of Minas; Parque Artiguas, with its huge statue of the Uruguayan national hero, José Gervasio Artigas, on his horse; and many nature attractions in the surrounding mountains that offer outdoor activities such as fishing, camping and hiking.

Overall, Minas is a lovely destination for a few days or a weekend, but if you want to move there, there really is not much available in rentals. There are plenty of properties for sale, of course, whether you want to be in town or on the outskirts. So if you are in this neck of the woods, by all means, stop by in Minas and enjoy the easygoing town in the sierras, 500 feet above sea level, one of the higher places in Uruguay.

see also: Uruguay's "Secret": Minas and Our Trip to Minas, Uruguy: Part One

Jamie Douglas

About to be homeless (again) in Uruguay

[All photos by Jamie Douglas]

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

Our Trip to Minas, Uruguay: Part One

article from July 7, 2012

By Jamie Douglas

We have crisscrossed this small nation in search of affordable housing, and unfortunately had to discount our first choice, Colonia del Sacramento, clearly our favorite. Unfortunately, it has become way too costly to rent a place there, so we looked at several other options while burning up our financial resources (see the PayPal donation button to help!) and ended up back in La Paloma on the Atlantic coast, about two and a half hours from the Brazilian border and about four hours from Montevideo, all by bus, of course.

While we were in Argentina, La Paloma suffered through some of the worst tourist-seasons in its history. Many of the vacation houses that normally rent out for megabucks stayed empty as the rich Argentineans just did not come. We saw the first signs of that develop when we left Uruguay in February of 2010. Many of the owners of the seasonal rentals were sitting on their front porches of their homes waiting for the visitors, who never showed. The restaurant owners were also complaining that nobody came to eat; the tourists who did come cooked their meals in their rentals.

So we are back to the ghost town La Paloma is during the off-season, having contacted our friendly landlady from Montevideo. Once we arrived in Rocha to visit with her, we were shocked to learn that our little cave by the beach had quintupled in price. But we had no other choice than to cough up the sum, hoping we would find something more affordable away from the tourist zone that would be good for the whole year, instead of turning us into economic fugitives when the season starts again in December. So we made a plan to go to Minas, a very charming and very clean town in the sierras that serves as the capital of the department of Lavalleja.

Our timing was impeccable: We arrived during a two-day rainy period, which also came with very cold winds, but we had a beautiful third day, although it was also very cold. We looked and asked around, but in the end, we had to go see real estate vultures. We found that in order to rent, they require you to own property that you could put up as collateral plus five month’s rent for a deposit as well as first and last month’s rent – in all, seven months up front to get a one year lease, during which the parasitic real estate agents would hold your money, with uncertain guarantees that you would get your money back, or that they would even be around when the time came to get your money back. We have heard a good amount of horror stories of renters getting completely screwed out of their money, and we did not want to try that route, never mind that we would not have had any money left to put toward buying furniture and appliances.

So we had to satisfy ourselves with having a nice trip to one of our favorite towns in the country, staying at the lovely Posada Verdún , located a mere two blocks from the bus station and two blocks from the center of town. It features the fastest Wi-Fi I have ever experienced in a public location outside of Asia. The in-house restaurant is superb, featuring international cuisine, and we felt very welcomed by the friendly and caring staff. I will elaborate more about our visit to Minas in my next article, which will feature more photos as well.

All photos by Jamie Douglas

see also: Uruguay's "Secret": Minas and Our Trip to Minas, Uruguy: Part Two

Jamie Douglas

Waiting for Summer to Return to Uruguay

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

Uruguay’s “Secret”: Minas

article from April 19, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

The nation of Uruguay has become an attractive destination for many potential migrants from all over the world. Its educational system, which provides those cute little laptop computers to every single schoolchild in the country and provides free education to all, all the way up to post graduate degrees, serves as a brilliant example of what can be done with the state’s money when it is not squandered by corrupt politicians who add hidden earmarks to essential spending bills.

Most potential expats look not much further than Montevideo or Punta Del Este in their search for a place to settle. If you want big city life, coupled with big city prices, both of these two should do the trick for you. If, however, you are looking for something a little more laid back, there are many other options, one of which I will explore in this article: Minas.

Today, April 19, is the day when tens of thousands of pilgrims are gathered 6 km outside of Minas at Cerro del Verdún Santuario de la Virgin for an annual religious festival. The date is set, so this being Semana Santa, or Holy Week, can only be an extra added bonus.

On any other day, Minas is a rather quiet and charming little city, located about two hours northeast of Montevideo by bus. At an altitude of 450 feet in a lovely area of rolling hills, it is the capital of Lavalleja Department and is guarded by the world’s largest horse statute, with General José Gervasio Artigas on his mount.

The town was founded in 1783 by a group of Spaniards who had originally tried to settle in Patagonia. Today’s population is about 40,000, and its location makes for warm summers and cool evenings pretty much year round. There are no high-rise buildings here, almost everything is two stories, with an occasional three-four storied building in the center.

The town square, Plaza Libertad, is the heartbeat of town, where you will find all the very polite teenagers congregating after school, enjoying ice cream from one of the several shops around the square, which is dominated by a statute of General Juan Antonio Lavalleja, one of the leaders in Uruguay’s fight for independence. Generally, you will find a disrespectful pigeon sitting on the general’s head. You may also be approached by a rather frumpy lady (?) who is offering to tell your fortune or sell you some special gadget, who will give you the evil eye, should you not want to listen to her pitch.

As is the case throughout Uruguay, a large selection of fresh fruits and vegetables is always available, as well as cheeses that are made Colonia Helvecia, the Swiss settlement located between Colonia Del Sacramento and Montevideo that is so famous for its large variety of excellent dairy products.

Not far from town, about 10 kilometers west, you will find Parque Salus, the source of Uruguay’s popular mineral water as well as the Patricia Brewery, source of another of the country’s fine liquids. All this is located in a lovely eucalyptus grove that contains a small botanical garden, a reasonably priced restaurant and a more upscale hotel than you would expect to find here. The park is serviced by original antique buses that run frequently from the central bus station, or you can get there by taxi.

While we were in Minas, we stayed at the Posada Verdún, a charming, family-run inn just a few blocks from the bus station as well as from the center of town that features its own modest kitchen with very good yet reasonably priced food, a cozy dining room, a small flowery courtyard, and an upstairs terrace that lends itself equally well to sunbathing and stargazing. We went up there with our fruit and wine to admiring the little crescent moon setting in the west, when suddenly we spotted the International Space Station flying across the balmy evening sky!

Rentals in town are readily available, as is land outside of town as well as houses with land for sale. Bear in mind, however, that the houses are not exactly to North American or European standards. But when living in such a charmed area, some sacrifices should be expected, and you can always improve on the building or, if you own the land, build a house to your satisfaction. The prices for real estate and raw land in Uruguay have been rising, as many wealthy Argentineans have started to buy land in Uruguay to protect their money from being subject to the whims are the Argentinean Central Bank, but this is occurring primarily along the beaches. The Argentines love their Uruguayan beach getaways.

While only two hours away from Montevideo, Minas is even closer to the beloved 30s-era beach resort of Piriápolis, or to the east of that, the hip-and-with-it resort of Punta Del Este, from where more small beach towns dot the coast all the way to the Brazilian border. But your location in the Cuchilla Grande keeps you from being overrun by the mad hordes of tourists that congregate along the beaches from late December to the end of February, and it is at those times of the year when you will be happy that you are not living along the beaches.

All photos by Jamie Douglas:

Enjoy life and be happy!

Jamie Douglas

Patagonia, Argentina

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.