Haul-Out in Piriapolis

Mate: We can't leave Uruguay without saying something about the national drink, mate. Argentines drink mate but the Uruguayans take mate to the highest level. Mate is an herbal drink that taste like a bitter green tea and drunk out of a conical shaped gourd or metal cup through a metal straw called a bombilla. The mate cup and thermos are almost like another appendage, some people never seen to be without them. Stores sell mate cups, thermos and, for some, leather cases that can contain all the mate paraphernalia. In the evening as the day winds down mate drinkers are found sitting on benches, on their front porches, in their cars, or just walking drinking mate.

The proper procedure for drinking mate is as followed. First the cup in packed with mate and the bombilla inserted. Then the cup is filled with hot water from the thermos and drunk by the cebador (the preparer) until the fluid is gone. More hot water is then poured into the cup and is passed to next person and they proceed to drink all the fluid in the cup. More hot water is poured into the cup and it is passed on to the next person, etc.

Tamara was splashed back in the water after spending a week on the hard in the boat yard in Piriapolis. We than spent another two and half weeks tied up in the harbor. We made use of the international community of cruisers exchanging info on the passage down along the Argentine coast and through the Chilean canals as well as books, music, videos. We now have a fresh stock of entertainment. Each week a few more boats went back in the water, some heading up river to Colonia de Sacramento or Buenos Aires, some heading north to Brazil, east to South Africa or South around to Chile.

We found Piriapolis more enjoyable on this second visit than our first in February, mainly because it was out of season and, except for the weekends, there were no tourist in town. The weather was very pleasant, not as hot as February, and made for good hiking and biking excursions. Jean and Ralph, a U.S. ex pat couple living in Piriapolis, were very generous and loaned Nancy a bike to utilize while there and, on several occasions, made a vehicle available. Thank you very much Jean and Ralph.

Nine of Cups (www.nineofcups.com) was the first U.S. sailboat we had seen since the Canaries. David and Marcie have been on their boat since 2000 and spent the last two years in South America - Columbia, the Galapagos, Ecuador, Easter Island, Peru, Chile, Argentina before wintering in Piriapolis. They are now on their way to South Africa. We wish them good winds and many great adventures.

We left Piriapolis on October 27th for the 230 nm passage for Mar del Plata, another gathering point for the boats heading South. This will be the last good place until Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, to stock up on provisions, fill up on fuel, make any last minute part purchases or boat repairs. Our plan is to be here another week or two before beginning the trip South.