Why Uruguay?

I live with my husband Doug, three dogs and a cat, in a sleepy beach town in Uruguay. I’m often asked, “Why Uruguay?” And I answer with confidence, “Why not Uruguay.”

There are dozens of reasons I can state, but the bottom line is nature and peace of mind. I have lived in many other countries and in today’s troubled world, Uruguay is a peaceful place to call home with friendly people and a relaxed life style.

Geographically the second-smallest nation in South America after Suriname, Uruguay is 68,038 square miles and about the size of the state of Washington (66,544 square miles). Washington state has more than 7 million people—and families and corporations continue to move there. In contrast, Uruguay is home to only 3.3 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in its capital and largest city, Montevideo.

The population of Uruguay is of European origin–mostly Spanish and Italian. Other foreign nationalities have immigrated here and contributed to its mix of culture diversity.

And Uruguay’s beaches are beautiful—one of the best kept secrets in South America.

AtlantidaBeach

Here’s a photo of our dogs discovering a river dolphin on the beach near our home in Atlantida.

Bengi&Gitaw.RiverDolphin

Our quiet beach town of Atlántida, Uruguay has a significant collection of quirky, cool buildings featuring a variety of innovative architectural designs.

One of the most famous structures was designed and engineered by Eladia Dieste, an architect who made his reputation by building numerous elegant structures from grain silos to churches. His buildings are a fusion of cutting-edge design and functionality featuring self-supporting double curved arches, built without any structural columns. We see this church often as it’s located near the butcher shop we frequent. It’s a must-see to share when we have visitors from abroad.

IglesiaChristoAtlantida

Iglesia del Cristo Obrero, designed by Elasio Dieste was built in 1958.

Another must-see favorite for originality is El Águila – The Eagle. In 1945, Italian millionaire Natalio Michelizzi, commissioned an Uruguayan builder (Juan Torres) to build him a statue of the Virgin Mary. Tores instead built a place where Michelizzi could read, paint and entertain. This meeting place for friends has given rise to several legends—from a Nazi observatory, a cosmic energy center, to a smuggler’s hideout.

201102-doug-aguila

And we also find Uruguay to be the perfect base for exploring other countries in South America. We’re traveling to Peru in July to tour some ancient civilization sites. Anyone ever heard of the knotted string records??? They are some of the most tenacious mysteries of ancient Peru kept by the Incas.

Why Uruguay? Why not Uruguay.

9 Replies to “Why Uruguay?”

  1. Wonderful Susan,

    that’s why we live here too.
    If one want o read more about this wonderful country visit my blog
    http://www.myuytips.com.
    Under category “Atlantida” you’ll find an article about the church and architect
    you mentioned above. And much much more.

    Of course I heard about the “ancient knotted string language”. It’s fascinating.
    Still a not fully discovered secret of ancient Sout American Indian communication.
    A great novel is written about that: “Nudo de Sangre” by Spanish writer Augustin
    Sanchez Vidal. The German translation title is “Quipu” . I don’t know if there is an
    English translation also, couldn’t find a title.

    And by the way Susan, your novels The Lullaby Illusion and Good Morning Diego
    Garcia are magnificent. I loved to read both of them !

    Go on like that, I look very much forward to read “part III” of the memoirs, Mike.

    1. Thanks Mike! Glad you enjoyed my books. Super that you mentioned your very informative blog. YOurs is on my FAVORITES list.
      Susan

  2. Sorry,
    forgot to mention that Wikipedia shows a great article about
    the ancient string language “Quipu” means “talking knots”.

    1. Mike,
      Thanks for posting your comments. I’m reading up on the “talking knots.”

    1. It is a beautiful place. I love living near water. We can hear the sound of the sea while drifting off to sleep. NICE!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.