10.03.2013 Bulletin

by Marita
(Montevideo Uruguay)

Consider:

"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand."
Milton Friedman

Dear Folks,

Our Magical Montevideo Restaurant Tour continues as we try out a new restaurant this week, March 17th. Yes, it was supposed to happen last week, but equipment failure meant that we could not be served at Amaranto, so we went to The Manchester on 18 de Julio.

But this week, all is in order, so we will go to Amaranto at 14:00 (2 pm). It is located at the corner of Andes and Uruguay, right across from the French Embassy. And again, the special this Sunday will be beef stew with vegetables and sweet potatoes, so if you would like it, please let me know by Friday evening so I can tell Mariela how many would like to partake.
Other items this week include:

1. The drinking water from the tap here has some problems, it seems, so the recommendation is not to drink it for the time being. Bacteria and algae are the culprits, so bottled water might be a good idea, unless you have a filter.

2. The ballet La sylphide will be performed at the big auditorium of the Sodre almost every night until March 27th. Anyone interested in going with others should let me know what dates would work for them, and perhaps we can all get tickets together. In that connection, the season is starting up, and perhaps getting season tickets would be a good plan.

3. Another musical event to pass on:
RocknFall en el teatro Verano. Jim and I are going to see the Black Keys y Santullo. Just in case there are other rockers in our midst:
http://www.teatrodeverano.org.uy/uc_244_1.html
http://www.elpais.com.uy/130108/ultmo-687115/ultimomomento/ya-estan-a-la-venta-las-entradas-para-ver-a-the-black-keys-y-franz-ferdinand/
4. Another topic of discussion was a 15 year old high school student who discovered an early test for 3 types of cancer. You can read about it at:
15 Year Old Kid Develops Foolproof Test for Pancreatic, Ovarian and Lung Cancer; Test Costs 3 Cents, Takes 5 Minutes
Here's an inspiring story for the weekend. Jack Andraka, a fifteen year old freshman in high school, developed a paper sensor that could detect pancreatic, ovarian and lung cancer in five minutes for as little as 3 cents. He conducted his research at John Hopkins University.

Jack got the idea after a friend died of pancreatic cancer. His initial research started on Wikepedia, then after he had an idea, Jack approached 200 research labs. 199 labs turned him down. The 200th said "maybe".

5. Mac lovers might be interested in a (gently) used MacBook Pro for sale: It is a maxed out 17", with a 1 TB hard drive and 8 GB of RAM. It never left the owner's desk, and said owner refurbishes Macs, so it has been cared for and tested now before resale. You can find out about it at

Apple MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.8 17" Mid-2009 Specs MC226LL/A

and let me know if you are interested.

6. There is a furnished house for rent by the day in the truly quiet and peaceful town of Santa Isabel de la Predera, way up the coast near La Predrea and a bit north of La Paloma. The location is perfect for people wanting to explore that part of the country for a couple of days. The owners, a German-Dutch couple, have fixed it up beautifully, and it features a large kitchen and living room downstairs, and beds upstairs. It can sleep 5, but 2 or 3 would be ideal. Now, in the off season, it costs US $ 60 per night (but the Easter weekend is already booked). Contact Sonja and Louis at luvgirasoles (the "at" sign) gmail.com if you are interested.

7. House for rent for 6 months in Parque del Plata:
Cute house available for rent to expats for medium term rental (max. 6 months) in Parque del Plata, one block from the beach. This house would be ideal for an expat couple who wants to "smell the Uruguayan air" before making a decision to stay here permanently and/or take their time to look for a property of their choice either in Montevideo or on the coast.

Located in a very nice and safe neighbourhood 6 blocks from Parque del Plata commercial area (open market, grocery store, internet café, bars, restaurants, hardware stores, abitab, post office, exercise clubs, clothing stores) and only 2 miles east of Atlantida, a major resort center on the Gold Coast (restaurants, bars, clinics, Tienda Inglesa, Tienda Disco, tourist hotels and hostels). Direct bus service to the airport or Montevideo is only one block away. Children and pets are welcome.

Villa Aventura will be available on April 3rd at a very reasonable rental price of U.S.$ 500/month (equivalent to U.S.$ 16.45/day) plus service charges (water, gas and electricity). It will come completely furnished down to dishes, cutlery, pots and pans, except for towels and linen and will be managed by an agent in case of emergencies. For a very detailed "Features page" and 14 pictures, please, contact Denis Dextraze, at dextraze (the "at" sign) yahoo.com, cel.: 094-796017.

8. And the eternal tax situation: a reminder:
For non-rural property owners: March is when Primaria (school) tax is due - in one or three installments. With your Indentificador number (from a previous bill; not sure what you do if you don't have that), you can get a copy of your bill or have it mailed to you at http://www.anep.edu.uy/anepportal/servlet/main004?439.

There appears to be no way to pay online or through Banco Républica. As I recall it is worth paying this one on time.

More than enough for today--sorry this got so long, but it was not possible to decide what to leave out..... :-)
Cheers, Marita