Rodo Park and its lake

This nice park is almost empty on weekend mornings.



The lake water is not very transparent these days, but the birds carry on.

Nike 10K Race

This is the first time I watch the start of this popular race, although I've often waited for friends and relatives at the end. I wanted to see how you start a race with 8,000 runners.

They change the starting point from year to year; in 2009 it was the awesome Palacio Legislativo. The crowd of runners in yellow shirts was kept in position by means of heavy metal fences.

The race attracts runners from every age and physical condition. After the first few hundred meters everybody still looks quite in shape!










I find most inspiring the huge effort made by wheelchair and blind runners. They got the strongest applause, well deserved. Hope they managed to finish the race!

Made in Here

Hecho Acá (Made in Here) is a large annual fair of artisans and designers of every type of object. It takes place in the LATU tents. It is a good opportunity to watch people and to learn about new trends.

Had you ever seen this size of mate straw (bombilla)? It was more than 2 meter tall.

A small team of young and graceful dancers was doing its best to dance inside the crowded tents. They danced better than I could photograph them!










Neopan 400 film, pushed to 800. Camera was the compact Olympus XA.

Election day

Last Sunday we had presidential and parliamentary elections. Lots of movement in the city, a real popular Fiesta with capital F. We liked it so much that there is already a second round scheduled, late next month.

Little tables sprout everywhere with the ballot papers, often two tables of rival parties together -- with the operators helping each other. We must be more civilized than I thought. People were mostly looking for their circuits. Mate is always nearby.



Much movement and many flags in the afternoon. Some flags were larger than the carrier, others small and discreet but no less telling. Flags in cars, motorbikes, enveloping people.

Quite a bit of suspense in the definition. Let us hope that the friendly atmosphere is still here next month!

The following pictures were taken a few weeks before the election. I got stuck into a motorcade of one of the candidates, fortunately with a camera at hand.

Aeronautical Museum

The little Aeronautical Museum is located next to the Cilindro, the largest indoors sport arena in the city. It is maintained by an enthusiastic crowd of supporters and kept by a skeleton Air Force staff and cadets. A good place for a walk if you like planes of every age and state of repair.

An old Chevrolet car was displayed on Heritage Sunday along with the planes.

Heritage - Elias Regules Society

Heritage Day (Dia del Patrimonio) - dedicated to the Gaucho and rural traditions. A throng of people in the largest traditional society, Elias Regules in the north Carrasco area.

There was a lively dance by a Cerrillos amateur group.



The little city boys enjoy meeting their first horse!



Within the Elias Regules field, there is a replica of an old rail station.

Forlorn corner

This is a lost corner in peripheral Montevideo (Coronel Raiz St. and Batlle & Ordoñez Boulevard). The weeds have grown high. The current election campaign has helped aesthetics, by painting white a section of the old brick wall.

I doubt this corner was any different 50 years ago.

Boats and bows

I've been walking again along the marinas of the Yacht Club, this time with a 50 mm lens and nothing else in the Pentax ME. There was a tremendously low tide on Saturday and a lot of boats were touching the mud bottom.

Cerrito Church

This beautiful church was built on the same hill where the siege army had its headquarters during the Guerra Grande (1839-1852). The hill is called Cerrito (small hill). I like this inverted view; it goes better with the melancholy of our winter.

Yacht Club marinas

The upscale Yacht Club is located in the Buceo area. The marinas are accessible at the end of their internal parking lot. I'm not sure if visitors are always allowed. In any case I asked the guard last Saturday and was waved through.

Those yachts look quite capable and tidy!

An old pontoon was sidelighted by reflections in the brown River Plate water.





The marinas are next to the fishing dock, which had a nice light yesterday. It is good to see a bit of sun from time to time!





Brown, silted water of the River Plate and sea light passing between two pilot launches.

The Acal nautical club

In the Malvin area of the Rambla, the Acal nautical club stores sailboats and fishing boats. There are beautiful new catamarans, racing Snipe types, canoes, and also some fishing boats. I like the look of this place in our gray winter days.

The lonely tree

The Holocaust memorial is a favorite place in the city. It is located near the Golf Club fields, in the Rambla. The memorial should be entered by walking along an old rail track.

At the end of the rail there is a tree - it must be a strong one to have survived our wind storms.



One of the old rails has been cut. Grass has grown through the gap.

Buceo harbor - fishing boats' dock

Long weekend 1-3 May, 2009. Time to get back to shooting!

Kiev 4M, Helios-103 and Jupiter 9 lenses, no-name 200 ISO film.

The Butterfly

I'm not usually keen on macro, but this butterfly stepped right upon the wire screen on the door when I was coming into the house camera in hand.

Playa Verde and Piriapolis - January 2009

Playa Verde, 10 km from Piriapolis, must be one of the quietest places in the Uruguayan coast.

This year, forest fires burned Cerro de la Virgen, taking a life and several houses. The helicopters' work and the Firemen Corps dedication was outstanding.






Volunteer's hard work stopped the fire near the Tarariras creek, close to Las Flores.





Piriapolis' large harbor has a small but colorful fleet of fishing boats. One of my favorite places in the world!









A happy sea wolf was posing for the crowds.