Reflections on the water (Piriapolis)

The fishing dock is located at the eastern end of Piriapolis harbor.  Old Francisco Piria planned his resort city carefully, but I am not sure if he cared too much about these little ships. In any case, much of Piriapolis' fantastic seafood comes from their nets.

Once you get used to the colors and contrasts of the place, intriguing pairs of boats and their reflections in water start to catch the eye. The camera freezes the reflections with their impossible and graceful lines.






The space separating the boats comes alive with moving shapes and tones.










 The yacht mooring is nearby, and they also reflect in the water. Most of them are white, therefore stronger reflections. 

 






Technical: Minolta Autocord, Pan F+, Beutler developer.

Pittamiglio Castle in Las Flores

Humberto Pittamiglio was an engineer, constructor, Minister of Public Works and diplomat in the early and mid-20th century. He was also an alleged alchimist. He left a lot of unusual buildings, as this Castle in Las Flores, in route 71.



It does look like an Art Deco version of a Middle Ages castle.



The imposing castle has but a few rooms inside, full of interesting details. For instance, this wooden staircase:



Or this lamp, where the initials are those of the constructor himself:



A door full of symbols, including a hidden H (the Castle is full of symbols, it could well be a Dan Brown site for a novel)



The metal doors have those little doors inside, again with symbols and bars.



One can imagine Mr. Pittamiglio opening this little door to look at a coming visitor. Maybe Francisco Piria, who was a close friend and also built a crazy castle, however on the other side of Piriapolis city. That is another place I must record here sometime.

Kudos to the Maldonado local government for having started restoration of this landmark. It is well worth a visit if you are in the area.

A last charter to Bella Vista

The Bella Vista Dock is close to the Carnelli railway station, the former Shell Oil tank farm (now UTE)  and a power generation station. I can imagine barges, maybe yachts, coming and going.  Ruined by pollution, next to the heavy traffic of city accesses, it is still a spectacular place to seize the Montevideo bay and wait for the sunset.

 Last Sunday, I noticed a new feature near the dock, a relatively large ship. This is big news for the place. I had never seen a ship there in several years. 

The ship looked as if she was in her last charter, just out of a Conrad sea story, grounded and waiting for the cutting torches. After sailing the high seas for a vessel's lifetime, there are worse places than Bella Vista for the end.