Shakira Arrives

When someone clearly deserves their star status and has their head stuck on straight, I pull for them and hope they carve their place in history. There really aren't too many people who fit that bill, but one who does is Shakira. It's hard to believe this young lady has only just tuned 31; she has been at the top for over a decade. How "top"? Well, in 2007 she was the fourth highest earning female performer in music, trailing only Madonna, Barbra Streisand, and Celine Dion. She made U$S 38 million last year.

Shakira has been coming to Jose Ignacio for inspiration for about seven or eight years, first staying with a friend (the guy who developed Narbona, the subject of my last post) and then buying her own "finca" a few years ago. She arrived at her finca again two days ago for a 21-day stay to write new songs and produce her next album in her rustic recording studio. There have been rumors she would marry her Argentinean boyfriend during this stay, but she squelched those in the interviews she granted to the world press yesterday. She spent the whole afternoon dealing with the press, in hopes they will leave her alone for the rest of her stay. The picture above was part of the press's haul yesterday.

If anyone reading this doesn't know who Shakira is, and if the phrase "Hips Don't Lie" doesn't ring a bell (that's a pun --the song is one of, if not the most downloaded ring-tones in history), go to http://www.shakira.com/ and read all about her.

Bodega y Granja Narbona, and Lo de Miguel

The Punta del Este area offers several "destination" restaurants a few miles inland from the coast, the most famous of which is Garzon, owned by the well known Argentinean chef Francis Mallmann. In late December 2007, a restaurant that easily rivals Garzon opened in the beautiful, gently rolling, and ridiculously peaceful countryside about two miles inland from La Barra. This inland strip running from La Barra all the way to Jose Ignacio, unknown to the vast majority of tourists, is home to "fincas" (large farms) belonging to some of the richest and best known people in South America, among them Shakira, Julio Iglesias, and Valeria Mazza.

The new restaurant is called Lo de Miguel. It is part of a small complex developed by an Argentinean financier that also contains a bar, an "almacen," and an art gallery, all housed in separate buildings surrounding a central courtyard and fountain. The complex is located on a gently sloping hillside in the middle of the vineyards and vegetable fields of the local extension of Bodega and Granja Narbona. This bodega's main operation is in Carmelo, Uruguay, where its estancia dates from 1732 and wine has been produced since 1909.

The complex, though brand new, looks as if it had been constructed in the 19th century and lovingly preserved. The buildings are essentially one-room masonry constructions with exposed brick walls and ceiling beams and plank flooring, and all furnishings are rustic, some dating from the early 20th century. All have covered breezeways opening onto the central courtyard, where groups can sit and chat over drinks and cheeses. Tranquility reigns throughout. We were there for lunch yesterday. Part of the charm of going during the day is observing the workers going about the business of tending to the vegetable gardens and vineyards, or bringing provisions to the almacen (which is a small retail store stocked with crackers, breads, wine, liquors, cheeses and preserves produced at Narbona).

The lunch was simply fantastic. We shared a "fritata," which is a large starter of lightly breaded shrimps, fish bits and calamaris, after which my wife had salmon and I had brotola (the local fish) in blackened butter and capers, both accompanied by ratatuille. We decided to pass on the Voignier "Finca Valeria," made from grapes grown on Valeria Mazza's finca (which either orders or almost borders Narbona), and opted instead for the Voignier from the Narbona vineyards in Carmelo. Our co-diners were mosty young families from the surrounding fincas, both parents and children looking like models straight from Ralph Lauren catalogs. After lunch, we browsed the art gallery and picked up some crackers and preserves in the almacen. We agreed we should return another day for late afternoon drinks in the bar, when there is supposed to be live piano, and yet again for dinner, when the illuminated courtyard no doubt is spectacular.

Overall, this development merits an A+. I strongly recommend an outing to Narbona, and a meal at Lo de Miguel.

More Boutique Hotels in Jose Ignacio

In an earlier post I mentioned that the Setai Group had obtained final approval and presumably would start construction soon on their luxury boutique hotel and bungalows along the beach right at the entrance to Jose Ignacio. Now the Spanish hotel groupVik has announced, at an international tourism fair in Madrid, that it will construct two more boutique hotels in Jose Ignacio. One will use an existing estancia of 44 hectares on the Laguna de Jose ignacio, while the other will be built on the beach near the "faro" (the lighthouse, pictured above, courtesy of Vivapunta.com). Both will make extensive use of Uruguayan art and Uruguayan decorators.

The Vik group has several hotels in Spain, the Canary Islands, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. Some are luxury, some are ultra luxury. The two in Jose Ignacio will qualify as ultra-special, super-duper luxury: According to the announcement, rates are to be around 1000 Euros per person per day. At today's exchange rate, that would be just a little under U$S 3000 per day for two people.

No word yet on where they stand in the approval process, nor on when they hope to open. I'll update if more information comes my way.

Drinking Clerico at Le Club

Everyone retains memories of perfect summer moments from their childhood, scenes that were repeated often during long, languid afternoons when all seemed well with the world. Somehow, adulthood doesn't lend itslf to creating such memories. But in the 2+ years we've been in Punta del Este, at least a couple of recurring images have already become imprinted in my mind. One is eating lunch at La Huella, the seaside restaurant I wrote about in an earlier post. The other is drinking clerico on the deck overlooking the beach and the ocean at Le Club, in La Barra.

Le Club is an interesting small hotel-cum-restaurant that merits a post of its own one day. But today is about clerico (there's an accent over the "o," so it's pronounced "kler-i-KOH"). Clerico is the universal summertime drink in Punta del Este, seen on almost every table in every restaurant on every day. It's basically dry white wine and fruit, just as sangria is basically red wine and fruit. In fact, in some Latin countries and in Spain it is sometimes referred to as "Sangria Blanco," but something that translates more or less as "white bleeding" doesn't sound very appetizing. Why the Argentineans and Uruguayans named it clerico is anyone's guess, but it does have a better ring.

While it's basically dry white wine and fruit, that's only the beginning. There are a number of "recipes," in which champagne might be substituted for wine, soda water might be added, any variety of fruits might be listed. We've had it many different ways, and my wife's version (in which Triple Sec plays a large role) is itself a standout. But the clerico at Le Club is famous all over Punta del Este, so famous that the restaurant printed up postcards with the recipe to give people when they ask what makes it so good. The picture heading up this post is our jar of clerico at Le Club this afternoon, and herewith, a free translation of the recipe:

"No more than approximately 200 grams of a variety of seasonal fruits (apple, peach, pineapple, strawberry, grape, banana) cut into very small pieces, placed in a "generous" glass jar. We add about 11 pieces of ice and two tablespoons of white sugar. We then pour in a touch of rum and banana and peach liquors, half a glass of orange juice, and a bottle (750 ml) of white wine. [They always use a specific brand of wine, San Felipe Caramagnola.] With a long spoon, preferably a wooden one, we mash the fruit, mix all the ingredients together, and enjoy. After a little while, we ask for another."

Amen.

Classic Cars

This Ford belongs to a house three blocks from ours; I've passed it every morning for a month on my walk to buy the newspapers. Later in the day it's often missing, suggesting the owner has it on the roads.

Every January, seemingly hundreds of classic cars appear around Punta del Este. Corvettes from the 1960s, Mercedes coupes from the 1950s, tiny Fiats and Peugeots, original Jeeps from WII, Morgans, MGBs, old Porsches, really old examples like this Ford, and on and on. I do not know who owns them, but I have a theory. My wife tells me that in the 1930s, before marrying, her father owned one of the handful of Bugattis in Argentina, and that he took it to Punta del Este for the season. He eventally sold the Bugatti (yikes!!). My theory is that many men like her father did not sell their favorite automotive toy, but passed it down in the family, and these cars that show up on the streets every year are these old family treasures, now kept in garages in Punta del Este and brought out each year for a few weeks of pure joy.

I know of at least two classic car dealerships in the area. One, only four blocks from our house, keeps rotating the cars sitting out front. Whether they are buying and selling these cars all the time, or whether these are cars they are maintaining for the owners in the off-season, I don't know. Whatever the full story, one of the little pleasures of Punta del Este is happening upon one of these classics along the side of the road or, more often, tooling along.