Spider Grief

Last night over dinner Josello tells us there will be a storm tomorrow and it will be "drammatique". Dinner, as you can see from the photo, was a feast: a sumptuous barbecue of beef, chorizo, and lamb steaks and ribs. The lamb is fresh, so fresh in fact, it was running around in the field earlier in the day. We learn more about Carmen. She is third generation immigrant Italian, and as she proudly tells us her blood is 100% Italian through and through. She amuses us with her tales of how her extended family always give their opinion on everything she does, whether or not it is requested. Usually this is done in animated conversation at shouting pitch.

In the morning the storm announces its arrival with a thunderclap and the sound of the rain on the corrugated iron roof like rapid gun fire.  In the event it is not drammatique, but it rains all morning and washes away any prospect of a final horse ride. We admit defeat, bid our hosts goodbye, and set out to drive the 200k to our next destination.  On the journey we see three big spiders - and I mean big! They are the size of dinner plates and the hairs on their legs are longer than cats whiskers.  Anni is terrified of spiders and berates me for having brought her to such a terrible place.  the spider grief only relents when she accepts that 3 spiders in 400k of travel is perhaps not an epidemic.
           

The rain finally stops as we reach the coast and drive through Punta Del Este.  It is the Uruguayan equivalent of Marbella, full of high rise hotels, and not our cup of tea. Fortunately we are heading on another 20k beyond Jose Ignacio to Laguna Garzon.  We arrive about 5pm and decide to save serious exploration of the area until tomorrow.  For tonight we content ourselves with a walk along the beach.  As we retrace our steps I notice that Anni has been blatantly advertising the brand of her sandals.  With every footprint in the sand the pattern on the sole of the shoe clearly spells out the word "fit flop"!  We round off our day by enjoying the catch of the day at a local restaurant.