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man named Young, pronounced Jon. He is Korean, but has been living in South America for many years, first
Paraguay and now Buenos Aires. We became friendly, even-though he speaks little English. Once in Punta del
Este, he suggested that we stay in a hotel in the area called la Barras. The hotel turned out to be pretty grim, so
we agreed to move to the center, the city, of Punta del Este the next day. That evening, Jon took me to a brothel,
Nana, without my prior knowledge of consent. I didn’t realize until once we were already inside. At first it
appeared to be a regular bar. Then as we walked deeper in, I noticed a couple scantily clad women beckoning
me from the doorways of small sex rooms. Since I was already there and I was curious, I walked around
investigating the second brother that I had ever been to, while checking out the girls. A few were quite good
looking, but I don’t partake in this type of activity. After looking, we left. We went to the nightlife area, to a bar
called Moby Dick. We ate and drank by the outdoor bar. We met a couple guys from Montevideo and a couple
girls from Buenos Aires. One of the girls liked me, but she didn’t speak much English … tough once again.
Saturday, February 14: Jon and I had breakfast then headed to the beach. We walked the beaches on the
ocean side of the main part of the city then hitched a ride into La Barras. The driver was a nice guy who was a
caterer by trade. I sat in the backseat by the ceramic dishes and bowls. We walked some of the beaches here,
then caught the bus back to a beach by the bridge, where we laid out for a while. We caught another bus back
into town. Jon went shopping. I went for a walk. I walked along the coast to the tip of the peninsula that the city
is on. On the way back, I went by the Lighthouse and the old church in the center of the old part of town. Then I
walked by the outdoor market, which had many local arts and crafts. This evening Jon and I had Chinese food
for dinner, then we went to the Conrad hotel to check out the casino there, supposedly the best in South
America. It was pretty nice, but small by Vegas standards. Jon won $300, mostly playing roulette. From there
Jon went back to Nana and I went back to Moby Dick. Jon met me there later and we ran back into the two
girls from Buenos Aires. We went next door for a drink. It was some fruity, local concoction … good, different.
We danced a little, then Jon and I headed back to our hotel (alone).
Sunday, February 15: Jon and I had breakfast together. Then we said our good-byes. He headed back to
Buenos Aires. I went to the beach and laid out this afternoon. The fine sand got into everything. I stayed in this
evening.
Monday, February 16: R&R today … much needed recuperation.
Tuesday, February 17: Lunch, beach, internet, movie – Master and Commander with Russel Crow – action,
naval, war movie – pretty good.
Wednesday, February 18: Lunch, beach, uneventful.
Thursday, February 19: I checked out of my hotel, lunch, bus to airport in Montivideo. I purchased ticket to
Porto Allegre for 7am flight tomorrow morning. Taxi to nearby hotel, settled in, dinner, internet, … (*Punta del
Este – Time to go is for New Years and month of January. By mid February the weather can be a little chilly,
unpredictable, nice beach town, not as glamorous as I had been led to believe, sand is to fine.)