#asador

Uruguayo xmas.

In my new country of residence, the festive season is a time of high summer, where nearly the entire country repairs to the beach for a month or so. We've followed them, as evidenced by this pohoto of sunset at La Paloma on the Atlantic coast, looking across from where Africa tore away from South America all those millions of years ago. The basement here is around 2.5 to 3 billion years old, part of the Rio de la Plata craton, and gneisses intruded by granite and other high grade metamorphic rocks outcrop all along the coast.

The beach sand is eroded from deep within the continent, brought down by the Rio Uruguay that joins the Parana above Buenos Aires to form the Rio de la Plata (see http://tinyurl.com/kqqqmtv). Being a secular minded land these days, since its relatively recent emergence from a military imposed fascist dictatorship supported by the church, the season is known here as family week. I like that, no bowing to any church in this melting pot country where many people have grandparents from 4 different countries, but an acknowledgement of what is really important, spending a good time with your friends and loved ones.

And a good time here revolves around one quasi religious ceremony: The asado. This compares to your common or garden barbeque the way a gorgeous perfect diamond octahedron does to a black mis-shapen mass of industrial diamond. The asador, an open space with chimney and grill (called a parilla) is often large enough to roast a whole ox, and indeed a family event here often comes close.

A large fire is lit, and you then wait while chatting, sipping wine and nibbling until a good amount of embers are ready. You then spread them out and pile on cheese, vegetables and the obligatory large chunks of dead animal in all its myriad forms, and then play with adding more embers underneath while they cook. I plan to have several of these over the next week, when I can tear myself away from my new friends, wife, the pool and the beach. Hopefully I'll have time to write a post or two a day as well.

Happy family week to all of you out there, whether freezing and making snow Daleks or lounging by the poolside.

Loz

Loz