Borders, Birds, And Bolas...

Back in July we tried to stay at El Fortin de San Miguel, a historic hotel on the border with Brazil in the hills west of Chuy, after first hearing of it while in Punta del Diablo. But, at that time, the hotel was filled with bird hunters--a lesser known tourist industry in Uruguay. No vacancy...

Now we were returning with an open invitation from Ramon, El Fortin's owner and father of a friend, Nico, in Montevideo. For three days we would bask in the green hills and pink granite walls of this historical and ornithological paradise...

Nestled on a knoll near an actual fort, Fuerte San Miguel, built for the New World border-wars between the empires of Portugal and Spain, the hotel was designed to resemble the architecture that defined that era. Part castle, part villa, the long two level stone structure includes a tower, arched verandas, collections of art and weapons, all surrounded by a manicured landscape where hidden paths lead to the wisdom of life--seven hewn wood signs that suggest how to live life to the fullest. Ramon believes this place has a palpable energy source...






While colorful birds chirp through the trees, pheasants and fowl stroll the grounds while horses and cows graze in the distant fields. Our oak decor room includes a four post bed draped in lace curtains. The halls and common rooms are filled with paintings, some by Uruguay's most famous artists. Breakfasts are fresh fruit, breads and cheeses, coffee and hot cocoa. Lunches are chicken sandwiches and cerveza under palms by the pool and a good book. Dinners are pastas, steaks, and wine with a breeze blowing in from the moonlit courtyard...

And when we weren't enjoying a meal and mellow afternoon, we could birdwatch our way to the historic fort, or a ranch that held the creole museum, or a quiet pueblo down the dusty street...



After one of the three glorious sunrises, we ventured to Fuerte de San Miguel, hidden behind trees on a slightly higher adjacent hill. Climbing a pair of lookout towers we had great views of our hotel to the north and the fort looming to the south...




Built in 1734, in the midst of two centuries of border disputes between the Portuguese and Spanish, Fort San Miguel rests ten kilometers from the coast, on one of the rare lumps in Uruguay's topography, and just meters from what would eventually become the border with Brazil.
With the classic star shape and walls as thick as they are high, the fort's vista afforded excellent range for cannons and observing enemy movements. Once built, the fort was soon sacked by Portugal's forces, only to be rebuilt and fortified in 1737. As we walked, it wasn't hard to imagine the crack of gunpowder, the soldiers suited in tight blue vests and brass buttons, ram-rodding their bayonets, encroaching on the hill...
A cemetery outside the fort still holds the memories of war. This tomb is dated 1796, and, dwarfing the other gravestones, likely holds one of the more important members of the military...
A rock outcropping outside the fort had an excellent vantage point over the immediate slopes. Stairs, long ago chiseled into the side, lead above this sign, while a another slab of granite below this flower was clearly hollowed out for a fire pit...
Just before the moat and drawbridge, this obelisk, placed here in the 1780's, mentions the Line of Demarcation--the "line" drawn by Pope Alexander VI in 1493 to divide the claims of the two Iberian Empires--and formally marks the border between what was the land of Spain and Portugal. It would be decades before Argentina (1816), Brazil (1822), and finally Uruguay (1828), achieve independence...
The drawbridge still operates. Notice the canon slot that could only be used for blasting soldiers just outside the gate...
THe fort sat in ruins until the 1930's when it was painstakingly reconstructed by archeologists...



The company kitchen...

Inside the central chapel, Saint Michael himself, field commander of God's army, stands victorious on Satan. The priest actually had private quarters that were nicer than the highest ranking officers. It's ironic that three centuries of war between two Catholic cultures--that dotted South America with amazing architectural structures like Fuerte San Miguel--followed the attempted arbitration of the Pope himself...
At the exit, cannonballs provide counterweight to the fulcrum powered bridge, and then both bridge and lever sandwich and strengthen the closed gates...
Nearby, a farm was converted into the Museo Criollo--the creolo heritage museum. Drawings and artifacts from the Charrua Indians were in collections along with carriages, leather presses and tools from the colonial days. The large wagon to the right of Leandra was for carrying lumber...

We also learned more about the natives. We knew they had been obliterated by the 17th century--which is why there are no native populations in Uruguay. They violently resisted colonialism despite the superior weapons of the Spanish and Portuguese. Upon first contact, conquistadors with horses, armor and swords--finding it impossible to negotiate--began slaughtering the Charruas who, despite impossible odds, defiantly fought back with "bolas"--a weapon made of stones and leather straps, used for battering or wrapping around the neck or limbs of the target. Amazingly, when Europeans returned, the Charrua had taught themselves how to ride horses that had been left astray after the initial battles! This proud, aggressive, and never-give-up attitude is one of several ways that the extinct Charrua culture lives on--in fact, Uruguay's national soccer team is nicknamed Las Charruas for having the same attitude when they face Brazil or Argentina--soccer's equivalent of the two empires--for showing valor in the face of a greater enemy, like in 1950 when they defeated Brazil in Rio in front of 200,000 fans to claim their second World Cup. Indeed, "charrua" is a compliment among Uruguayan culture. Likewise, the bolas were adopted by gauchos. And mate, the national drink, is an indigenous beverage of the Charruas...
And, that same sense of national pride--whether it be for a silver bombilla and mate cup or favorite soccer teams, Nacional or Peñarol--permeates every corner of Uruguayan culture. Even in a small store in a tiny gaucho village near El Fortin...

On our third night, we went into the duty free border town of Chuy to try some new culinary delights. We found a restaurant called "Fusion" and enjoyed appetizers of quail eggs and caviar, entrees of sushi and salmon in an onion reduction, and a death by chocolate dessert...
Then, it was back to our fortress lodgings for another late night amble under a sky full of stars and a half moon...

And one more unforgettable Uruguayan sunrise with the birds and border of Brazil...