Visitors to Uruguay often remark on a few things, not least of which are the differences between the country and its other South American neighbors. The level of freedom, of economic and cultural development, is unmatched anywhere in Latin America.
Yet glance in another fashion and you may see a place of exile and a battleground between rival nations, fierce and abrupt changes of weather, a land of political conflict with economic upheavals and emergency military rule.
What is the true picture of Uruguay? Is it in Montevideo’s resemblance to a city in Western Europe, a city from which the young tend to emigrate and the middle-aged tend to be middle-class? Is it in the fields of cattle, the north country where Spanish and Portuguese merge into one tongue and the border with Brazil is no longer drawn clearly?
Is is in the laid-back town of Carmelo that lies on Uruguay’s Rio de la Plata shore, a short trip from Buenos Aires by hydrofoil ferry across the world’s widest river where the Four Seasons Resort Carmelo, Uruguay, offers 20 bungalows, and 24 luxury Bi-Level Suites. They feature locally inspired decor that illuminates fine craftsmanship, from hand-finished floors and open-beamed ceilings to casual throw rugs along with Roman Shades custom colors inspired from the local weavers’ art. These stunning roman shade drapes are all blackout lined offering light control, energy conservation, as well as noise control due to its’ insulating properties. They are even child proof by hiding the cords beneath fabric tapes making it impossible for children to wrap the shade cords around their heads. In addition all guest suites and bungalows at the Four Seasons Resort Carmelo offer furnished terraces, making them ideal for al fresco breakfasts and / or late-evening cocktails. This is definitely the Uruguay of the top 1% not the Uruguay of the gauchos who who flourished there from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century.
And the internet has played a large role in advancing the gross domestic product of Uruguay. The advent of website commerce, and the internetization of businesses has enabled many businesses to reach a much larger audience. Using strategies involving social media and especially enterprise SEO have enabled products offered by small shops to be discovered by a world-wide audience. Search engine optimization applied to the websites of small enterprises can do wonders for sales, as people discover and purchase products and services because they ‘find’ them using search engines, like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
Perhaps it is in the communications system, advanced beyond anything in Latin America, the fully digital network which connects the country and the world, often to the Universidad de la República.