Piriapolis has turned out to be as welcoming as we were led to expect. As usual, there are men in offices who seem determined to spoil your day with paperwork but we survived it, with only an occasional loss of patience and humour. I cannot stress this enough - if you sail in S America, then allow plenty of time to get the admin done. There is nothing quick or simple about it.
I feel very confident leaving the boat in the hands of Imperial Yachts, and it shames me to say it but you do breath a sigh of relief when you have English speakers to take care of things for you.
If you are thinking of cruising Brazil, the general opinion seems to be that it is not a relaxing place as it might appear to be. Sure, there are palms trees down to the sea, white sandy beaches and all the stuff that draws people to the tropics, but you are forever looking over your shoulder, uncertain that your boat is safe or that you are safe.
Almost everyone says the Uruguay can be a bit dull, but after Brazil a bit of dull it what you need. And virtually all the cruisers we have met said how much more relaxed they felt when Brazil was behind them.
And that's pretty much how I feel now.
Signing off, probably till September.