{"id":6049,"date":"2016-08-22T13:46:33","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T13:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=6049"},"modified":"2016-08-22T13:46:33","modified_gmt":"2016-08-22T13:46:33","slug":"a-job-i-could-never-have-lighthouse-keeper-in-uruguay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=6049","title":{"rendered":"A job I could never have. Lighthouse keeper in Uruguay."},"content":{"rendered":"

Those that know me would probably agree\u00a0that there is no job that I would be more ill suited for than that of a lighthouse keeper. \u00a0By definition, lighthouses are located in remote, hard to get to areas and while most have been automated, some still require the constant attention of someone who lives on site to be sure that everything is in working order. \u00a0And, any mariner would agree that it’s a really good thing when lighthouses are working as they are supposed to.<\/p>\n

To that point, the Bahamas are famous or lights on charts that haven’t worked, often for decades. \u00a0Not so, it seems, in Uruguay.<\/p>\n

I subscribe to a daily (I think I get it daily) e-mail newsletter from Soundings, a terrific boating publication\u00a0that I worked for as a sales rep for short time years ago. \u00a0However, that was a long time ago and is a story for another time perhaps.<\/p>\n

Anyway, this newsletter titled “Soundings Dispatches<\/a>” is free and is worth signing up for. \u00a0Of course, some of the videos that they feature, and they send a lot out in the course of a year. \u00a0Yes, some are pretty lame but once in a while a real gem shows up in my inbox and today was one of those days. \u00a0 To be fair, it’s probably not too easy to come up with really good\u00a0daily videos. \u00a0Trust me on that as it sometimes takes me hours to wade through many\u00a0clips to find something\u00a0worth sharing.<\/p>\n

So, back to my story… \u00a0The joke in our family, well at least I think it’s pretty funny, is that “dad doesn’t EVER want to be alone, except perhaps when he’s going in the bathroom, and that assumes that it’s a quick trip”. \u00a0Ok, ok, perhaps it’s my joke but it’s pretty much true.<\/p>\n

So, today’s piece from Soundings, and it’s only a bit longer than 3 minutes, is\u00a0a real gem. \u00a0 The editor of the newsletter describes the short documentary…<\/p>\n

“To the south of Brazil is Uruguay, a relatively small country on South America\u2019s eastern coast that experiences heavy ship traffic along its 410-mile shoreline.<\/em><\/p>\n

Twenty-three active lighthouses protect ships along Uruguay\u2019s ocean borders, all built between the late 1800s and the early 1900s. They are owned and operated by Uruguay\u2019s navy, the Armada Nacional.<\/em><\/p>\n

Cabo Polonio Faro (faro is the Spanish word for lighthouse) was built in 1881 on a remote peninsula on Uruguay\u2019s eastern shore. Leonardo da Costa is one of two keepers who alternate two-week-long shifts manning the lighthouse.<\/em><\/p>\n

Like any lighthouse, Cabo Polonio Faro requires daily maintenance. When Costa is on duty he is solely responsible for repairs and for operating the lighthouse manually if it loses power.<\/em><\/p>\n

Costa\u2019s neighbors are few. Seal colonies live on nearby islands, and the remote village of Cabo Polonio, about a half-mile away to the west, is home to fewer than 100 people. Solar panels and wind turbines power their homes, and they lack running water.<\/em><\/p>\n

Cabo Polonio can only be reached by walking or by using four-wheel-drive trucks to cross dunes of sand to the road nearest the village; no public roads reach the lighthouse or the village. Life on the secluded cape is quiet and solitary.”<\/em><\/p>\n

There isn’t a single word spoken in the documentary which I suppose is the point, actually.