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Hello 

How are you doing? Greetings from Uruguay 🇺🇾 I hope this message finds you cool as a cucumber as the holiday season kicks in.

Bill and Pat from New Hampshire moved to Uruguay in 2013 after a couple of years in Belize. They tested life in three small beach towns along the Canelones ‘gold coast’ before falling in love with the Uruguayan countryside and buying a property half an hour’s drive inland from the coast and under an hour from the airport.

Bill had always liked the idea of producing food and looked into organic olive oil. Olive oil was a relatively new product in Uruguay at the time. The quality is excellent and has been called ‘Uruguay’s new gold’. They planted their grove in 2015 with over three thousand olive trees of five different varieties.

Bill and Pat reached out to me because after loving their decade in Uruguay, they’ve decided to return to New Hampshire to be closer to their daughter.

They will be selling the property which is 28 acres—around ten hectares—and includes the olive grove and three buildings. They are ready to sell the land and property with all the vehicles, household and farming contents, or separately.

The house is not particularly large—two bedrooms and one bathroom—however, it has a large very sunny kitchen. This house looks Uruguayan, but was built to meet US/UK standards.

What does this mean? That the outer walls are double with a cavity to prevent damp, that there is “passive solar” heating thanks to clever design-orientation using the sun to keep the house warm in winter and cool in summer, and over 100 electrical outlets throughout the house (certainly not the norm here). Those foreigners who have lived in Uruguay will know what I’m talking about.

There’s a second building with a barbecue, a second bathroom and a utility room.

Bill and Pat have never harvested the olives (they did retire to Uruguay after all, I get it) but they have maintained the trees. A well-constructed barn houses a tractor with just 500 miles on the clock (and AC!), a bush hog and an orchard sprayer. Plus Bill’s trusty 1997 Toyota 4x4.

Remember I said everything on the property is built to US standards? After a wooden bridge was washed away—making half of the grove inaccessible—the couple hired a contractor from the US to build an iron bridge the solidity of which is rarely seen in Uruguay. (As an aside, Bill has made some wonderful local contacts. He recounted that Jim, the bridge builder, grew up in Argentina. His dad was a fighter pilot from US Army Air Force. When he was a teenager, they moved back to the USA. He built bridges for the state in New Mexico and houses in Malibu. He married a Uruguayan and now lives on the Canelones ‘gold coast’).

Water is pumped from an independent 35 metre-deep well on the aquifer. When I visited the river had dried up but there was still a large pond (or tajamar as it is referred to here).

Bill and Pat say that neighbours keep themselves to themselves, but in an emergency, they are always ready to step in. The community includes a family of German mechanics—a great resource to have on hand in the Uruguayan countryside.

The property is just off the Ruta 8 highway which goes to Montevideo (1 hour 20 min) and the international airport (50 min). The nearest small town is Soca (10 min drive) for petrol and groceries. Atlántida is the nearest beach town (30- 40 mins).

Gaudium—which means joy in Latin—is located in Canelones, Uruguay’s second most important department but it is very close to the border with the department of Lavalleja. Lavalleja is an enchanting hilly region—a favourite winter holiday destination for Uruguayans—and the sierras can be seen in the distance from the olive grove.

Bill has done quite a bit of research into the various options for running the property as a business. All the details are on his website and he welcomes a call from interested parties.

Want to learn more about the Gaudium Olive Grove? Bill has put together a very detailed website, including an inventory, land and floor plans, pricing and his phone.