Peace of the Rock
Set within a sprawling ranch in Uruguay, a stone guest cottage stands on solid ground.
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Sharephotos by: Martín Braun Lasala
April 1, 2008
Fences marking land ownership are few and far between in the great swaths of pasture that comprise Uruguay’s southern tip. Those boundaries that do exist in this bucolic landscape seem to have been stitched by the earth rather than the hand of man.Within these subtly cordoned spaces, small ranches—called chacras in Portuñol, the local dialect—hold livestock, wildlife, and that particular breed of humanity dedicated to creating refuge. Some 30 years ago, one of these visionaries, polo player Martín Braun Lasala, purchased 1,000 acres about 15 minutes from Punta del Este. The town had grown significantly beyond its roots as a fishing village, becoming a coastal playground to the likes of Brigitte Bardot, Gina Lollobrigida, and Yul Brynner. Despite the town’s glitzy appeal, Braun Lasala was attracted to the breathlessly quiet countryside nearby.
The tenor of life continues to change in and around Punta del
Este as builders quickly claim any undeveloped land. From a rock outcropping
above a delta on the property, however, the only clue that anything has changed
in the past century is the faint outline of a cityscape in the distance.
The four-bedroom main house—which Braun Lasala built shortly
after buying the property in 1977 and gradually added onto over the years as his
family grew—is a testament to rustic gentility. Cowhide rugs, baskets of
eucalyptus, and straw carpets set the tone for the casually comfortable
interiors that also include a game table and roomy upholstered pieces.
Three years ago, Braun Lasala completed another project of
passion: a guest cottage built on a hill a quarter of a mile from the main
house. The exterior of the small cottage, which is made from massive stones
stacked on top of each other, blends seamlessly into the craggy bluff. The
camp-chic interiors are further accented with generous ceiling timbers and
wide-plank pine flooring.
The guest cottage also contains loftlike interiors that meld a
small kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, and a bathroom. Here, as well as in the
rest of the space, the theme is rejuvenation, as evidenced by the fluted lace of
a hammock and the scent of La Dama de
Noche, a flower that opens its large white
blossoms at night only. By day, the scent of herbs and wildflowers drift above
the cottage’s flinty footings. Both houses overlook a valley with estuarial
waters that commingle with the Rio de la Plata and the Atlantic Ocean. On the
property, fish swim in various ponds and in an artificial lagoon that the family
added. Waterfowl, wild boar, and wild turkey have also made the land their home,
coexisting with sheep, cattle, and a small ostrich-type bird called
ñandú.
Nestled into a group of boulders sits a swimming pool that is accessed from
the main house through a bank of wildflowers. A waterfall feeds the tiny quarry,
which is surrounded by chaise longues trained toward the ocean and the fiery
orange sunsets of Punta del Este. Before Braun Lasala sold the estate last year,
he often split his time between Punta del Este and Rio de Janeiro. Braun
Lasala’s son, Martín Braun Blaquier, and daughter-in-law, Mariela Beceiro, would
also escape to the ranch as often as they could. "We loved to go horseback
riding and lounge by the pool," says Beceiro, who lives in Buenos Aires. "It’s a
peaceful place."
