Category: Uruguay

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South America Uruguay

Punta del Diablo

Punta del Diablo was starting to quieten a lot after Carnival; as a matter of fact, the town and businesses shut down when I arrived and will only start up for a few days over Easter and then again only in December.

It is a larger version of La Pedrera, with dirt roads and lots of holiday homes. There are a few large beaches and restaurants are huddled around the Playa Pescadora (Fisherman’s Beach) area.

On the first day I walked to the lighthouse along Playa de la Viuda (Widow’s Beach).  It was a pretty hot day, so I found some shade to hide in afterwards.

The next day was just super stinking hot…so I did absolutely nothing 🙂 Which was nice ,as I had a cabin all to myself anyway- my first entirely solo accommodation since I started the trip.

On my final day, though it started with some rain, I headed out to Santa Teresa National Park.  The park is large and contains a rather large mish-mash of experiences: it is run by the military and contains military barracks, which are hidden from the public behind the forests. The park also contains a large conservatory with tropical plants and ponds outside with waterlilies. On the other side of the park, literally- and I would know ‘cause I walked the 6kms to get there – added a couple as the signs were crap- there is a well preserved fort- Fortaleza de Santa Teresa.

When I was finished at the fort I walked along the highway back to the entrance to catch the bus back to Punta del Diablo.

I’m glad that I travelled around Uruguay- well the southern coast anyway. It was a good, relaxing time spent taking long walks on the beaches! So I felt like I had a holiday… you know time off from the travelling 🙂

The next morning was up bright an early -04:30 to catch a bus to Montevideo, then another to Colonia, then a ferry to Buenos Aires in order to catch an early morning flight to North Argentina: San Miguel de Tucuman. So it has been a busy last two days of travelling; but not very exciting.

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South America Uruguay

Cabo Polonio

Cabo Polonio is a rather unique place. It is located in Cabo Polonio National Park and is a small hippy village. The only electricity is run to the lighthouse, there is no piped running water and people flock here by the hundreds. The hostel I stayed at had solar power for heating water and electricity. Our tiny room had a 3 LED light strip which did a fantastic job of lighting the room.

The rocky outcrops that the lighthouse is built on is also home to a sea lion colony. There are also sea lions that live a little offshore on another small island.

The village is built pretty rough, with houses dotted anywhere really. Only a limited amount of cars are allowed and only for permanent residents. All day visitors must leave their cars in the large car park at the bus terminal and take a 4×4 truck to cover the 7km or so dune track to the village. The 4×4 trucks are all different and characterful, and the adults enjoy the trip as much as the kids! On both trips I saw small owls in the dunes- and odd sighting in the middle of the day. I have not found out what species it was yet though. 

I have taken many photos of the village and various houses to help show the feel of the place. I arrived on a Sunday and was actually shocked by the amount of day visitors- both beaches were packed…so much for my remote village retreat!! Luckily by nightfall ,most have left and all is good in the word again 🙂 Perfect night for star gazing too! No clouds, no moon, very few lights and a glorious sky filled with all the stars and the Milky Way. It was superb!!

On my second night the star gazing was replaced by a magnificent lightning storm. Just sat on the back porch, on a day bed, facing the sea and watching a different sort of show- that was limited to a 42 inch screen.

 

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South America Uruguay

La Pedrera

La Pedrera is the polar opposite of Punta del Este. It is a small community on the sea side, where the only street that has bitumen on it is the main road, and the others are all dirt roads. The houses are a mixture of shacks, old style houses that would go back many years and more modern dwellings. Some are even architecturally designed.

During the time I was there it was Carnival. I was warned by several people that thousands of people would descend upon the quiet village. There were some crowds, however more weekend numbers I guess. A few years ago upwards of 20,000 came to this town- however the locals were not pleased with this and asked that measures were put in place to limit those numbers! I’m glad that it was on the quieter side! The beaches, yet again (picking up a trend here???) go on for miles, so you don’t have to walk for too long before you are nearly alone.

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South America Uruguay

Punta del Este

The playground of the rich…and apparently famous. Punta del Este is one of the most expensive places that you can stay in Uruguay, and that says a lot considering Uruguay is probably the most expensive country in Latin America. Yes, I thought this was Chile, but I was wrong! You have your choice of beaches, one that has waves as it faces the predominant wind direction, and the other is in a more protected bay and is thus calmer. The skyline is filled with high rise apartments, which doesn’t give it much character- I suppose it can be compared to a smaller version of the Gold Coast in Australia. I however stayed in a lovely, old established neighbourhood that has big houses and large open gardens. It was nice to stay away from the hustle and bustle and be in the quiet suburbs.

So the city is very commercial, however the beaches are great and go on for miles and miles! The water, being on the Atlantic Ocean is a little cool, but not too bad. Not as cold as the Atlantic in Cape Town as an example.

The Marina attests to the wealth… with some yachts as big as houses… others a bit more “normal”.

For the first time I also had a really tasty combination sushi… if you have a chance or make your own: salmon, Philly cheese and MANGO….yummy! Wouldn’t have thought to do that but it was great!

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South America Uruguay

Montevideo

The bus trip between Colonia and Montevideo is alongside the coast and through farmlands- mainly maize and cattle farms. Its green and tranquil. Montevideo is a sprawling city with sightseeing possibilities from one end to another; which does make it a bit challenging to get around. I stayed in the historical centre. I arrive on Saturday afternoon, and head out down the main street to explore, however as it is late afternoon nearly all the shops are already closed. I thought it would be a good opportunity to check the historical buildings, without crowds, until a huge downpour of rain set in and I got completely soaked!

On Sunday- as is the case in small or big cities- the whole city center was pretty much shutdown. I went for a walk around Ciudad Vieja, down the pedestrian streets. There is a mixture of old colonial buildings, art deco and newer buildings. It was surprising though how quickly the streets turned from pleasant, to one block away from the tourist area, pretty dodgy! The market was preparing their asados (barbeques) and smelled real good! The meat and sausages are placed on pyramidal, rotating grids above the coals.

In the evening I was lucky enough to get a tour of the more distant parts of Montevideo with another of Frank’s cousins! Maria took me for a drive down the never ending Rambla (river side promenade). We also went to have a traditional dinner of chivito, a sandwich filled with tomato, lettuce, ham, cheese and a very thin steak. It was good. We also tried to find some candombe music (traditional drums that are played in the streets) established from African slaves. As a final cherry on the cake we did a night drive around the Palacio Legislativo – parliament buildings. (Photos are taken during the day)

As nearly all the museums are closed on Sunday I made Monday my museum day. The first stop was the Andes 1972 museum. It is about the Air Force plane crash of flight 571 that had a Uruguayan rugby team and some family members on-board. It crashed into the Andes on a flight to Santiago. The museum focuses on the facts of the accident and the survival of the passengers (not all) during the 72 days that followed. It does not focus on the survivors that ate the dead to sustain themselves. I also met and had a small tour by the curator: Norwegian/Uruguayan Jorg Thomsen. He is clearly very knowledgeable and passionate about the topic and it was great meeting him. 16 out of 45 passengers and crew survived; not all died on impact. The famous book “Alive” is based on this event, and there is also a movie. (No photos are allowed in the museum- sorry).

The gaucho (cowboy) museum is located in a beautiful old colonial building. It has a superb marble staircase to the first floor and brilliant wooden staircase to the second floor. There is a large exhibition of exquisite silver crafted cowboy and horse paraphernalia. There was also a mate (pronounced ma-tey) display (traditional herbal bitter tea) that is drunk across much of South America. I need to explain this as it is much deeper than just drinking tea! Uruguayans walk around hugging their thermal flasks and mates (the carved mugs that you drink from) and drinking straws in the streets, at work and in the parks- everywhere and anywhere. Learn more about the mate culture here.

The town hall (Intendencia) has a 270-degree viewpoint from its top floor, and is great to check out the major buildings of the city and the extent of the city too!

On Monday afternoon Maria took me to Prado Park and the great neighbourhood that it is located in. We started in the rose garden of the park. The neighbourhood is not top class allegedly- though it would have been in its heyday- there are many old mansions and large gardens in the area. The Hotel del Prado is located in the park and available for functions. We also stopped by a superb neo-gothic church (Las Carmelitas), though it was closed.

On Tuesday I went to the tile museum- a private collection of hundreds of historic tiles from around the world. Maria was kind enough to offer to take me to the bus station, and took me for a spin of the eastern Carrasco neighbourhood. It used to be a separate seaside holiday retreat, but has now been soaked into the expanding city. It has a completely different relaxed vibe to the actual city. It is also the modern version of Prado neighbourhood and is considered a very classy place to live. The houses are large and within large gardens too!

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South America Uruguay

Colonia

I arrive in Colonia del Sacramento (Colonia) after a painless 1-hour trip across the widest river in the world: Rio de la Plata. Both the Argentinian and Uruguayan immigration requirements are taken care of in Buenos Aires, so it’s an easy exit once we arrive.  The arrival terminal is new and easy to get around. A short walk through tree lined streets gets me to my accommodation in the old city.

The old city is great- a UNESCO world heritage site – originally established by the Portuguese. The city gets many day visitors, so its lovely when the evening comes and these people are all gone! Mind you, it’s even better in the early morning to take a walk around the old town and its completely quiet and empty- heaven!

In the evening, while watching the sunset, I get the privilege to witness another beautiful phenomenon, there is a massive incoming thunder storm. Two beautiful events rolled into one- while the sky changed colours there were massive lightning strikes out on the river, cloud to water and cloud to cloud- what a show by mother nature!