Uruguay: Punta del Este

It was time for a little relaxation on the beach, so we went to Punta del Este, which is considered one of the most exclusive holiday resorts in South America and the most expensive place in Uruguay (and that says something, because Uruguay is really expensive everywhere). Apparently, you can spot celebrities here during the high season, if you're interested.

Regarding prices, it is interesting to note that you can get the VAT waived in restaurants throughout Uruguay when paying with a foreign credit card. So prices for menus are always 20% lower than indicated on the menu. The same applies to hotel rooms. However, it is still expensive, at least more expensive than elsewhere in South America.

We packed only the essentials, left most of our luggage in Montevideo, and took the approximately 3-hour bus ride to Punta, as the locals lovingly call it.

When we arrived, we were quite disappointed because the weather was not great. It was quite cold and very windy. The weather improved the next day, but it remained cool, so we didn't really feel like swimming. Nevertheless, we quickly fell in love with the place and spent 2 wonderful days there. In fact, one of the main factors was that the weather was not perfect yet. We are not usually big fans of crowded beach and party life. We were there at the beginning of December, before the peak season started, the crowds of visitors had not yet arrived, and there was a very relaxed and cozy atmosphere. The prices were also affordable because of this, you paid less than half the price of what it would cost at the end of December/early January for a hotel room.

The "old town" of the town is located on a small peninsula, which can be easily circumvented in a long walk along the coast. Along the way, you pass the exclusive marina, where you can admire impressive sailboats and yachts, which Jörg always likes a lot. I actually liked the sea lions more, which you could occasionally observe in the harbor.

There are beautiful villas on the peninsula, with a direct view of the sea. The large hotels and concrete blocks are located on the mainland along a long sandy beach, so the peninsula has a very cozy and small-town atmosphere. It reminded me a little of the Zelgli district in Aarau with its elegant residences. Of course, the well-to-do people of the town mostly live here, that was clearly visible at first glance. However, since the road runs in front of the private buildings along the coast, everyone has access to the waterfront everywhere, and all sorts of people can be found along the promenade, regardless of whether they are well-off or not. This is also where we first noticed another gadget that every true Uruguayan always carries with them in addition to a thermos and a mate cup: a folding camping chair. At least in the summer months, you see everyone walking around with one, and everyone seems to have the exact same model. In hindsight, we should have bought some back then, we could have used them countless times by now. The Uruguayans drive to the coast by car, park the car along the road, set up their camping chair camp right in front of it on the sidewalk, sit there for hours in a circle of friends and family, chat, and drink mate. This is the pure Uruguayan life.

There is a lighthouse on the peninsula, in the middle of the residential area between the houses.

Along the promenade, we met a Belgian who had emigrated here with his family and earns his living selling homemade Belgian waffles. Of course, we bought a package of waffles from him and even came back a few more times because they were really delicious, especially the ones covered in chocolate. The Uruguayans also seemed to like them, there was always customer traffic at his stand while we were talking to him, it seems like the business is booming. He also gave us the hint to go to the intersection at the highest point of the peninsula. In fact, you could stand in the middle of the intersection there (there wasn't much traffic) and see the sea in all 4 directions. Really funny.

Of course, we also visited the most famous landmark of Punta: "La Mano en la Arena" (The Hand in the Sand) on Playa Brava. It is actually a sculpture of monstrous 5 fingers sticking out of the sand. Apparently, the artist even won a sculpture competition with it. It's not really stunning, but if you're here, you can take a look at it.

That's about it for the sights of Punta del Este.

After 2 days, we made our way back to Montevideo, with the firm intention of continuing from there to Colonia del Sacramento. However, shortly before arrival in Montevideo, we already started to feel a little homesick for Punta, so we spontaneously changed our plans. We picked up the rest of our luggage and took the next bus back to Punta del Este to spend a few more days there, especially Jörg's birthday.

Fortunately, our hotel provided the typical camping chairs for free, so we blended in among the locals. We spent the days hanging out on the beaches and watching the hustle and bustle. On the east side of the island, the sea was rough, there were many waves, so you could watch the surfers here. God, what a, at least for me, absolutely boring looking sport. My biggest point of contact with this sport so far was the movie "Point Break", where it all looks very spectacular. In reality, most people lie on the board in the sea and the waves don't seem to be that huge. Well, you probably just have to be the type for this lifestyle. On the west side of the peninsula, the sea was calm, here it was all about sailing, wind and kite surfing, swimming (but it was still too cold for me), and sunbathing on the fancy yachts.

In the evenings, we went to our favorite spot on the promenade to watch the sunset. Although Punta del Este is located in the east of South America on the Atlantic, you can surprisingly watch the sunset over the sea here. Simply wonderful....

Otherwise, we didn't do much except sleeping in, hanging out, strolling around, relaxing, and letting our souls dangle. After all, it had been very intense and sometimes exhausting months, we had been on the road a lot, spent many hours on buses, done a lot of activities, and usually got up very early, so we deserved a break. So to speak, a vacation from the vacation, if I may say so decadently.

We also spent Jörg's birthday relaxed with this program. Jörg's father had invited us, so to speak, "trans-Atlantic" for a birthday dinner, but Jörg was very modest. He wished for a Chivito, a typical Paraguayan dish, which is a steak sandwich (he just loves hamburgers and the like, my Jörg). And so we enjoyed this at the best Chivito restaurant we discovered in Punta. We would like to thank him once again for the kind invitation.

When it was finally time to say goodbye, we did so with a little sadness. But it was time to go, especially since we knew that our beloved Punta would not be the same in just a few days when the high season began.