Punta del Este

Well, we left our paradise Florianopolis with a heavy heart and headed to Punta del Este, Uruguay

So, we left Brazil and arrived at our second destination on our long list, Uruguay. Apparently, Uruguay is like the Switzerland of South America, it's safe and there are many wealthy people here. We drove for 5 hours to Porto Alegre, where we quickly had a bite to eat and continued on to Punta del Este, Uruguay. Since we had been driving all day, we decided to book a Leito Bus for the night. The bus not only had comfortable seats, but they also reclined and were quite spacious. It was amazing.

We arrived in Punta del Este at around 7am feeling well-rested. It was a bit cloudy, but the sun was peeking through.

We thought we could take a taxi, but we didn't have any Uruguayan Pesos yet, only some leftover Reais. And the currency exchange didn't open until 9am. So, the taxi driver drove us around the block and about 1 minute later he said 'we're here' and it turned out to be a 5-minute walk. He then cheekily asked for 25 Reais for the ride, which took about 20 minutes in Brazil. What a rip-off, sorry for the language. It's our own fault. We picked up our luggage and headed to the beach. On the way, we saw a stray dog on the street, I whistled at him and he started following us as if he were ours. We went to the beach and played with him for about an hour, fetching sticks, digging holes, etc. It was really fun.

Afterwards, we went to the hostel, exchanged money, checked in, and had breakfast. Our first impression of Punta del Este was a bit disappointing. It looks like it got stuck in the 1980s. I feel like the town has seen better days. In the hostel, we surprisingly met a Swiss couple. After talking for 5 minutes, we realized that I went to school with their cousins, small world.

We then decided to visit the artist's house, Casapueblo. The weather changed and it became cloudy. It was so complicated to find the bus that goes there. Somehow, we managed to find it and it practically took us onto the highway. From there, we walked for 20 minutes. It's a wealthy neighborhood. We took a few photos there. The building wasn't impressive, it cost 15 bucks to enter, and there were only two rooms.

It looked somewhat like a sandcastle. Afterwards, we went back to the highway and wondered when the bus would actually arrive. After waiting for 50 minutes, including being tired, hungry, and cold, the stupid bus finally arrived.

Phew, I was a bit scared at that viewpoint, haha. When we arrived at the hostel, we decided to continue our journey to Montevideo the next day. There isn't much to see here and the weather wasn't great either. We quickly dropped off our laundry and could pick it up at noon. We were supposed to catch the bus at 11am, but it only hit us while showering, 'oh no, it's not going to happen'! Oh dear... we hurried back and asked if we could leave earlier, at 10:30, muchas gracias.

Rested and fueled up from a delicious breakfast, we boarded the bus.

See you soon,

Ernesto & Muriel

Next Stop: Montevideo