Taking Risks

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One of the things I am learning about travelling on your own (and there are many!) is that every risk is your own but on the other side of the coin every triumph is also your own. Every decision I make ultimately I have deal with the consequences entirely myself and to be honest this is quite a scary prospect for me. So the decision to head to this small fishing town of Punta Del Diablo came with slight apprehension. I had only read a small paragraph about it in the Lonely Planet, hadn´t met anyone who had been there and on the map it looked as though it was in rural Uruguay away from bright lights and big cities.

After catching the ferry over to Uruguay from Buenos Aires a 3 hour ride in which I bumped into a guy from a previous hostel (this seems to happen all the time) I got off in a very small town called Colonial Del Sacramento. A gorgeous wee town with some lovely old buildings and leafy streets. A nice change from both Buenos Aires and Iguazu, I enjoyed wandering around and reading my book. I stayed here just one night and then in the morning made the decision to head to Punta Del Diablo a 6 hour bus ride away which is nothing in South America. This was the first time I had made the decision that morning of where to go as previously I had always been booked in advance This was both a liberating and slightly scary feeling.

Driving through Uruguay reminded me ALOT of home, it´s really green with lots of rural farming areas an rolling hills. There were a couple of other ¨gringos¨on the bus but mostly locals and as we got further and further away from the main city of Montevideo I started to get a little nervous. What was this place going to be like? The fact that my spanish is poor always adds an extra dimension to my travels.

6 hours after my departure from Colonial we rounded a corner and came into a seaside town lined with the most colourful and unique little beach houses. It was awesome! I felt like I was coming home! The beaches were of pure white sand and the town had a real hippy feel about it. I just couldn´t stop smiling it was the best risk I had taken thus far as it had totally paid off!

Over the next few days I enjoyed lots of beach time and met some really lovely people at the second hostel I stayed at. One thing I am trying to learn to be better at on this trip is to be present. To be in the moment and not to worry about what is coming next. For those of you who know me well know this is a challenge in itself but as I was in Punta Del Diablo I breathed it all in every moment it was just what I needed after the hectic couple of weeks I had had.

I then headed back to Montevideo for a night its known as a smaller Uruguayian suburb of Buenos Aires it was nice enough but I´m glad I only had a night there. Nice architecture and the square is a nice place to be with an antique market on everyday. Nice to wander around but was constantly reminded not to go into certain parts as they were dodgy.

Food and drink wise what stood out for me in Uruguay was the Paella! So yummy and Mate (pronounced mat-e) which is a hot herbal drink that they all constantly drink in a special cup its really strong and gives you a bit of a kick like coffee but stronger I thought. They take a flask and their mate everywhere they go so they can always top up 😊

I hope you enjoy the photos 😊 xx

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=272283&id=594416894&l=c56687d341

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Comments

[Tash]

What beautiful life pictures
living in the present - I was at the edge of my seat to find out what you had discovered and Puento del diablo looks amazing! keep the up the great character building work ;-0 love U