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With no directions from our bus driver (imagine that) we were dropped on the side of the road just after sunset, no doubt looking a little bewildered at the 1960´s model monster truck parked on a nearby sandy road. We heard there were no official roads to Cabo Polonio and that we would need to hire some sort of "alternative" transportation to get us there...but this was too much, we had to laugh! Chrissy and I were apparently the only two heading into Cabo Polonio because the driver readily threw our bags into the bed of the monster truck. He told us to climb in the back and we were off to a night ride thru the dunes! After 40 bone jarring minutes we reached the beach and drove thru the surf to a dark town in the distance only visible from the brillant night stars and light provided periodically from the lighthouse. Fortunately, we had met the hostel owner (Alfredo) in Montevideo who had recommended Cabo Polonio Hostel so we were not completely without direction. We strapped on our head lamps and a local pointed us towards a dune in the distance and told us to follow the beach. As
we got closer to the hostel (or what we thought was "a hostel") we were met by a giant dog who let everyone know we had arrived....and we had. From the minute we walked onto the back deck of the candle lit porch we were awe-struck. We walked thru the open back door of the weathered, rough-cut lumber beach house and were given a warm welcome by Babo and Maria, the hostel´s off-season inhabitants. We were shown to our room by candle light and ended up staying for an entire week!
Having slept in (about) 40 or more different beds thus far, it´s not uncommon to wake up wondering where we are, but we have never been so pleasantly surprised! The window in our room was open from the night before and the colorful linen curtains were blowing in the breeze. I swung my feet out of bed onto the sand covered floor and found a set of hammocks just ouside our window and the ocean only 50 feet away...we had missed all this in the darkness the night before! After a light breakfast of bread and jam (traditional backpacker breakfast) we took a walk on the beach and
found we were the only ones out as far as we could see. In fact, after only a couple hundred yards there were no more beach shacks, it was an unbelievable feeling. With no crowds to escape and the comfort of the cozy cabin right on the beach, that is about as active as things got over the next couple days.
One interesting item in the sandy yard of the beach house was a lone tv just sitting out on a dune. We asked Bebo, "Why do you guys have that tv sitting out there?" and he calmly responded "To watch the sunset, it's the only channel we have"... and every day during night fall we could sit on the porch and see the reflection of sunset from the little tv.
It was funny to think that during our lives whenever things get so stressful and you just want to be somewhere else far far away... truly, this was that place we all imagine. 😉
Another big highlight was the food. The beach house had a solar panel on the roof which they used to power the kitchen light and the radio for a couple hours during
the day. We usually ate lunch around this time with Babo and Maria while enjoying a cold beer in the shade of the porch. In the evening Babo would prepare dinner for us all and each time it was truly mouthwatering. We had different meats, usually butchered just before dinner and an array of local vegtables including different varieties of pumpkins, sweet potatoes and fresh herbs! After dinner usually followed tea and some sort of desert and then card games (we taught everyone how to play American Rummy) or Jenga. We definately have something to learn about hospitality from the people of Uruguay!
After 5 days on the beach we realized that we didn´t have enough money to pay for our room, and as you might imagine, there is nothing resembling a bank or ATM anywhere in Cabo Polonio. But it wasn´t that bad....I only had to hire a 4x4 for a 40 min ride back to the main road and then hail a taxi or hitch hike for another 30 minute ride into the town of Castillo. There was only one bank in Castillo and it didn´t open until 1pm. Now, as painless as that sounds, a trip
to Castillo is like a trip to the mainland for Babo, so that means we are going to go shopping for supplies that they don´t have back at the beach. SO, the short version of this story is we left early and didn´t get back until after dark! Ha! This wouldn´t be so bad, but I didn´t bring my Passport with me (thinking that I would use the banks ATM) but as you can guess, that was not the case. Now I am faced with the fact that I have to do this all over again tomorrow! No Problem... Babo volunteers to tag along because there were a couple things he forgot. And, you guessed it... me, Babo and Chrissy left early but didn´t get home until after dark again! Haha I guess I really can´t complain! 😊
On our last night in Cabo Polonio, an Austrian who was staying at the hostel (Gerhard) mentioned that this hostel was named 3rd out of the top 10 hostels in the world by The Guardian (UK Newspaper) in 2007! To our surprise there is an article about a journalist who stays in Cabo Polonio in the Dec 8, 2007 edition. Somehow
it is still a deserted village that has only 70 perminent residents...72 if you count Babo and Maria spending their first winter there... it´s still a well kept secret if you ask us!
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Jared
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The Good Life
Quite the adventuresome duo. Glad you both are doing well. That is a place and an adventure you will share for generations.