http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from South America , Uruguay , East en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:14:23 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:14:23 +0000 Been a while couple of weeks since I have found time to sit down at a computer and get my thoughts down. I am now in Sao Paulo Brasil mega city of Brasil and the major middle class commerce city as well. It may not be by the beach like Rio and the Paulistas may have a workacholic reputation but I think it has its charms. Anyway Ill rewind a little bit. About 2 weeks ago I left the comfort of http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Diablo/blog-458004.html So...after Patagonia we were back in Buenos Aires our favourite city We weren't here for long this time though as we had decided to head into Uruguay for a week or so. However whilst in BA we did take the chance to visit the hospital as Ben's thumb was still playing up from his fall in Colombia 4 months ago The doctor was a little surprised that we hadn't had it checked out yet and sent us http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Diablo/blog-456267.html Uruguay punta del Diablo rocks As soon as we stepped off the boat even though i had a raging fever and about four layers on in the high 20s we felt this country was so chilled out. Richard is so strong these days he has been carrying 2 rucksacks around like a hero as i have been so weak The roads in this country are amazingly flat with loads of palm trees and cows everyehere. Its mega weird s http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Diablo/blog-447330.html Its 3.30 am we have just been dropped off by the bus we are standing in the dark the cold. We stand outside a police station on the main street its not a street its a sand track. Where are we Where do we go Will our hostel guy come pick us up in his truck He does. He arrives in the smallest van you have ever seen. Our bags take up the entire back of the van we struggle to fit on the row http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Diablo/blog-442046.html After the excitment of BA we decided we needing some quiet time to relax and work on our tans as the end of our trip approached.We headed to the beaches in Uruguay and after a night in the expensive and holidayresort feel of Punta del Este we were up in the morning to take the local bus to Punta del Diablo an old fishing village where we rented a cabana beach hut with 2 of the Irish lads we had http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Diablo/blog-434207.html Un lugar perfectamente cuidado. http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Este/blog-406908.html Day 6 Colonia Uruguay. Nick and melissa brought me breakfast in bed which was nice. Nick went for a run on the beach in the morning. Then we all headed off to the coast. Fresh churros for lunch Gregs choice. Nick made a friend in Diego the stray dog we found. Diego was a fan of cliff bars especially the sandy variety. We had dinner at a local restaurant then went to a casino for awh http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Diablo/blog-403114.html What an interesting find. Punta del Diablo is this neat little beach town and we were grateful that we had arrived after the high season. We loved the empty beaches and quiet atmosphere especially after our paradise in Cabo Polonio. It is a town of approximately 500 people but during the high season sees over 20000 per day Luckily for us on the day we arrived at the El Diablo Tranquilo http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Diablo/blog-399521.html 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 1960s 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 http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Cabo-Polonio/blog-399515.html Piriapolis was a short 2 hour bus ride from Montevideo and promised to be a mystical adventure with much of its short history surrounding the ideals of a wealthy alchemist Don Francisco Piria who settled there and attempted to develop the seaside fishing village into a utopian city. Unfortunately for Chrissy and I the lore of this small alchemy town with a kabbalah background seemed more like http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/blog-399246.html I made it out of Cabo Polonio. Finally. After saying that I would probably only stay for one night in this tiny fishing village on the coast of Uruguay I left after three nights. I could have stayed for much longer. There is magic in this place. In the sand dunes and stucco walls and tin rooves of the huts where 70 locals live year round. Magic in the plants that have evolved over thousands http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Cabo-Polonio/blog-398036.html Well here I continue skirting the Uruguayan Coast and sleeping in a new bed every night. I loved Colonia and stayed there longer than I thought I would and then a few days ago I took a very comfortable bus a couple of hours down the road to the capital city of Montevideo. It was nice there and I was traveling with a really wonderful girl Eva from Frankfurt and we spoke Spanish the time and e http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Este/blog-397129.html Heeeeeeeeeeeeeei igjen No er vi i Rio de Janeiro og her kosar vi oss Superduper by Blir Buenos Aires skubba ned ifraa 2.plassen sin Fortsettelse foelgjer i neste reisebrev.Vi er litt forkjoela og har hatt litt daarlig vaer men ellers er alt berre velstand. Vi fikk tidenes uvaer igaar. Det lyna nonstop ja virkelig nonstop i fleire timar. Heilt sproett. Og veldig fascinerande. P http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Este/blog-393622.html My bus from Montevideo dropped me at Maldonado which is about another 10 minutes away from Punta del Este Uruguay's most famous beach resort and also one of the best in South America apparently. In summer and over Easter weekend the place is thronging but by the time I arrived on Easter Monday it was quiet as a mouse. Indeed for the last 2 nights I've been the only person staying in my h http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Este/blog-391161.html I made a day trip to Punta del Diablo which is fishing village continually recommended in the travel books. My advice if you are touring this area and have to make choices what to see I would give this place a miss. Perhaps the problem is that I am from Nova Scotia and have visited many beautiful fishing villages Perhaps it was the three hour bus ride to a destination 100 kms away Perhaps i http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Diablo/blog-385540.html I hadnt planned to go to Punta del Este Uruguays version of Miami Beach but as life unwinds and email conversations lead me down unexpected paths I found myself on a bus heading towards Servas hosts who did not speak English but were happy to have me visit their home. I was apprehensive but when I met Daniela and Gabriel I could not have been made to feel more welcomed. Using a potpurri of http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Este/blog-385300.html Day 1 Tuesday Brian and I were traveling to Uruguay the exact same days as Vanessa by weird coincidence so we decided to make much of the trip together. The only portion of the trip that we were apart was the initial bus ride. When we got to Uruguayan customs Vanessa was waiting for us. She had arrived 15 minutes before. We all caught the same bus to Montevideo which picked us up directly http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Punta-del-Este/blog-384281.html Today I went to the bus station to find out times for buses to Montevideo tomorrow. I got a map and some tourist information. There is more to La Paloma than meets the eye....more beaches parks things to do. With these tips I walked to the lighthouse and climbed all those stairs to get the eagleeye view of the area. Cyber travel buddies I hope you appreciate the things I do for you. ha http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/La-Paloma/blog-383411.html What a concept In a dune ecosystem do not build roads but do build a hippie communetourist site with limited access. On the side of the road there is a place to hire a jeep to take you into Cabo Palonio 120 uruguay dollars. The ride is an adventure in itself when you hit the bumps.The village is unique. It seems to be a collection of hippies and rustic shacks and cottages decorated in co http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/Cabo-Polonio/blog-383105.html Oh my trip to uruguay was amzing i dont even know where to start. we left on thursday from buenos aires took a 1hour ferrry to colonia i very old colonial town super cute. we stayed here for only a couple hours we wanted to get to our final destiniation of small beach town Cabo Polonio Cabo Loconio by the time we left by nightfall. We hopped on a bus to montevideothe biggest city in urug http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Uruguay/East/blog-383073.html