vino, chivito, y la playa

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it's been a few days, but we are now well into our trip to south america. it was quite the long haul, starting in pittsburgh, and road tripping it down to d.c. to catch our flight. from here, we hit el salvador, peru, and finally arrived here in uruguay on sunday.
uruguay was the place in our trip where we really had no plans, and no expectations. we hoped for nice weather and a little warmth, but really nothing else. thankfully for us, our expectations have been blown away!
we arrived in montevideo at the carrasco airport, grabbed our bags after grabbing loads of duty free bebidas, and searched out europcar. keeping in mind we arrived around 5:30 in the morning, we had no idea how long we'd have to wait for them to open. luckily, there was a man opening up just as we arrived. he looked a little haggard, after a long night of potential partying, but was super nice. AN HOUR LATER, we had our car...once again, it pays to be extra nice, speak a little of the native language, and make small talk. He gave us an upgrade on the rental, 4 days for the price of 3, and discounted the insurance...awesome. not so awesome however, was our car - great conversation piece, and it was a new car, but - JAC B18...chinese version of a minivan...that's all i'll say about that.
we made our way up the coast to punta del este, easily at first, but near impossible to find our hotel, as about 90% of the roads have NO names! minor problem, but we eventually managed to find our hotel.
gorgeous and serene are the first words that come to mind when pulling up to our place, la posada de los pajaros. all white building with great architecture and a pool out front, classical and jazz playing, and a friendly staff. we eventually got our rooms, and were also pleasantly surprised. decent sized rooms, nice sized closet and floor space to dump our belongings, and the best part...a balcony facing the ocean.
we rested up, and attempted our first meal out in punta. after driving around a bit, we stopped in at 'baby gouda cafe'...unique name, but the place was fantastic...electic, great lighting, great music, and friendly service. we muddled our way through the menu, and our food was amazing.
these last two days have been spent mostly soaking up sun, walking the gorgeous beaches, and again, eating, and drinking...loads of eating and drinking. other notable restaurants included el secreto (in punta close to the yacht harbor), pura vida (super artsy, small restaurant with AMAZING crepes), and rex restaurant (american style diner, playing bob marley music, with a uruguayan menu).
uruguay was exactly the start i wanted to this vacation. it's beautiful, peaceful, full of friendly people, and has excellent food and drink of all kinds to offer.
...next up...buenos aires...

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Photos

posada de los pajaros
our hotel in punta del este

dinner at pura vida
jim and i

great friends
anna and brian

awesome breakfast
great breakfast of juice, croissants, breads, homemade jams, meats, and cheeses!

playa brava
walking the beaches of punta