Punta del Diablo: Very rough start, but that seems to be the trend for me in South America... I was tired and exhausted because I hadn't slept in a bed for two days and from--because of layovers--traveling through five cities (Campo Grande, Goiania, Brasilia, Sao Paolo, and Montevideo) to get to Punta del Diablo. Got dropped off at 5:30am equipped with an address and very rudimentary directions: Keep the beach on your right and continue until you see stairs. OK. But it was pitch black, there were no street signs, and no building numbers! It was also the off-season and a very sleepy/laid-back town so there was no one around to ask for help. So, I'm tired, lost, and admittedly, kind of freaked out. To top it all off, there were more stray dogs than I've ever seen in my life! They weren't the cute kind either. So after about an hour, I see a Diablo Tranquilo and the only way someone who works at the hostel knows I'm there is because about 15 dogs start barking really menacingly at me. I try not to cry as I talk to this guy and get directions to my hostel because as it turns out, there are TWO Diablo Tranquilos in town and I was of course staying at the other one. I wander in search of my hostel for another half hour and en route, I met a guy who'd also been lost for an hour looking for the Diablo Tranquilo. I had just been to his hostel, directed him there, and we parted ways. Lucky him. I, however, had received more bad directions and could not for the life of me find my hostel. I go back to the first hostel and the dogs come at me again. I just couldn't take it at that point... walking around for forever with my heavy pack, exhausted, frustrated, unhappy, and then those fucking dogs!! The guy walked me part way to the hostel and I finally found it, but not before some new dogs decided to harass me. I showed up at reception in tears and took a while to calm down. Very rough start.
(But Punta del Diablo is beautiful! The hostel was on the beach where you could lay on hammocks overlooking the water - this was very nice. It was the off season so the beaches were empty and there weren't many people around. The downside is that a lot of businesses are closed in the off season, but its a vacation spot that is well worth returning to.)
Cabo Polonio: A town with no electricity or running water, but actually a really wonderful place! You can only access the city on a 4x4 because it is enclosed by sand dunes and you do so after making no less than two bus transfers, but it's well worth the effort. Once in, you have your choices of beaches, North and South. I spent hours in the sun relaxing and walking in the sand dunes. The entire day, I also had the company of a very sweet dog who would chase away other dogs who came near me and wait patiently while I took photos.
Punta del Este: Resort town where rich Argentineans like to vacation. It's a pretty expensive vacation spot for Uruguayan standards, but some of the beaches are quite pretty. I went to see the two "symbols" of Punta del Este - the hand in the sand and casapueblo - they were okay. What I'll remember Punta del Este for is its beautiful sunset and the ramen/mac 'n cheese dinner I had :) (Thanks mom!) There were also mosquitoes, apparently, but they were not the least bit interested in me! Fantastic! It was just two of us in a 10-person dorm and this poor Brazilian lady got harassed all night. I stayed up late videochatting with Theo and I'd hear her rustle the sheets and yell Brazilian curse words at the mosquitoes every now and then lol
Atlantida: I think the prettiest beach I saw in Uruguay was in Atlantida, but I was really only in town for what my friend said was the best parilla he's been to: Don Vito. I ordered the parilla-for-one and it was MASSIVE. I ate less than half of it and was still stuffed after eating leftovers the next night. I got to try some interesting meats that I would never otherwise order which is always cool, but in doing so, I tried the worst thing I've ever eaten: Rinon. (tilde over the first n). I think it's liver, but it's prepared in such a way that it smells and kind of looks like cow poo. The smell was so strong that I had to push the "poo" to the far end of the table. Gross!
Montevideo: Really liked this city! I went for a run through some of the very pretty parks in the city and got to the beach in time to watch sunset over the water. Great start! I got to try the famous Uruguayan chivito in Montevideo and it was really fantastic! Might be the biggest, most artery clogging sandwich I've ever had, but so worth it! I liked the buildings and plazas and the parks and the people.... I just had a great time in Uruguay's capital - I think I could see myself living there.
Colonia del Sacramento: A little bit overrated I think. The historical significance of this place was a bit lost on me and as far as old cities go, I feel like I've seen cuter cobblestone streets in Estonia and Latvia. Maybe it's because unlike the other cities, there was neither a pretty beach nor beauitful, impressive buildings so it was kind of just an okay place for me that had been too hyped up.
Carmelo: Cute little town on the water that I only stopped in because I wanted to take the ferry from there to Tigre, Argentina. But, it was peaceful and pretty and the people were very nice! I went into a shop with 100 Uruguayan pesos (~$4) and told the lady I wanted to spend 98 of them - she was very helpful and gave me a massive tray of food to take with me.
So, I definitely didn't have enough time in Uruguay, but I saw and did a lot and really enjoyed it. It was so wonderful to be speaking Spanish again... to be understood (!) and to get to argue if something wasn't right. I didn't get asked if I was Japanese once! On the contrary, they thought I was Argentinean or something and it was so nice to hear that every time I said "No, Estados Unidos," I would get a "hablas muy bien espanol!" (translation: you speak spanish very well!) Absolutely my favorite compliment while traveling. :) In general, I just really liked Uruguay and would seriously recommend it to anyone!
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