On the afternoon of our second day in Uruguay, we left Montevideo and took a bus and ferry to Punta del Diablo on the country’s north-east coast near Brazil. We arrived in darkness and were a little uneasy as our hosts said they’d meet us at the bus stop but didn’t show up. Nor did we have a working phone or were persuasive enough for a store to let us use theirs. We headed towards the lights of the busiest part of town we could see where a cafe owner happened to know our hosts. After some phone calls, we were finally picked up and dropped off at our very cute and well heated free-standing cabin.
It was almost winter and we were on the coast, so it was chilly and not ideal beach-going weather but it was nice nonetheless. The small, surf town would be even better in summer. We enjoyed the fresh air and walked along the beach accompanied by a dog we’d met not far from our cabin, and who waited for us when we stopped at a beach-front cafe for a coffee.
I lost my photos from this trip but had to show one, thanks google images!
Armed with a not-so-accurate map, we began walking to Santa Teresa National Park and its fort. For a couple of hours, along the beach and coast and dunes we went, wondering when we’d get to the park. Along the way, we saw one or two teenagers on bikes but other than that we were all alone. While that was peaceful, it was also a little scary. Especially as the landscape looked like the island in Lost.
After finally getting to the park and walking through it for around two hours, we arrived at a few colonial buildings and greenhouses. Sadly they were closed but it was nice to rest before continuing our journey to the fort. Eventually, after the landscape turned more agricultural and tourists more plentiful, the fort loomed ahead of us on a hill. These tourists were wise though; they were all in cars. It was cold and we were exhausted!
The fort itself is pretty cool. For a small entrance fee we could go inside buildings and wonder the grounds that in the recent past were used to host medieval, reenactment type events. After an hour or two, we were accutely aware of the encroaching clouds, impending darkness and at least a four hour walk back through a deserted park and beach that may or may not now be covered in water. Hrm…
The fort guides said there was probably a bus going along a main road, but it sounded unikely. We began asking people in the car park if they were going to Punta del Diablo and after about 20 minutes it worked out. A family didn’t have space in their car, but offered us a ride in the back of their ute. Not being in a position to decline, we accepted and it was a windy but fun half an hour ride back into town. Yay!
We had a late lunch at one of the beach-side restaurants and retreated to our cabin for a cosy night in. For our last morning in Uruguay we got up before dawn, walked to the sand dunes and watched the very pretty sunrise. After this calm morning, we began to worry about leaving on time for our bus and ferry back to Buenos Aires.
Our host had left very basic instructions for where he lived, but we couldn’t find his house nor call to confirm our pick-up time (the cabin was too far from the bus stop to walk with our bags). Luckily, his son arrived just in time and by evening we were back in our flat in Buenos Aires.
Before leaving Uruguay, we were sure to withdraw US dollars from an ATM (they’re not available in Argentina but can be exchanged at a high rate). The notes were so pristine and like Monopoly money, that in my distraction I walked off without taking my card. The ATM swallowed it back again, ironically to stop others taking it. No! The bank was helpless and no-one could be called to open the machine. It wasn’t the end of the world though. It was one of three cards I carried from different banks and Tristan had its twin, so we could still access the same, no-international-transaction-fee account (GE Money’s 28 degrees mastercard; both it and the bank were good to deal with; at least compared to others!).
Los viajes de Bianca. 