Feb 11, 2012 - Jose Ignacio

11th February We are picked up by taxi this morning and taking to Jose Ignacio on the coast. JI is not far from Punta del Este – the Saint Tropez of S America. However, we had been advised that Punta del Este was like Miami and that JI was its smaller, prettier and classier little brother. This time we had made a good decision. Cabo Polonio could be like this if it wanted to be. Very nice (if expensive) restaurants and art galleries and boutiques mostly built with white clapper board frontages – very classy! However, it wasn't all plain...

Jan 14, 2012 - Punta Del Este

Jan 14 to 15 Punta Del Este Not such a fun day. We flew out of Iguacu Falls to Buenes Aires, hopped on a ferry to Colonia, caught a bus to Montevideo and caught another bus to Punta Del Este arriving at midnight. Jan 14 was a very long day of travelling and rushing around. 1 flight, 2 bus, rides, 1 ferry ride, 3 currencies, and 3 countries in 24 hrs. As the travel book would say "Get it tanned, get it waxed, get it buffed, and get it out to Punta Del Este where the rich and famous are". This town is loaded! We saw lots of very nice cars,...

Jan 27, 2010 - Uruguay

I know I haven't written this for ages (sorry Em!) but it has been difficult to get to internet. Ummmm where was I.... Saturday spent most of the day in the park by the massive tulip sculpture, sunbathing. Went out to dinner with Anna (Toby's lovely friend who lives in BA) to a restaurant that was rather posher than we had been expecting. But we decided to treat ourselves and had insane Patagonian lamb- the meat here is incredible. We then went on to a Mexican themed party where they had made tonnes of fajitas (which we were too stuffed to...

Dec 15, 2009 - Punta del Este - Beach holiday

We have checked ourselves in for four nights in hostel El Viajero 30 minutes bus away from central Punta del Este to take advantage of their special offer (four nights in the price of three). Considering that we haven’t had a beach holiday yet in this trip, we thought it would be a good time to stay at one place for a bit longer simply to relax. The hostel was located in a very expensive neighborhood surrounded by villas and swanky apartments. The famous Bikini Beach was only 5 minutes away. The place felt very newly built with lots of...

Dec 6, 2009 - Punta del Este--The Beach in Winter

Ok, so it's not actually winter here, but it sure felt like it the day we arrived--cold, rainy, the beaches empty except for a family in heavy coats. We came to Punta del Este expecting a beach vacation, three days tanning and relaxing on one of the area's many sandy beaches. What we got instead were the Hamptons in April--an expensive beach resort still waiting for the summer crowd, and the summer weather, to arrive. It's kind of classic South America, actually: nothing is quite as good as promised. Beaches? Sure, but the water is...

Mar 11, 2009 - Punta del Este, Uruguay

March 10th was a full transit day from BA, across the inlet by ferry to Colonia, passing through Montevideo (the capital) all to arrive at the vacation spot for the rich Brazilians and Argentines. I´m excited to have an exclusive ´beach day´. I´ve been in South America for months, with very little beach time. Unfortunately, it rained for most of the day. I set out on a bicylcle to explore the coast and next town of Maldonado. Great fun riding along bike routes until the wind whipped up and the rain started pelting. I enjoyed a picnic lunch...

Jan 15, 2009 - Punta Del Este

Punta Del Este : Uruguay What was once an old fishing village has now become one of South America's most fashionable resort towns, catering to wealthy Argentines. It was quite busy and pretty although it's highly praised beach areas don't compare to those on the Sunshine Coast...we are certainly spoilt in many ways. The marina was filled with expensive yachts just like Mooloolaba and you can't help wondering whether they really get used...just like home. Although a major tourist location, the shopping was very limited...thank God for the...

Jan 11, 2009 - Uruguay - Beach Time

We spent the second week of our trip in Uruguay. We checked out of our apartment on Sunday morning and then took a taxi to the car rental agency. When we arrived it was closed and the sign on the door showed that they were closed on Sunday. Standing in the centre of Buenos Aires with our luggage we were both a bit at a loss for what to do next. We didn´t have a lot of time to contemplate because within five minutes a car came screeching to a halt in front of us and out jumped the car rental staff of two coming in just to give us our car. We...

Dec 28, 2008 - Piriápolis, Uruguay

Tim -- If you’ve been following our blog, then you know that I love the beach. Piriapolis is a beach resort east of Montevideo on the coast. After all the wind, rain, and cold of the Altiplano in Bolivia and the entire Patagonia region, we were glad to head towards the equator for some fun in the sun. Now, there’s one habit that’s going to stick with me once I return to the United States: I will never again trust a weather forecast on weather.com! When we were in Ushuaia, the weather for Piriapolis was supposed to be high 80s and sunny, but...

Oct 1, 2008 - Punta del Este et Chuy (ou chui...)

Toute la région de Maldonado/Punta del Este est une stration balneaire trés cotté et remplie en haute saison. Mais maintenant tout est fermé; seuls quelques magasins pour les rares autochtones. Nous avons de nouveau l'impression d'etre dans une ville fantome. Il pourrait y avoir des balleines qui entrent dans la baie, mais avec le temps tres instable (tantot t-shirt tantot bonnet) elles vont plus au large. Nous avons fait à pied le tour de la pointe (avec les sacs, ourgh!) et avons vu toutes les belles villas fermées ou les rares passants...

Feb 22, 2008 - Punta del Este

Gisteren op weg van Montevideo naar Punta del Diablo een tussenstop gemaakt van een 5 tal uur in Punta del Este. Dit is veruit de belangrijkste badplaats van Uruguay en is bekend in heel de wereld. Je ziet er toeristen van overal en de aanwezigheid van een jachthaven en ook van cruiseschepen is een teken aan de wand. De prijzen die er gehanteerd worden zijn dan ook europees te noemen. Buiten de honderden hotels langs de kilometerslange zandstanden is er echter niet veel te beleven, alles is afgestemd op het strand toerisme en de aanverwante...

Dec 11, 2007 - Christina Kircner is the new president of Argentina

Hola Amigos, First of all we would like to say thanks for the comments, they're fun for us to read. If we don't get a chance to write back to everyone, know that we are thinking of you. We have decided to go to Uruguay today in search of some sand and Sun. We were hoping for 80's, however, it's only in the mid-seventies (I kid, I kid). We have to take a boat to the city of Colonia and then take a bus to the capital city of Montevideo. From Montevideo we'll take another bus North up the coast to Punta del este. From there we'll take another...