Beach hopping in Uruguay!

I had no real expectations going into Uruguay except that I knew there was a relatively chichi beach resort called Punta Del Este. Apparently, it is where all the rich and beautiful people from South America hang out during the summer. Brasil gets all the acclaim for thong-clad beauties, but I have to say, Uruguay is a very close second!

So anyway, on to my adventures....

One day, I went to a fruteria (fruit stand) to buy an apple. Mind you, I learned the majority of my Spanish in Spain, not Argentina and certainly not Uruguay. There are several words that are different. For example, "conducir" and "manejar" both mean "to drive" but it depends on which country you are in. "Coger" means to pick something up or to choose, at least it does so in Spain. "Coger" in Argentina/Uruguay, however, means, well... umm... to screw! I did not know this when I asked the nice old lady at the fruit stand: "¿Puedo coger esta manzana?" (Can I choose this apple?) She looked at me kinda funny...I looked at her kinda funny back, gave her my money and left. She must have thought I was some perverted sicko.

One night, I went out with some friends and we walked past a table of four extremely attractive women hanging about inside a bar. I waved to them, not really expecting anything, but they waved back as well. I just kept walking, because, well, Andreas (Germany) and I were on our way to a club. I stopped, thought better, and decided to go back and perhaps chat them up, maybe see if they would want to join us. As I walked back towards them, one of the girls literally jumped out of her seat and ran towards me, like they do in the movies. I thought to myself,¨"Damn, I knew I was good, but I didn´t know I was THAT good!" So I kinda played Joe Cool and walked in, figuring I´d get some sort of "interesting" introduction to this girl running out towards me. Well lo and behold, she just ran right past me, and put a cell phone to her ear! Crash and burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrn!!! It's ok, luckily enough, my healthy ego is still intact. Cause I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and gosh darn it people like me.

Given Punta's cost and uppity nose factor, I decided to explore the coastline a bit outside of ritzy Punta Del Este. I was glad I met a couple, Andreas (Germany) and Irena (Norway/Croatia) from the hostel who wanted to do the same. We rented a car and headed to Pedrera/La Paloma where we decided to spend the night lying on the beach, which was the first time I had ever actually done that overnight.

We went to Cabo Polonio the next day, which I wholeheartedly recommend as a must go for anyone! It's a totally secluded beach, accessible only via this Mad-Max type 4WD monster van that plows through a natural reserve for about 6 kilometers, opening up to the beach. Once you see the pictures, you´ll see how breathtaking it is. The whole beach is literally off the grid-- no electricity, no real plumbing. Just you and nature. In fact, walking around the place, I noticed it´s really just a bunch of hippies living in beach shacks. It is a very sloooow pace of life here. Case in point. One morning, Andreas, Irena and I walked up to a restaurant to order some breakfast. There were four people working, one was eating, one was cooking, one was squeezing mayo in the bottle, and the last one was putting some food away. The one putting the food away walked right past me, even though I said, "Hola, ¿qué tal?" I looked at the one eating and she kinda waved at me, while she finished her breakfast. Fair enough, I suppose. She then took another minute or so to finish her food, then washed her hands, and then I thought, perfect, she´ll come right over and take our order! But nope, she went over to the mayo lady, apparently to check in to see how her mayo squeezing was coming along. Finally, she came up to us, and asked us how we were doing, as if we hadn't been standing there for five minutes already! Despite this experience though, I´d STILL go back to Cabo Polonio, it was by far the best beach area I saw in Uruguay.

The following day, we beach hopped over to Punta Del Diablo, probably the farthest and most northeasternly beach area of Uruguay worth visiting. Unfortunately, being in January and peak season, we had a difficult time finding a place. Finally, after half a day of searching and knocking on random doors asking for a place to sleep, I came upon a place that was still under construction. The guy was literally nailing the bed together. I thought, well, at least this place is new. Irena and Andreas didn´t really think it was that great. I suppose a bed made out of straw doesn't really tickle their fancy. I kept telling them that it was nicer than the mud huts of Ghana, but that didn´t really help. Especially when the rain (yes, what luck!) started dripping onto their bed throughout the entire night! Agreed, maybe it wasn´t nicer than the mud huts of Ghana. But it had electricity and a hot shower!!!

It was nice to see have rented a car to see almost all the major beach towns in Uruguay. It was extremely relaxing, and breathtaking at times. At the same time, though, after such an enlightening experience in Ghana with the everyday responsibility (and privilege) of something like teaching young kids English and math, I felt a bit empty at times. Well, perhaps empty isn't the right word. Rudderless, more like. No wait, a Third World hangover. Yet, I suppose coming to Uruguay and enjoying my time by doing absolutely nothing but lay on the beach and enjoy a beer or three reminds me yet again to appreciate everything I have.