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We love it when they come because it's a great excuse to hit the road and do some exploring. Last year we took to the winding, mountainous roads of Mendoza. This year we decided to hit the coastline and check out the world-famous beaches of Uruguay. Naturally, it started to rain, I mean really rain, shortly after they arrived.
We didn't let the flooded streets and dark grey skies put a damper on our plans and soon headed across the Rio de la Plata where we arrived in Montevideo, picked up our trusty Chevy Corsa, (this group's rental car of choice), and began our trek along the coast of Uruguay towards Punta del Este.
Often referred to as the Hamptons of South America, Punta del Este is allegedly party central during the peak summer season, but it was a bit sleepier during our visit. Without any celebrity hosted parties to crash, we hit the beach and the famous hand in the sand sculpture.
Punta del Este was fine, but we knew that we could do better. And so, in search of more sun and more adventure, we continued northeast along the coastal road. Not more than 20 minutes outside of Punta we came across La Barra a smaller town, with more character and nicer beaches where we decided to set up camp for a few days.
Excited that the sun had broken through the clouds, we headed to the beach to take in some rays. Unfortunately, Franck took in a few more than the rest of us.
The next day with clouds back in the skies, we amused ourselves with some time at the golf course driving range. It was, to say the least, entertaining. Franck won points for style and form and Trevor could do little but watch and hope to learn.
It's not an alien from outer space, but a golf ball collector! No fancy machinery here!
After a tough morning on the range.
The next day, heading further around the coast, we were pleasantly surprised by what we found.
Pristine beaches for miles and miles. No development, no humans, nothing but sand and salt and water and the sound of crashing waves.
We crossed over a small river on an even smaller ferry and continued along the coast.
We were fascinated by how green the landscape was and especially loved the trees. We called them the broccoli trees. They were everywhere and they really do look like broccoli!
There were also hundreds of groves of trees with spectacular peeling trunks. Ever the artist, Lia got in for a close-up.
Over the next few days, we drove through several small, quiet little towns along the coast. Some clearly on the international map and others not. They all had the feel of being in another world and another time. One of the most interesting little places we stopped in was just outside Cabo Polonio. Here our lush, green landscape had turned into a horizon of beige.
A little village built on sand dunes leading up to the ocean, it was really fascinating. We stopped to walk on the beach and check out the dunes.
We even managed to get the trusty Corsa stuck in the sand.
One of our favorite stops was the teensy village of Jose Ignacio. A tiny little speck on the map, the exclusive Jose Ignacio is home some of the most amazing beach houses we'd ever seen.
It also boasts an historic lighthouse.
Set up on a bit of a hill, Jose Ignacio turned out to be a great spot for some spectacular sunsets.
An unsolved mystery to me, Jose Ignacio also had a number of these platforms. I'm sure there's an easy explanation and a useful purpose beyond a sunset lookout.
Back in the big city, we had our traditional goodbye lunch at Cabaña Las Lilas. It was a fairly epic meal this year stretching from lunch until dinner and a great way to celebrate another fantastic adventure with Lia and Franck. Where shall we go next year?
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