Vacation in Uruguay

Vacation in Uruguay

Getting There

In October of 2008, my husband and I travelled to Uruguay, the land where he had lived for a number of years. It was the 100th anniversary of The British Schools, his alma mater , and he and all the alumni were invited for a reunion. We booked our space in a resort in February of 2008, through a colleague with a time share, and booked the tickets in July. (A travel agent friend later told us that we should have booked much earlier, as the cheaper tickets usually are sold about a year in advance!)

While there is an Air Canada flight which flies directly to Buenos Ares, Argentina (14 hours in duration), it was prohibitively expensive. Also, my husband, with his knowledge of South American countries, history, and social customs, preferred to fly via Chile. We flew from Toronto, Canada to New York, and then to Chile, with the last leg of the journey being a 2-hour flight into Montevideo, Uruguay. On the way home, we flew from Montevideo to Chile, and then to Toronto via Mexico. The total time in transit was about 21 hours, in both directions.

We picked up our little rental car, and drove the 1.5 hours to our destination at our resort, just outside Punta Ballena, and a fairly short distance from Maldonado and Punta del Este.


Scenery and Landmarks

Uruguay is a land of beauty, and is said to be the place with the cleanest and freshest air and the highest level of health in South America. The scenery is truly remarkable. The wildlife is plentiful, and there are many birds of brilliant hues of color which we just do not see in North America - blue birds, bright green birds flying in a flock with the sun striking their wings and making them look iridescent, and bright red birds, which are smaller than a North American cardinal. Unfortunately, most flitted away before I could obtain photographs! However, there are a number of bird-watching locations set up, for those interested in such a pursuit.

A church in the nearby town of San Carlos displays some European influences in its architecture, and testifies to the role that the Roman Catholic church has played in the country's history.

The Pan de Azucar (literally, "Sugar Loaf") is a high hill with a huge cross on top of it, a landmark which can be seen for miles in the southern part of the country. It is possible to climb up to the top of the hill and enjoy the view, but we declined to do so on this trip. Maybe next time!


General Impressions

Uruguay is a study in contrasts. Montevideo is a very modern city, with North American-style shopping malls, four-lane streets in places, and traffic lights. Yet, it also contains "tent cities", where people live in little more than cardboard boxes. Also, it is not uncommon to see the family horse grazing in the front yard of a home in some parts of the city.

In Maldonado and Punta del Este, there were massive building projects under way, with condominium buildings going up in several different places. There also were numerous resorts along the waterfront, and more being built, to cater to the increasing tourist industry.

The cities and towns have a distinctly European feel to them, and even the architecture reflects a Mediterranean (Spanish/Portuguese) influence. Given that Uruguay has served as a "buffer zone" between Spanish-speaking Argentina and Portuguese-speaking Brazil, this is not at all surprising! We happened upon a group of performers doing a square dance, hidden in behind a banking building on the main street. They were dressed in traditional costumes, with the men as gauchos. It was fascinating to watch!

Punta Ballena ("Whale Point"), just up the road from our resort, is where the Rio de la Plata ("River Plate") and the Atlantic Ocean meet. The scenery gets a little more rugged here. We did not see any whales either time that we were there.

At the beach in Punta del Este, the hand of the giant protrudes out of the sand, displaying a wonderful sense of humor on the part of the locals!

Transportation

There used to be very high import tariffs on automobiles, resulting in the owners keeping their cars much longer than a North American would, and using a great deal of ingenuity to keep them running and on the road. However, with the implementation of the Mercosur, a trading block among a number of different South American countries, autos have become much more affordable. There are still some "antique" cars around, and some "cockroach" cars (which, my husband explained, were "rust buckets" which owners continued to drive, the blue smoke billowing out from behind), but the vast majority of the cars on the road are modern, and much like those one would see in North America. Motorbikes also are popular, and it is fairly common to see horse-drawn carts. There is an extensive inter-city busing system, as well as a public transit system within Montevideo and some of the other larger urban centers. The roads are well maintained, and four-lane highways are common.

Closing Comments

As you no doubt can tell, my husband and I both really enjoyed our trip - he, because he was returning to a land of which he has very fond memories and where he was able to use his Spanish, and reconnecting with old friends, and I, although not a Spanish speaker (yet!!), taking a vacation in a somewhat exotic, but lovely, location. Would I go again? Definitely. However, I would buy my ticket earlier, and plan to stay longer. Two weeks was not enough time to see even the southern part of the country, let alone to get into the northern parts. Also, I'd go likely into late January or early February, when the weather in Canada is dull, dark, and cold, but it's sunny, warm, and summertime in Uruguay!


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