We left early in the morning with the intention to rent a car to go to Punta del Diablo and Punta del Este. Eventually we found a good deal in the nearby hotel where we managed to hire a car for 24 hours. The destinations are considered very beautiful and important in the country mostly known as holiday resort the second and paradise for surfers the first. Let’s start immediately saying that both places were a complete disappointment. Probably it was due to the very bad weather, or because the season didn’t start, but both places didn’t really match with the expectations. Punta del Diablo, so well recommended by the majority of people I met in Argentina and Uruguay, was a small semi-town, with barely a shop open and no infrastructure whatsoever. The beach was dirty and there were no facilities or bars at least to make a quick stop over before driving back. So here we are, driving back to Punta del Este in the hope of something slightly better. We arrived there around 7pm and almost everything was closed due to the fact that the summer season hasn’t started yet. Punta del Este is exactly the opposite of the place we had just visited. Immense buildings and hotels with the most expensive bars and restaurants all scattered around and a concrete wall of residential houses and apartments along the coast. Basically it can be considered the Miami or the Cancun of the South America. I realized how there was only ‘black or white’ and no different shades of greys in the towns here. Either ‘Las Vegas’ or some under developed town with no running water.
However, despite the disappointment of the places we visited, we were both glad with the choice of travelling around Uruguay and its coast. Having the car, driving around with our own time, pulling over when we wanted to and sightseeing by car chatting and listening to music was a form of travelling that I have kind of forgotten and I was glad to have done it again. I really enjoyed the trip after all.
We returned back to Montevideo quite late. Just the time to find a good parking place, eating at the usual cheap restaurant next to the hostel and then straight to bed.
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