From Montevideo, we made our way up to the northeast coast of Uruguay...a town called Punta del Diablo. It was EXACTLY what the doctor ordered...dirt roads, small cottages, great rock walking, and sprawling beaches. Believe it or not, the weather cooperated with us as well.
We found a bugalow just up the hill from the beach in a great little complex. We had a small kitchen where we cooked our own meals. This was great for two reasons...number one, we were able to get back within our budget. Number two, we knew the food would be cooked sanitarily so we could avoid another bout of food poisening.
We stayed for four nights and were blessed with great weather the first three days. We worked on our tans, explored the beaches, and finished our books.
On our second night, the owners (Mario and Leah) prepared a parilla (BBQ in Uruguay and Argentina) for some of their friends that were vacationing from Argentina and Montevideo. After we finished our dinner, we cruised over to chat and ended up being fed drinks and BBQ until about 2am. Not only was it a great time...it was a perfect opportunity to get our spanish back on track.
After lots of talk about the traditional drink, Yerba Mate, everyone decided we absolutely needed to give it a shot. So the next morning they welcomed us into the social world of mate and explained all of the ettiquite and traditions involved. It was great, instead of making you feel like a "poser" for drinking the traditionally Uruguayan and Argentine drink, they love the fact that you want to try out part of their culture. We both agree that Uruguayans are, by far, the most genuinely friendly people we've met along the way.
Even the owner's dog, Cookie, gave us a tour of the beach and, on our last day, saw us safely off on our bus to La Poloma.
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