Uruguay

My Uruguay travel summary:

Visited: September 2019

Duration of visit: 7 days

Capital city: Montevideo

Population: 3.5 million (2019)

Uruguay travel blog reading time: 10 minutes

• My high expectations for a successful, educated Latin-American nation ended in disappointment.
• Ex-president José Alberto Pepe Mujica, better known as the World’s poorest president.
• Back to the nature in Cabo Polonio.
• Punta del Este – Monte Carlo of the South – ghost town in off season.
• In 2013, Uruguay became the first country to fully legalize cannabis and allowed cannabis tourism.
• In the off-season, I didn’t see any backpackers or foreign tourists.

Uruguay was my last country to visit in South America. It was always too far, too expensive or simply not attractive enough to honor it the visit during years of living and travelling around Latin America. In 2019, during an overland trip from Colombia to Buenos Aires, I finally decided to tick off the last unexplored destination on the continent.

Uruguay is one of the most progressive and liberal nations in the world. It is small, safe, Spanish-speaking, and known for winning two World Cups.

Uruguay consumes more beef per capita than any other country. People openly show their obsession with mate, drinking it on every occasion.

… on the continent. After crossing the border at Chuy, I managed to change dollars to pesos and explored this border town for an hour before boarding a bus to Punta del Diablo. It was late, and I don’t like arriving in a new country at night. But Uruguay is safe, organized, and everything runs on time with no improvisation.

I had that strange feeling of almost being back in Europe. I couldn’t just flag down a bus anywhere, and taxis didn’t honk for passengers on every corner.

Punta del Diablo was dark, really dark and cold, when I got off the bus. I couldn’t find anyone to ask for directions to the hostel, and dogs barked in the distance. I started to walk using Google navigation and somehow found the only illuminated house in the area. Three young guys attended me in a simple wooden made house.

Fifteen minutes later, they offered me a joint for the first time.

“Gracias, but I don’t smoke!”

Shocked faces looked at me. I could see in their eyes the strange expression that would follow me many times in the days ahead.

“Why did you come to Uruguay then, if you don’t smoke marihuana?”

I was there in the off season and not interested in the number 1 attraction of Uruguay – marihuana. Crazy!

The next day, I realized how beautiful Punta del Diablo really is, even though it lacks traditional sights or attractions. Long sandy beach, unique well-designed houses, built from all kind of materials in any style you can imagine. I walked along dirt streets that made the area feel even more remote. Everything seemed closer to nature and wonderfully pure.

I didn’t find particular places to visit or things to do, but I still felt the charm of the seaside town.

A few lazy dogs stared at me, and so did the locals who live there all year. Tourists come only in summer, and the rest of the year the area feels like a ghost town. Punta del Diablo is the anti–Punta del Este, a relaxed alternative and a hub for the backpacker beach scene.

There are many myths about every country in the world.

I was advised on various occasions that in Uruguay, you just stand on the side of the road, and within minutes, somebody will give you a lift to your direction. This myth came to an end when I was trying to get a lift, while waiting for buses that were probably even more scarce in the off season. Not a single car stopped or gave me a sign that was going somewhere in my direction. Cold weather and rain finally pushed me off the road.

Cabo Polonio sits at the end of a peninsula in the middle of nowhere. There was no electricity and no roads, creating a hippy-style destination. A sea lion colony, sandy dunes, and a stunning lighthouse sunset kept me captivated for two days.

Another ghost town with the most persistent inhabitants that dare to stay over the winter.

A Polish manager of the guesthouse offered me good quality cannabis during the tour and explained me about how the place works. The place fill with tourists in the summer, and the full-moon parties must feel like heaven for joint lovers.

Specially Brazilians and Argentines, who are known as cannabis tourists, flock to Cabo at the end of the year.

He had lived all around South America before finally deciding to settle in Cabo, where everyone knows everyone. Here, he can walk barefoot, smoke a joint without trouble, and take his daughter to a small school with just ten kids.

Quiet, simple, back-to-nature living helps him raise his daughter to be open-minded, educated, and liberal. He’s an interesting guy who rejected his home country’s lifestyle and embraced hippy-style values in relaxed Cabo Polonio.

Punta del Este is a synonym for beach, sun, celebrities and famous night life.

Not in early September!

It was cold and windy, most of the hotels closed. Another ghost town. A bored receptionist accompanied me to a dormitory room with a smell of mole and saturated air. Taking a shower while balancing between hot and cold water was an adventure, just like cooking pasta on an unstable gas stove.

My new Argentinian friend, Jose, explained me the tricks of turning on the hot water and starting the gas stove. He moved to Uruguay to escape Argentina’s never-ending financial crisis and economic instability. However, living in this neglected place didn’t convince me that he found prosperity in Punta del Este.

It’s hard for Argentinians to find a job these days, and their devalued pesos don’t go far in Uruguay. During my visit, Uruguay had become the most expensive country in Latin America. The country is a success story in many ways: democracy, economic stability, safety, and even recent football achievements.

La Mano de la Arena is the most famous landmark, constructed by Chilean Artist Mario Irarrazabal. I can’t imagine how busy this place is in the summer.

Witnessing the beautiful sunset without the presence of large crowds was the highlight of my stay in Punta del Este.

Casapueblo, the villa and art gallery of Uruguayan artist Carlos Páez Vilaró, sits on a cliff with spectacular ocean views. It was well worth the visit. Getting inside was a little bit of a tourist trap. Only a small part is open to the public and the admission is not cheap at all. I walked through the white rooms and balconies as I learned about the artist’s life and legacy.

Villaro had an incredible life, travelling around the world and getting in touch with so many internationally recognized artists.

Montevideo is the capital city of one of South American most progressive countries. I ended in a rundown guesthouse again and decided to upgrade to a newer one for the rest of the stay. Downtown is quite small and easy walkable. Due to cold, rainy and windy conditions I didn’t enjoy walking around too much.

Located on La Plaza Independencia, under the equestrian statue of the Uruguayan national hero, the Mausoleum of José Gervasio Artigas consists of a room with allegorical motifs about his life. The remains of the father of the Uruguayan country are guarded by a permanent honor guard of the Artigas Blandengues Regiment.

After the return to democracy, people strongly questioned the use of his name, image, and legacy. They no longer wanted a hero who glorified a dictatorship that denied democratic ideals. There were various opportunities to transfer the remains to other locations, but none of the government decided to do it.

I believe, it is a great example of Uruguayan democracy, showing that the party in power doesn’t want to change the principal historical facts.

I don’t go much to museums these days. However, I decided to visit Museo de Cannabis, since most of the foreigners I talked to were visiting Uruguay mainly to smoke joints in peace. The museum is a tourist trap, which was a complete waste of time and money.

According to the promotional leaflet, the museum is celebrating the rich history of liberties that Uruguay has enjoyed in the past and continues to develop in the present.

In December 2013 Uruguay became the first country in the World to fully legalize cannabis.

Uruguayans are allowed to grow up to six marijuana plants for personal use each year. Smoking marijuana in public places is also permitted to foreigners.

I believe there is no coincidence that this act happened during the presidency of José Alberto Pepe Mujica, better known as the World’s poorest president.

During his mandate, he officially declared ownership of only two vehicles, a small property, and his farmhouse. He donated 90% of his salary to charity and continued driving his old Beetle without bodyguards.

There are many more facts why Uruguay is so special in Latin American environment. Many people say it’s easy to develop a small country. I believe it takes much more to provide real benefits, rights, and freedoms for its citizens:

• Uruguay is the most secular country in South America: state and religion are separated. The country does not have any official religion.
• Uruguay was the first country in the world to provide a laptop to every primary school student – Plan Ceibal – 2009.
• Almost 95% of electricity in Uruguay is from renewable energy resources.
• Uruguay is rated 15^th on The Economist’s 2018 Democracy Index. The highest ranked Latin American country on the list. It ranks just after the UK and over the US, which is in 25^th
• Uruguay is the largest per capita exporter of software in Latin America.

Here is another important element that greatly affects the country’s development and its standard of living. Uruguay is the least corrupt country In Latin America, ranked as the 23^rd least corrupt country in the world in 2019.

My last stop on my Uruguay travel adventure was a city in southwestern Uruguay, located across the Río de la Plata from Buenos Aires. Colonia del Sacramento is known for its cobblestoned street in the old town, lined with buildings from its time as a Portuguese settlement. El Barrio Histórico (the old town) mixes Portuguese and Spanish influence. It offers a few historical sites for predominantly local and Argentinian visitors.

The Old Town Gate, the main square, colonial houses, and the iconic Calle de los Suspiros were the highlights. This narrow street was traditionally the first stop for sailors returning from long journeys. The street was crowded with women waiting for the sailors.

As in many coastal towns, the lighthouse stands in a strategic spot and offers sweeping views over the Río de la Plata.

The place was packed with tourists from Montevideo and weekend visitors from Buenos Aires. Considering everything Buenos Aires offers, I wondered why they would choose to visit Colonia del Sacramento.

I finished my Uruguay travel by taking a speedboat to Argentina’s capital, 63 kilometers away, in search of a completely different kind of adventure.

I am probably not very objective describing my feelings Uruguay, since the weather has got a huge impact on my opinion. Even though I always prefer travelling in summer conditions, places can be doable in colder weather as well. But it’s of extreme importance that hotels or hostels are warm inside.

Obviously, bottom end places in Uruguay don’t have adequate heating facilities and probably try to save on expenses due to low occupancy in the off season. For that reason, the best option is to visit Uruguay in the summer. However, high prices and tourist crowds might make you consider other destinations in the region first.

For me, Uruguay was one of my least favorite travel destinations in South America.