PUNTA DEL ESTE, LA PALOMA & PUNTA DEL DIABLO - URUGUAY

Not having partied for almost a week (which I might add is a considerable period of time here in South America) I travelled from quiet Montevideo to arguably the party capital of South America, the beachside resort of Punta del Este. I must admit that prior to my arrival in ´Punta´ I was a little unsure about what to expect, given that I was to be intereacting with the rich and beautiful from all over Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.

My first thoughts as we rolled into the outskirts of the city was ´this place is amazing!´ and there was even a surreal feeling about the whole place. As we went further towards the centre of the city I was continually blown away by the scale and magnificence of the houses which were incredibly beautiful and surrounded by neatly manicured and lucious green gardens... it all seemed almost out of place amongst the rolling sand dunes. The houses were not the only things of beauty in Punta del Este as it soon became evident that the rich and famous had decended on the beachside resort to soak up the January sun. I never really thought it was possible that one could buy beauty, but anyone lucky enough to venture to Punta during the summer would undoubtedly agree that this an example of this in fact being possible. I have included a selection of photos below which I believe adds further evidence to my case, but anyone who cares to disagree can try to prove me wrong !

I must admit that seeing all this beauty around me made me even more aprehensive about being there. For me it seemed likely that the rich and famous would have no time for Australian backpackers spending twice their weekly allowance in a single day. However during not only my stay in Punta del Este but throughout my entire travels in Uruguay, I was continually blown away by just how friendly, helpful and fun theUruguayan people were.... almost exactly the same as the Argentines, just without so much attitude, especially the girls !! Needless to say I had a lot of fun in Punta del Este and spent most of my days there catching up on sleep lost from the previous night. The hostel in which I stayed was in an excellent location, not far from the bars and clubs, but sufficiently removed for it to be quiet and relaxing during the day. In addition it was only 4 minutes walk to the beach meaning it was easy to take an afternoon swim or stroll along the beach in an effort to remove the lasting effects of binge drinking !

My first night out I ventured into town with a few of the guys from the hostel and divided my time between a small club and nearby pub, in which I met some cool people and had a tonne of fun. It was my second night however from which I will hold my most lasting memories of Punta del Este. After a few beers at the hostel and a few more at a nearby pub (followed by a tactical spew !) I decided to head to a club not far from the hostel. Getting to the club was quite easy, as I just flagged down a passing motorist and grabbed a lift (this is not as crazy as it sounds as almost everyone there seemed to use a similar strategy for getting around. Given that the majority of drivers were male and the majority of hitch-hikers were young girls, this arrangement seemed to work well for everyone !). Upon reaching the club I spoke with a few people and then moved to the front of the line where I started speaking with 2 girls, just whilst I waited to get in. When we got to the entrance the girls just walked in and the bouncer proceeded to try and charge me for all 3 of us i.e. $300 Uruguayan pesos (around US$12). In hindsight I don´t know why I was so pissed off about having to pay this because it really isn´t that much but at the time (it´s more the principle of the matter !) I was livid and spent around 20 minutes arguing and then pleading with the bouncer to let me in, all to no avail because as we all know, the bigger the bouncer the smaller the mental capacity, this one having a brain size possibly smaller than some of the dinosaurs.

Eventually I gave up and then spoke with a few guys to see if there was any way I could get in. After dismissing the idea of trying to sneak in (I didn´t want to risk getting ruffled up Uruguayan style behind the scenes) they decided if we approached the bouncer as a group he may not notice... What they failed to recognise was the fact that concealing a Uruguayan is considerably easier than concealling a white Australian in Uruguay. After taking my $100 peso contribution they went to the bouncer and he proceeded to let all of them in before refusing me. I´m not sure whether they forgot to return my money or whether they actually tried to steal it, but at this stage I was $100 pesos down with a $300 peso debt and feeling like I had no chance of getting in. All I wanted was to go into the club and have a good time, especially because the music emanating from within sounded great and the people inside seemed to be having a tonne of fun.

Eventually I managed to sneak in through another entrance without the bouncer noticing and with the help of a few guys and their friends who were also working on the door. My first task was to recover my debt, which I managed to quite easily with my new ´posse´ and we just confronted the guys whereby they coughed up the money quickly. Now, all square and having effectively entered for free, I took a shot of tequilla and set about making up for lost time. Despite the average age of people inside the club perhaps being around 20, I still had a great night, met some fantastic people and had heaps of fun.

Feeling a little sore and sorry for myself, I left Punta del Este with a massive smile on my face and travelled a few hours more to La Paloma, a smaller beachside town, where on the first night of my stay there was a massive beach party sponsored by Lynx deoderant. The great music, great location and a good crowd made it impossible not to have fun and I hung out with a group of Uruguayans who worked at the hostel in which I stayed in Montevideo (they had suggested I come to the party in La Paloma in the first place). The remaining 3 days of my stay in La Paloma were rather subdued, mainly just chilling on and around the beach and getting some nice photos of the surrounding area.

My last destination in Uruguay was a tiny beachside town called Punta del Diablo, a place in which I was not originally intending to stay, but after arriving I decided that it was more than worth a nights stopover. I spent my first afternoon there just wandering the beach, grabbing a tonne of photos and enjoying as the light danced and reflected off the ocean and refracted amongst the whispy clouds in the sky. That night myself and 3 other companions frequented a number of small pubs until the wee hours of the morning before returning to our single bedroom acommodation and sharing 2 matresses between the 4 of us.

To sum up, Uruguay was quite incredible, mainly because I was not expecting it to be so good. The friendly people, great beaches and kicking nightlife all ensured I had a great time. Punta del Este was definately the highlight and is somewhere where I would love to return, especially with a load more cash in hand. Anyone interested in a New Years vacation in 2007 should let me know soon !

Photos 1-5: Late afternoon and evening sunset vistas on one of the many beaches around Punta. Photos 6-13: Partying with Punta´s friendly crowd.
Photo 14: Manantiales hostel just out of Punta.
Photos 15-17: Axe (Lynx) beach dance party in La Paloma.
Photos 18-19: Afternoon sunset in La Paloma.
Photos 20-21: Lighthouse in La Paloma.
Photos 22-25: Attempting to be artistic on one of the beaches in La Paloma.
Photos 26-32: Beachside photos from Punta del Diablo.