Punta Del Este - TITS 'n' ALL !

Photo: Fashionable TITS!

ok - almost finished rubbin' yer nose in my latest travels, but we did a quick side trip to Cabo Polonio which has no road as such and can only be reached by 4 x 4 vehicles where you are loaded into the back of a large 4 x 4 truck like cattle and transported across a sand obstacle course (not for the faint hearted!). It's basic, remote and it was raining yet again so we bailed and headed for the blitz and glitz of Punta Del Este for a few days.

This small beach city is famous for being the playground of the rich and famous a la Cannes in France. It was noticeably expensive with designer shops, fancy restaurants and people trying way too hard to look important. I seriously wanted to slap them hard and remind them they were just as unimportant as me, but I resisted the temptation as most of them were working out at the gym and would likely have kicked my wee Irish arse and that included the women.

Much as I loathe pretentious people, I don't care too much for the baking hot sun either, as I tend to go pink, then red, then peel and then if I'm lucky, I finally get some colour, so I hid under a parasol on the beach most of the time with my beer cooler until the sun eased off a bit. Finally we headed to Montevideo for one night. It has a Spanish feel to the city with an 'old city' section full of bars and restaurants in narow streets. After a good night out and a day at the yaught club (sounds posh but it isn't really) we got the 3 hour Buquebus ferry back to Buenos Aires.

I found a rather interesting shop while taking a wee stroll in Montevideo - (photo above) - Ten out of ten for whoever came up with the marketing idea for the name of this chain of stores - I asked if I could get an empty branded plastic bag as a keepsake but they having none of tit!

Quite a catchy name don't ya think? - Know a better one? - let me know!

Read more...

I'm in Uruguay ( Where are you?)

Map: The road much travelled (click to enlarge)

After the Carnival washout we headed east to Uruguay for a weeks exploration of the beaches. The border crossing is a bit of a roll of the dice these days, as the local Argentines are blocking several bridges at different times, in protest at potential pollution from two paper mills that have been built just over the border in Uruguay. It's causing a major rift between the countries and there is no end in sight to the protests. Since the bridge at Gualeguaychu was blocked, our route took us first north to Colón then across the border to Paysandú, then south to Montevideo and finally north east as far as the small isolated beach town of Punta Diablo before backtracking to Cabo Polonio, Punta del Este, Montevideo and finally ferry back to Buenos Aires.

For those in colder climes and busier times, I'm not trying to rub it in...but...ah shite!..I am trying to rub it in, tough titties! We spent 2 majestic days in a private cabin by the beach (see photos) in Punta del Diablo, just sitting on the porch and listening to the waves crashing against the shore and catching some great sunsets/sunrises. It cost the small fortune of US$50 dollars a night for our paradise on the beach. This small town is described as the anti-Punta del Este as it's very basic and non pretentious. The only downside were the mozzies who were feasting on me like they'd never tasted an Irishman before. By the end of the 2 days, I looked like I had a serious case of the measles.

Photo: Our Abode

Photo: Beach Bum

Photo: Sunrise from the porch (Yes surprisingly, I was up at that hour!)

Read more...