Our short whistlestop road trip took us back to the east coast of Uruguay via smaller roads and towns we hadn't yet been to.
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We overnighted in Melo, some 3 ½ hours from Tacuarembó but the bus arrived late and we were wandering the streets at 9.30pm trying to find a bed. We were amazed to find most of the hostels were full so we had minimal bargaining power and had to take what we could. The next morning (after a short visit to a gaucho shop to look for riding boots) we were on our way to Treinta y Tres
the only town named ‘Thirty Three’ that we’d ever been to! Treinta y Tres was a pleasant place and, much like the other small towns in Uruguay that we visited, it had a central square,
lovely old architecture and was laid out in a grid formation.
This was the police station; the nicest police station I’ve seen in a long time
and just inside the door, in the main foyer, was a statue of Artigas (who’s ashes are those that are guarded in Montevideo).
We were there for a few hours while waiting for a bus and stopped for a bite to eat. The burgers were awesome although Sander had trouble eating his.
On our way to Chuy, the border town with Brazil, heavy rain had flooded a river and the road was completely underwater. It was deep enough that the water was flooding the foot well of the bus but thankfully Uruguayan bus drivers are unfazed by this sort of thing and when someone asked about the luggage getting wet, he just shrugged and kept going. Brilliant!!
Just before the bridge, there was great discussion about the its state of health. The bus stopped, the driver got out and chatted with someone standing outside before they both bent down to look underneath the bridge. I don’t know what the Spanish equivalent of “she’ll be alright” is but I’d put money on that it was what they were saying and the bus rumbled on over. We didn’t fall in.
We arrived in Chuy in the late afternoon so had enough time to look around. Chuy is a true border town with two main streets running parallel to one another. One is in Brazil and the other Uruguay with a dividing strip down the middle
that served as a makeshift blacksmith station among other things. Most horses we’ve come across have been unshod but here you could often hear the clip, clop, plunk, clip, clop, plunk of a horse with a loose shoe.
Roads are shared by motorised traffic as well as horses and carts and this place serviced both as far as we could see.
We stayed in a rather awful place that was almost on a par with the hostel we stayed at in Akko, Israel (that has since been our benchmark for awfulness). The rooms were small cells with a tiny tiny window but cheap and the chap who ran it was really nice. However, when we returned from dinner and a drunk local who had wandered in there was being evicted and shooed off down the street, we wondered what on earth the night would hold. It turned out fine and we weren’t eaten by anything or robbed by anyone and decided that a group photo was in order.
Chuy has loads of duty free shopping and it seems to be the main draw card of the place although we were always confused as to which country we were in! We found Uruguayans doing business on the Brazilian side and vice versa. Euan and I both bought ourselves leather gaucho boots there and I resisted the strong urge to buy halters, bridles and other horse gear that was incredibly cheap compared to in the UK and NZ.
Our next stop was Punta del Diablo, a popular holiday spot in Uruguay. Apparently there was nothing here six years ago but now there is a ramshackle collection of eclectic buildings that offer a strange sort of charm. Some are built on dunes right next to the beach.
We had a bit of a struggle finding somewhere cheap to stay though, and traipsed the sandy roads carrying our packs (this is Marije and Sander below).
We ended up in self-catering apartments that were excellent value and only a short walk from the beach. The beaches in the area are beautiful
and the surrounding houses range from this (I think this was a house?)
to these
We were only there for a day and a night but had LOADS of washing to do, and we begrudgingly gave up an hour to get it dry before leaving the next morning. I think perhaps I could get a job doing laundry when I return to the UK?
This was our last night with Marije and Sander so we all pitched in, made a fantastic meal and were joined by another Dutch couple (friends of Marije and Sander) who had just arrived. There was a massive storm that night and the lightening lit the entire sky, providing an incredible natural light show.
View Larger Map
We overnighted in Melo, some 3 ½ hours from Tacuarembó but the bus arrived late and we were wandering the streets at 9.30pm trying to find a bed. We were amazed to find most of the hostels were full so we had minimal bargaining power and had to take what we could. The next morning (after a short visit to a gaucho shop to look for riding boots) we were on our way to Treinta y Tres
the only town named ‘Thirty Three’ that we’d ever been to! Treinta y Tres was a pleasant place and, much like the other small towns in Uruguay that we visited, it had a central square,
lovely old architecture and was laid out in a grid formation.
This was the police station; the nicest police station I’ve seen in a long time
and just inside the door, in the main foyer, was a statue of Artigas (who’s ashes are those that are guarded in Montevideo).
We were there for a few hours while waiting for a bus and stopped for a bite to eat. The burgers were awesome although Sander had trouble eating his.
On our way to Chuy, the border town with Brazil, heavy rain had flooded a river and the road was completely underwater. It was deep enough that the water was flooding the foot well of the bus but thankfully Uruguayan bus drivers are unfazed by this sort of thing and when someone asked about the luggage getting wet, he just shrugged and kept going. Brilliant!!
Just before the bridge, there was great discussion about the its state of health. The bus stopped, the driver got out and chatted with someone standing outside before they both bent down to look underneath the bridge. I don’t know what the Spanish equivalent of “she’ll be alright” is but I’d put money on that it was what they were saying and the bus rumbled on over. We didn’t fall in.
We arrived in Chuy in the late afternoon so had enough time to look around. Chuy is a true border town with two main streets running parallel to one another. One is in Brazil and the other Uruguay with a dividing strip down the middle
that served as a makeshift blacksmith station among other things. Most horses we’ve come across have been unshod but here you could often hear the clip, clop, plunk, clip, clop, plunk of a horse with a loose shoe.
Roads are shared by motorised traffic as well as horses and carts and this place serviced both as far as we could see.
We stayed in a rather awful place that was almost on a par with the hostel we stayed at in Akko, Israel (that has since been our benchmark for awfulness). The rooms were small cells with a tiny tiny window but cheap and the chap who ran it was really nice. However, when we returned from dinner and a drunk local who had wandered in there was being evicted and shooed off down the street, we wondered what on earth the night would hold. It turned out fine and we weren’t eaten by anything or robbed by anyone and decided that a group photo was in order.
Chuy has loads of duty free shopping and it seems to be the main draw card of the place although we were always confused as to which country we were in! We found Uruguayans doing business on the Brazilian side and vice versa. Euan and I both bought ourselves leather gaucho boots there and I resisted the strong urge to buy halters, bridles and other horse gear that was incredibly cheap compared to in the UK and NZ.
Our next stop was Punta del Diablo, a popular holiday spot in Uruguay. Apparently there was nothing here six years ago but now there is a ramshackle collection of eclectic buildings that offer a strange sort of charm. Some are built on dunes right next to the beach.
We had a bit of a struggle finding somewhere cheap to stay though, and traipsed the sandy roads carrying our packs (this is Marije and Sander below).
We ended up in self-catering apartments that were excellent value and only a short walk from the beach. The beaches in the area are beautiful
and the surrounding houses range from this (I think this was a house?)
to these
We were only there for a day and a night but had LOADS of washing to do, and we begrudgingly gave up an hour to get it dry before leaving the next morning. I think perhaps I could get a job doing laundry when I return to the UK?
This was our last night with Marije and Sander so we all pitched in, made a fantastic meal and were joined by another Dutch couple (friends of Marije and Sander) who had just arrived. There was a massive storm that night and the lightening lit the entire sky, providing an incredible natural light show.
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