Exploring Punta del Este

Nikki and Ritchie dropped us off by the beach in Punta del Este and gave us 4 hours to swim and/or explore the town.  They went off to do the cook group shop for the next three nights.

We walked up to the point of the peninsula and headed back down the other side.  Punta del Este is clearly an upmarket resort for yachties and people who like to be seen!

We had plenty of time, so we stopped at a beach café for lunch.  We shared a small pizza and a portion of fries.

After lunch, we continued our walk to visit La Mano (The Hand), a sculpture by Chilean artist Mario Irarrázabal.  It depicts five human fingers partially emerging from the sand.  It is a famous sculpture that has become a symbol for Punta del Este since its completion in February 1982.  In turn, it has become one of Uruguay's most recognizable landmarks.  I thought it wasn't nearly as impressive as the work by the same artist that we saw in the Atacama Desert.

I then wanted to go to the town's shopping centre to buy some flip-flops.  It was quite a long walk and it was extremely hot, so I suggested that Mark went back to the pick-up point for the truck while I walked on.  

My search for flip-flops was successful.  I also bought a prepared fresh fruit salad to quench my thirst before I headed back. I knew I was cutting it fine, so I speeded up and was very hot and very tired by the time I reached the truck, just 2 minutes before the 4pm deadline.  I was surprised to discover that Mark hadn't made it back.  I'd expected him to have been waiting at the truck for at least an hour!  Unfortunately, he had taken a wrong turning and ended up walking much further than he needed to.  He arrived back at about ten past four!  Luckily, he wasn't the last.  Two other members of the group had also got lost.  They arrived a few minutes later.

We then drove to our campsite about 30 minutes from the town centre.  A few people wanted to upgrade, but when they saw the accommodation on offer, most of them decided not to!  Only two couples stayed in the huts.  They all got bitten to death by mosquitos!  We were happy to have stayed in our tent.

I was on cook group duty tonight.  We made pork and mushroom stroganoff with tagliatelle which went down well with everyone.  Mark was shattered after his earlier exertions, so he skipped dinner and had an early night instead.

All of us had our sleep disrupted by a number of rowdy kids who were making a racket and riding their bikes around our tents until 2am!!En savoir plus