Punta del Este Bus Station

Two hours by bus, along the eastern coast of Uruguay, is the seaside town of Punta del Este. Our bus driver was obviously keen to get us to our destination quickly as he tailgated the cars the entire way; that is, until the air-conditioning broke down. This small hiccup delayed our arrival by about half an hour but got us to Punta del Este in time to explore the town before sunset.

Punta del Este is considered by some as the riviera of Uruguay. Maybe if you squint really hard. The town felt more like the Sunshine Coast circa 1980s or 1990s, before full-on development took over. No doubt in the eighties Punta del Este would have been the place to be. It was once the playground of the rich and famous from Argentina, Brazil and the USA. But since the Argentinian and Brazilian recessions in the early 2000s, there has been a bit of a downturn for the town and many buildings have become vacant. However, there has been a change in the tide in more recent times with investment and development returning in the form of a Trump Tower.

Prices in the town haven't matched the downturn and remain the most expensive in the country. Fast-food prices exceed those of even Australia, with a Whooper with Cheese from Burger King costing about AU$12. That's without the combo deal or an upsize! At those prices, a liquid diet for us two! It's probably for the best anyway, as our food intake needed to be curbed. We both feel as fat as a townhouse. But Jason is still living in denial, blaming the weight gain on the full moon. “I think it's the full moon. That's why I'm retaining fluids”, says Jason. Ricky replies: “has it been the full moon for the past three months”. It's those damn alfajores. They're so irresistible with their dulce de leche filling. And the beer, cocktails and the list goes on ...

When we arrived in Punta del Este, the wind from Montevideo had also followed us. It didn't let up for three days, except for a few short moments, which was enough time for us to get a few snap shots. The sun was out in full force but was countered by the chilly Antarctic winds. It was like a kids' pool in winter – there were some really cold spots and some really warm spots in the shallow end.

We had counted on bright, sunny weather and thought much of our time would be spent at the beach. With that in mind, we went for a budget hotel and, by the looks of it, it hadn't been renovated since before the last military dictatorship in Uruguay. On the positive side, it was located close to both sides of the peninsula, the main beaches and the bus terminal. The bus terminal was close but fortunately it didn't seem to be frequented by many buses. In fact, most of the buses didn’t stop at the terminal at all. Instead, most buses stopped outside of the terminal, with passengers quickly running after them to catch their ride out of the town.

The most “famous” attraction in the town, apart from the many casinos and beaches, is a sculpture of a hand protruding from the sand, La Mano de Punta del Este. The statue is suppose to mark the point between two sections of the beach: on one side the waters are calm and on the other side rough. The harbour is also an attraction, but unlike on the French Riviera, the boats weren't so affluent. The boats were more Bribie Island than St Tropez. Maybe we were too early for the high season but the sleepy seaside town, with its mate tea drinking residents, was an opportunity to relax and to plan the next part of our adventure.

Next stop: back to Buenos AiresRead more