6 Must-Do Things in Uruguay

While a Peace Corps volunteer I had to opportunity to spend my first Christmas and New Years abroad traveling to Uruguay with some of my best volunteer friends. We chose Uruguay for a couple reasons. First ... the beach! Having lived in a land-locked country (Paraguay) for close to a year by then, we wanted to spend our time soaking up the sun and sand. Secondly, Uruguay doesn't require a visa or reciprocity fee for United States citizens like some of its other neighbors, Brazil and Argentina. It was an amazing trip. Uruguay is a small, laid back country but it packs a punch. It can be a little on the expensive side, but I can't wait to go back there and explore more of this charming country.

6 Things To Do in Uruguay

Wander along the Rambla in Montevideo. The capital of Uruguay, Montevideo is home to over a third of the country's population and on any given day a majority of them can be seen strolling along La Rambla. A boardwalk that spans the entirety of the Montevideo coastline, La Rambla is an essential part of the city's identity. Spend your time soaking in the views of the beach and the city skyline at the same time and experiencing life as the locals do.

Eat a Chivito. The national dish of Uruguay, its significance is up there with the Cheesesteak for Philidelphia and Deep Dish Pizza for Chicago. A meat-lovers heaven, the sandwich has thinly sliced beef, ham, bacon, mozzarella, lettuce, tomato and topped off with a fried egg. Honestly, the deliciousness of this sandwich cannot be described in words, it's one you just need to try.

Party Until Dawn in Punta del Este. If Uruguay is like the laid-back family of South America then Punta del Este is the crazy, wild, party-girl daughter that can get a little out of control sometimes but we all love. Punta del Este is modern, stylish and extravagant. A party is never far away when you are here and has many clubs and bars to choose from. A getaway for the rich and famous, if Punta del Este is good enough for Shakira it is definitely good enough for me.

Share Mate With a Local. If the Chivito is the national dish of Uruguay then mate is definitely the national beverage. It is a tea infusion of the yerba mate plant served with hot water. Like tereré of Paraguay, mate is not just a drink it is a social event. You will usually see locals sitting in groups drinking mate and talking about the issues of the day.

Embrace the Weird in Cabo Polonio. One of my favorite stops on my journey, Cabo Polonio is a small town located in a national park in the Rocha department only accessible by 4x4 vehicles. All of its electricity and running water, which there is little of, comes from wind and solar power. A bohemian hideaway, the town is full of hippies, drum circles and people partaking in a little recreational and legal marijuana. If that is not your style I still recommend taking a day trip to visit the adorable town and breath-taking beach and sand dunes.

Soak Up the Sun in Punta Del Diablo. This small fishing village is a great hangout for young travelers and families alike. While you can definitely party the night away here as well, relaxing on the beautiful beaches and experiencing the laid back restaurants and shops in town are another great way to spend your time. My time here included renting a house for Christmas and was one of the best parts of the whole trip.

Have you ever been to Uruguay? What were your favorite things to do there?

Next stop : Cabo Polonio, Uruguay

I'm not going to lie it was hard leaving or beautiful beach house in Punta del Diablo. Especially when we found out after the fact that our next stop Cabo Polonio, didn't have running water or electricity! Our vacation was supposed to get us away from things like that. But, on we went, and boy am I glad we did.

Cabo Polonio is a small hippie town that is part of a national park. There is only one way to get there, stop at the Information Center/Bus Station and book your ride on 4x4 vehicles. Cabo Polonio is a very popular day trip spot so there are always vehicles coming and going. We decided to stay for there for 3 nights, which was a perfect amount.

Honestly it is very hard to describe Cabo Polonio. I think the best way is "awesomely weird." It almost makes me think of a hippie commune, lots of people with dreadlocks, handmade jewelry being sold and yes even drum circles. The only electricity is from wind or solar power, so at night most of the restaurants are candle lit; and the only running water is if the place you are staying at has a pump on their well. Luckily our hostel did but sometimes it felt like taking a shower underneath a dripping sink.

One of the best parts of Cabo Polonio though is the scenery! Beautiful sand dunes, beach and ocean what more could you need!

Our next stop was Punta del Este where we spent New Years!

Stop 2 Uruguay : Punta del Diablo.

After Montevideo we headed over to Punta del Diablo a super tranquilo beach town to spend Christmas. Four of my volunteer friends and I had rented a great little house right on the beach for 5 days and some of our other friends rented a house right around the corner.

First day in our awesome house!

Even had some great Christmas decorations! (thanks mom)

View from our Balcony.

It was nice to have a home base for our Christmas activites since we couldn't be home for the holidays. We invited all the Peace Corps volunteers that were spending Christmas in Punta del Diablo, 13 in all (including myself) to our house for Christmas Day dinner. We cooked the most random mix of food possible, fish, ceviche with fish and shark meat, stuffing and mac & cheese (thanks mom!), challah bread, and fresh salad. For desert we had Andes mint chocolate cookies, lemon bars and pound cake with a mango blueberry topping. It was incredible.

Its a tradition in many South American countries (including Paraguay as well as Uruguay) to set off  Fireworks at midnight of Christmas Eve

Christmas morning breakfast - Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, Scrambled Eggs, Fruit Salad and Mimosas

Our amazing Christmas dinner spread!

Emily, Karen, Alex, Anna and David enjoying the delicious food!

Punta del Diablo is an amazing little beach town. I would love to go back one day and I highly recommend everyone visit. It was great to be able to spend so much time at the beach, something I really miss living in landlocked Paraguay ha!

Bringing the Paraguayan tradition of Terere to Uruguay

Next stop in our adventure was Cabo Polonio, Uruguay! Stay tuned.

Back to the Daily Grind.

First let me say Uruguay was AMAZING. If you have never been there I highly recommend going, it was one of the best vacations I have ever been on. I didn´t want to leave.

The trip started with a 24 hour bus ride from Asuncion, Paraguay to Montevideo, Uruguay. I know 24 hours sounds daunting. But, it really wasn´t as bad as I thought. We sprung for the more expensive ¨full cama¨ (full bed) seats, which I´m really glad we did. Even though they definitely weren´t full bed, they were bigger and more comfortable. We got meals and snacks and free alcoholic drinks to start off the vacation right.

In for the long haul.

Our ¨lunch¨

We made it!

We made it!

Then we spent the next couple days wandering around Montevideo. Montevideo is a super cool city. It is super urban place right on the beach! My kind of place. One of my favorite things about being in Uruguay was getting to eat so much fresh seafood!!

My first few of the ocean in over a year!

The whole gang out to dinner.

Some fun street art.

Our next stop was Punta del Diablo, where we spent Christmas. I´ll fill you in on our adventures there next time!

Holiday Greetings for South America!

I know I've been slacking on the blog front lately ... and there have been a lot of reasons that have attributed to this.

But, I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays and I promise to update as soon as get back from VACATION! I'm celebrating Christmas with some other volunteers on the beaches of Uruguay :)