Hotel Colon Piriapolis

... This is not the way bridges are supposed to work!


Once across the bridge, you are presented with something akin to the disorienting world of the carnival fun house. Along the main street, expensive restaurants and fancy home furnishings stores battle for space with the hardware store, the John Deere dealership, and the gas station.


Built ...

... for several decades, Punta has more recently sucked away its visitors and its vitality.

But Punta can't take away the gorgeous views from Mt. San Antonio, and a few people have taken notice. We're told that there are small enclaves of Americans, Germans and Canadians scattered around town.

And ...

... previa, instalacion en el lugar, sacar las cosas deñ bolso y comer algo. Primer dia no fue del todo soleado que digamos pero se hizo querer igual, agua fria pero de lindo color, olas bajas, y nadieeeeee en la playa... dije fria? Importa? NO, me meti igual, muy buenoooo!!! Volvimos para almorzar, y luego volver por mas

... them, oops I ****ing did. She was super cool and quite mature (more so than me even) and spoke English so I gave her the time of day and talked to her for a bit. She told me there was a huge club here called Vertigo but it`s only for 18 and younger kids (Why does it seem as if all underage clubs are called Vertigo?). She told me there were a couple of cool spots for me to hang out at but the directions seemed a bit confusing, guess I should have had ...

... better than you would think though, at least they understand the concept of pass, set and hit although the execution left a little bit to be desired (I'm like a volleyball snob now). At least everyone is having a good time and Matis's (the dude who got me to play in the game) girlfriend (Jane) turns out to be American which is cool and very suprising. Piriapolis is an odd place and completely off the radar to foreign ...

... out to see the interior of the country on some really interesting trips. We visited a restaurant which has a gorgeous pool in the middle of the contryside near Minas. The views were fabulous and we saw a couple of eagles circling overhead, possible disortientated by the glare from the very white body by the pool! Another trip took us to a restaurant in a tiny village in the interior, 50kms or so north on Punta Del Este. The ...

... and I felt like an idiot for a half second. Solea Johnson opened the door wide and welcomed us in with a smile. The kids were fine, they'd just gone to bed, she said. Rob Johnson, a stocky man with a easy demeanor, said hello with a strong handshake. They showed us a perfect guest-house out back, then brought us back inside and cooked delicious pancakes for dinner. We were bowled over. When we rolled out of bed in the morning, the kids were already off ...

On Tuesday I catch a bus back to Punto del Este in time for my evening bus to Florianopolis. The ride is over 20 hours. We are 2 hours late in arriving but no explanation - it is what it is. I must be getting used to the long rides because it was quite bearable. I have no idea how the border worked. We stopped in Uruguay to fill out a form and get a stamp. As far as I can tell we never stopped in Brazil but when my passport was returned the next morning it had the Brazilian entry stamp.

... nice beach weather and some time relaxing in the sun... especially after all that accumulated stress from "working" in Montevideo. I met a bunch of cool people here and my three day visit I had planned turned into five days. Surprisingly, I found no tribute to any dead guys on horses in the form of a statue or anything else. Oh well. Next stop... another beach famous for it's more tranquil and natural setting.

... Este, which translates into "East Point", is a very popular summer destination for people from Uruguay and Argentina as well. In the high season (December through Febuary)it's incredibly crowded, noisy and busy so I thought it was a good idea to get to know the city in its normal everyday mode, away from the frenzy of summer tourists. The only thing missing was warm weather. Can't have it all. So we took a few days off work to prolong our trip, booked the ferry from BA ...