Surf's Up in Punta del Este

By Micayla and Darius

It was such a bummer that our parents had to wake us up early for the ferry ride to Uruguay. When we finally got out of bed, dressed, and brushed our teeth, we had to take a taxi to the Buqeubus terminal (where the ferries leave). Even though it was early, there was a long line of cars trying to get to the door. Lucky for us our taxi driver skipped the line and did a u-turn to sneak us to the front of the line. After getting out of the car and into the terminal, we had to wait in a long line to check our bags, and then another line for customs. Luckily, the customs line was set up so that there was someone from each country sitting next to each other. One person stamped our passports to leave Argentina and the other stamped them for coming into Uruguay. After entering the ferry, we found our seats and got comfortable for the 3 hour ride. At first we went slow, and then once we were in the river we went faster. Outside we watched the sun rise over the very wide, brown river that looked like chocolate milk (but I would not drink it). Unfortunately for us, the family behind us had two kids that they didn’t care about, so we had to listen to them whining, making lots of noise and singing for three hours! When we finally arrived in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, we got our bag and took a taxi to the Sheraton Hotel.

When we got to the Sheraton, we checked in and went up to our room. We saw signs for a pool, so Micayla and I were really excited. Once we got settled in, we wanted to go to the pool, but mom and dad said we had to eat lunch. We ate at a parrillada across the street which had great pit-grilled meats. When we got back to our room, Micayla and I insisted that we go swimming. Once in the pool, which was on the top floor and overlooked the entire city, we were surprised how warm the water was. It was like a giant bathtub with 90 degree water. There were a bunch of noodles and dad had an idea of trying to get all the noodles under me like I was riding a horse. Once on them all, Micayla pushed me and I did a big flip.

After swimming, we went to the mall that was connected to the Sheraton. There were lots of shops from the USA like Urban Outfitters and GEOX. After looking around, we decided to go into the old part of the city for dinner. When we arrived, we saw lots of people getting ready for the first day of Carnival. So, instead of getting dinner, we got a small snack at a café and then watched the parade. There were lots of floats, bands, and dancing groups. There were also women wearing costumes made of feathers and tiny bikinis.

Dancing in the Street:


Floats:


Women in Costume:



After the parade, we got dinner at a restaurant in a walking mall and went home for bed. But we could not go straight to bed because the Super Bowl was just starting. We watched the first half in bed (we were 3 hours ahead so the game did not start until 9:30 for us).

The next morning, we slept so late that we did not get to go swimming before breakfast. We went down for the Sheraton breakfast, but it was expensive and not so great. Instead, we found a café in the mall and had a yummy breakfast of medialunas and hot chocolate. Dad then rented a car and we headed to Punta del Este. The first part of the drive was along the shore of the river/ocean that lined Montevideo. It was like driving along a very long Miami Beach. Then we headed a little inland which was mostly green, rolling farms with small mountains way off in the back. After a while, we came to the ocean and could see Punta del Este. Again, it was like seeing Miami with high rises next to the ocean. We drove right to the house we were renting, but then realized that we did not call the person who had the key. So, we had to go find a phone back in town. By now, we were hungry so we found another beef place and ate there. It was yummy. All full, we called the person who had the key and got to check into our house. While my parents learned where everything was in the house, me and Darius hid under their bed and banged our feet. But when my mom and dad came upstairs, we were quiet and they could not find us. Finally they did, and we decided to walk down to the beach.

The beach was at the end of our street. To get to the beach, we had to walk on a wood bridge that crossed two huge sand dunes. Some kids were “snow boarding” on the sand dunes. The beach was beautiful. It had white sand and stretched for a long way in both directions. There were also huge waves coming onto the beach. My dad and I went in to body surf. We did that for a while until I got pulled under by a wave. I got out to build a sandcastle with Micayla while my dad went out further to bodysurf the bigger waves. When he came out, he wasn’t wearing his sunglasses or hair band. He said they got pulled off by a huge wave that pulled him down to the bottom of the sea. He was disappointed, but kept looking for them in the water, but never found them. After a while, we packed up and went home.

The next day, we drove further north to one town called La Barra and then onto another town called Jose Ignacio. La Barra is a big surf town. Jose Ignacio is an old fishing town that is now being used to build funky homes for people from Buenos Aires. In Jose Ignacio there was a lighthouse that we climbed up to the top and looked out. We also climbed on some rocks where people were fishing and then went on a short walk along the beach. It was nice but we were glad we were staying closer to Punta del Este where there were more stores and different beaches.

View from Lighthouse:


Over the next few days, we explored several beaches and the town. Punta del Este is divided into three main parts. On western side of the peninsula, the water is calmer and the ocean is lined by lots of tall apartment buildings. The beaches are also pretty crowded (at the least the ones we saw). On the eastern side of the point, the ocean has huge waves, the beach is wider, and there are more houses and small apartment buildings lining the road. And in the middle is the town, which looks very much like any large town at home. There are nice streets with wide sidewalks, lots of cafes and stores, and even a big mall with a very fancy grocery store. You could get just about anything in it! Because we did not have Internet in our house, my dad brought us to the mall a lot for ice cream and to do some school work so that he could do stuff on-line.

A little farther down the road was La Barra. To get there, we had to cross a cool wavy bridge that was like a mini-roller coaster. We ended up going to the beach there a few times because they had surf lessons. I (Darius) decided I wanted to take a surf lesson. It was only $20 for a board, wetsuit, and an hour lesson with someone that spoke English. When the instructor came up and got us, he asked if this was my first lesson and I said yes. He showed me and another kid how to get on the board and then we went out. We waited for a wave and when one came, the instructor would push the board. I got up on my first try! When I was surfing, it was fun because you were up on a wave, but it was also a little scary because when you fell the board sometimes hit me in the head. Another time a kid lost control and almost hit me. The next day, my dad decided to take a lesson with me. It took him a long time before he could get up. And, once up, he fell very quickly. But, by the end of the lesson, he was getting up more easily and could stand for a little while. I was also getting better and really like it. We took one more lesson together before we left.

Like Father:


Like Son:


Another great thing about La Barra was the medialunas calientes. These were even better than the ones in Buenos Aires for two reasons. First, they were hot right out of the oven. And they also brushed a little honey on top of them. The first day, we got 8. But that was not enough. The next time, we got 12. But that was not enough. The third time we got 24. That was enough for a snack and for the car ride the next day.

On one of our last days, we drove to a cliff on the western side of the point and watched the sun set. It was really windy on the cliff, but my dad let us walk down with him to be closer to the water. As we went down, we thought we were going to blow away. But then when we got close to the water, the wind almost stopped. We climbed back up and watched the sun go down. It was a really nice way to end our stay at Punta del Este.



As note, we want to thank our neighbor, Kevin, for suggesting that we visit Punta del Este. It was a wonderful place that managed to exceed the high expectations built up by Kevin!