The trip to Uruguay from Buenos Aires is a simple one via the 1 hour and 15 minutes Busquebus ferry, and I have to say I was pretty impressed with how smoothly it ran.  On a crowded Sunday morning the boat zipped across the River del Plata and safely into Uruguay at Colonia del Sacramento.

Out of the ferry terminal it was directly into the hire car and starting the 180km drive to Montevideo.  The car ride takes just over 2 hours via Route 1 along the coast of Uruguay.  The challenge of  a) navigating in a foreign country  b) understanding road rules  c) adjusting to the constant changing speed limits   all meant for a journey that was challenging, but worthwhile all the same.

As you arrive in Montevideo you cannot to anything but impressed with the Rambla of Montevideo.  A ramble is a promenade, and Montevideo’s is 22.2 km, it goes on and on and on.  We arrived on a sunny Sunday and the Rambla was brightened by thousands and thousands of locals who were out enjoying the spring sunshine.

After finding our hotel we wandered around he old city, it’s a fraction of the size of Buenos Aires but on a clear day was easy on the eye and only a short walk from our well situated city based hotel.

Before dinner we had one more drive along the Rambla were it had seemed to be almost at bursting point with people.  I got a shot of some fishermen as the sun went down – it was a picturesque setting to showcase the impressive Rambla.

Heading back into the central area we headed to the rather chic and wonderful La Fonda in Montevideo.  We literally watched as the chef cooked our meal, and tasted the delicious food that makes this one of the top restaurants in the city.  Sometimes we have found TripAdvisor to be a little unreliable with recommendations, but this one was spot on.  Everything tasted wonderful.

Moving on its a not so sunny start to day 2, but got a photo shot of the well know MONTEVIDEO sign tourist attraction..

Day 2, Monday morning meant heading back in the car and on to Punta del Este.  Punta is a further 136 km along the coast line, and you in fact follow the coast all along the way.  Makes it easy for not getting lost, but not the greatest for focusing on the road.  As you draw closer to Punta del Este you just know you are moving towards somewhere that is going to impress.  Punta del Este is a resort city on a narrow peninsula in southeast Uruguay.  As we slowly drove along the Punta del Este Rambla it was hard not to stop and take in the views before heading the the one night stay hotel.  Punta del Este is known as the St. Tropez of Uruguay, and it is easy to see why.

Popular Brava Beach is known for its strong surf as well as “The Hand,” a giant sculpture of fingers. On the west coast, Mansa Beach has calm, shallow waters.

It maybe that in the height of summer Punta is a little too much when the mass of tourists are in town, but on a warm spring day it was fabulous, even the seals were just taking it easy.

The Mermaids at the tip of Punta del Este, where the Rio de la Plata and the Atlantic Ocean meet, were created by Lili Perkins in 2010. She built these stone shell “people” without any financial support. The figures are made of shells which she had collected at the shore.

Punta del Este is just a picture book place resort with beautiful beaches and eye catching photo spots.

Punta del Este was the farthest east we were to travel in Uruguay, and day #3 meant a long drive back all the way to Colonia del Sacramento where our trip into Uruguay started.  It was a total of almost 5 hours making the 300+ km trip back along the same road that we had travelled on Route 1.  As usual with these types of drives it seemed so much easier on the way back; more confident in where you are, where you are going and the idols of the locals.  It was an interesting drive, but I was glad to see the end of the road and no more driving.

Colonia del Sacramento is fantastic, it is easy to see why it had such rave reviews ahead of time, and was much the reason why we saved it until the last place on the visit to Uruguay.  It is a city in southwestern Uruguay, across the Río de La Plata from Buenos Aires. It’s known for its cobblestoned Barrio Histórico, lined with buildings from its time as a Portuguese settlement.  The 19th-century Colonia del Sacramento Lighthouse, offering sweeping river views. Nearby lies the Portón de Campo, remnants from the old city walls, and is locally there are an abundance of great restaurants and views around this quaint old town.  Mucho gracias.

Tomorrow brings a departure from Uruguay with the ferry back to Buenos Aires and I will be sad to leave.  Uruguay has been class.