Punta del Este

Punta del Este (easternmost point) is the Miami Beach of Uruguay, the glamorous capital, the winter home of the rich and the beautiful. I therefore, am not suitable. 

But I did get an oil change there which was very satisfying. We are now good until 140,000 miles though the coolant leak is back, ever so tiny but I did have to add a half pint after driving around for more than a thousand miles. Not catastrophic but I want it fixed in Paraguay soon.

Wednesday was absolutely gorgeous in Uruguay. The cloudy morning gave way to a glorious sunny day, barely seventy degrees, but hot in the sun despite a slight cooling breeze. If I could order it up every day I would.

I had my eye on the oil place after I found it on Google Maps, and I figured it might close for lunch so I packed us up, reluctantly at one o’clock and got going to the big city an hour away.

Uruguay is a very modern country, often viewed as boring by overlanders most likely because they live and work and dress like us. 

Classic beach architecture.

Thats because it is a beach. 

It was an easy drive on a smooth four lane highway and I sat in the slow lane enjoying my day.

I was pleased when the mechanic took us in right away and I was also relieved this task had finally been completed. GANNET2 has put on 135,500 miles since 2020 and I’ve had the oil changed every 5,000 miles. 

Punta del Este and its broad waterfront. 

I found a spot with some grass as well as some shade to let Rusty enjoy himself. 

For a town as swanky as Punta del Este you might think it would be full of no RV signs, no overnight parking and everything but there are none and the waterfront bid essentially one big parking lot. Uruguayan RVers say it gets packed in the summer and they fear the openness  may change but for now you can overnight pretty much anywhere from what I could tell.

I saw a huge fleet of dinghies racing well offshore: 

It felt like the US tradition of Wednesday night racing was being observed here. 

Layne in Santa Cruz had dinner with a friend at the harbor last week and she sent me a picture of the end of the Wednesday races. 

It was a pleasant break and I half wanted to spend the night at the beach. 

But I also wanted to get settled in at the campground before Layne arrived Thursday evening from California. So we said goodbye to ritzy Punta del Este. 

And for the next few days we are at the Paraiso Suizo full service campground.