Archive for December 2013

Uruguay Part 5

Our last week at Solanas Forest Resort, near Punta Ballena, was spent with a little activity and a little relaxation before our early departure to Buenos Aires on December 22, 2013.

We went into Punta del Este a few times for various reasons and found it unbelievable how the population had swollen since our arrival November 18th.

When we arrived many of the hotels and restaurants were closed, the traffic lights were not operating and there was hardly a soul around. By mid December the cruise ships had started to arrive and other people were taking up residence for their summer vacations. One day during our last week there were five cruise ships tendered in Punta del Este which meant an instant increase of approximately 8,000 people.

On one trip we went to the Barra and Brava Beach where the famous concrete hand statue - "La Mano" by Chilean artist Mario Irarrazabal, is located right on the beach. It is absolutely enormous as you can see by the photos. Needless to say once the cruise ships arrive the tour buses are lined up along the street here.

We also went for our treat at L'Auberge, that we had been saving for a rainy day. We had had no more rainy days and just as well, as we were able to sit outside and enjoy the gardens. We had very proper English tea and waffles with Dulce de Leche sauce. They were just sublime and huge.

Our last excursion was to Lobo Island to swim with the seals and sea lions or not!!!! Around 200,000 of these aquatic creatures inhabit this island and after a 40 minute choppy boat ride on the Atlantic Ocean, with several very seasick passengers, we arrived at this magnificent place. As it is an environmental reserve nobody but the lighthouse keeper is allowed onshore. The water was black with both species and they covered the rocks, both on and off shore. They were unperturbed at our presence, carrying on their daily fish gorging and occasionally checking us out. For the most part they just ignored us. The cacophony of noise was deafening with all the barking and squealing and then came the water. 200,000 of them and all that fish makes for a lot of waste bobbing around. Nevertheless, when we smelled and observed the big toilet in the ocean we elected to stay on board. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip but then came the nightmare ride back for those who were seasick on the way out. The journey back was much rougher with quite large waves hitting the boat. Eventually, we got back to calmer waters and were luckily first off. We had to walk for some time along the wharf, to dry off, as we were absolutely soaking wet. Once dry we made our last stop at the fish stall for fresh mussels.

After five weeks it came time to bid goodbye to Solanas Forest Resort and head to the airport for our next adventure Buenos Aires..............

View of our beach from the top of the hill at Punta Ballena

Barbara at "La Mano"

"La Mano" Brava Beach - Punta del Este

"La Mano"

Jim at "La Mano"

View of Brava Beach on the Barra

Barbara leaning on the thumb

Monkparikeet outside our condo at Solanas Forest

L' Auberge Hotel - Punta del Este

The tower at L'Auberge - Hotel rooms inside

The pool at L'Auberge

Barbara in the grounds of L'Auberge

The Sign - note them carrying the waffles

Barbara and Jim enjoying the delicious Dulce de Leche waffles

Heading out from Punta del Este to Lobo Island

Spanish shipwreck just off Lobo Island

The Lighthouse Lobo Island

The ocean full of fur seals and sea lions

Just getting a better look

Bull Sea Lion having lunch

Jim on the boat

More on the rocks and in the water

Just fooling around!!!!!

Barbara on the boat - living the adventure

Leaving Lobo Island

Coming back to Port

Time to say Farewell to Solanas Forest

Uruguay Part 4

Punta del Diablo

Thursday, December 12, 2013 we set out in an easterly direction on our way to Castillos a little old town towards the border with Brazil. We understood, wrongly, that it was the town of Castles. However, it apparently got its name from St Vicente Martir de Castillos, the martyr San Vicente for which there is a chapel bearing his name and around which the town grew. It has a population around 8,000 people and is part of the Rocha department (Province, State, County) with Rocha being the main city for the area. When we arrived at Castillos it was for the most part closed up. Siesta we presumed. It was a dusty little Main Street town, with no castle to visit, so we decided to carry on to Punta del Diablo. Information for this part of the country is sparse but it has seemingly evolved from the influences of the Portuguese and Spanish eras, with the area changing hands many times. The majority of the buildings are more of Portuguese influence being predominately brightly coloured.

Although we did not visit the city of Rocha, population around 26,000 it is supported, it seems, by agriculture and dairy farming with a notable military presence. In 2012 Uruguay announced plans for a new deep water port on the Atlantic Coast, in the department of Rocha, to facilitate the movement of materials and mining, but also to accommodate the many cruise ships now visiting this coast, presently with stops in Uruguay being Montevideo and Punta del Este. This project is slated to begin in 2014 with completion in 2017. This will have a major tourism impact on this area and many sleepy little towns will suddenly be awakened for the summer season.

After driving through the main hub of Castillos we made our way back to the highway and drove on towards Punta del Diablo.

On our way we passed this amazing lake and large grove of palm trees. Never in my life have I seen so many Palm trees. This ancient grove of Butia Palms or Feather Palms is an incredible sight. It is the oldest and largest grove of wild palms in the world, numbering around 500 trees which are between 200 and 300 years old. Unfortunately, cattle graze beneath them so the new sprouts were being eaten, hence the grove was not sustainable. A conservation project is underway to regenerate the palm grove but this will take many years to acheive. Although these palms are not coconut bearing, their fruit being used for jelly, three thousand year old coconuts have been discovered in the area. The world's largest Ombu forests are also found close by, with some of the trees being 500 years old. The Ombu is a very large, spreading evergreen tree which is highly valued for its shade, shelter and mystical properties.

In this same locale we came across this huge lake which, from our vantage point, looked black. Hence its name Laguna Negra. The lake is surrounded by native forests, palms, wetlands and a diversity of wildlife. It covers an area of approximately 70 square miles and at its deepest point is 16 feet. We also saw Greater Rheas in this general area, which are large flightless birds native to this area and south east Brazil.

Unfortunately, due to the distance we were away from these last few sights and not having sufficient time to explore them in more depth, we were unable to capture them in our photographs. However included are some that I found on the internet.

After travelling further north we came to the intersection for Punta del Diablo. We headed east towards the ocean, on very dusty, red dirt roads. We came upon the small town and then drove down to the sea. Punta del Diablo is known for its very colourful cottages or huts as they are often called. It is a fisherman's village with brightly coloured boats. After being so excited to see this pretty little place we were quite shocked to see its rundown condition. Some of the houses were fine but many were just uninhabitable. The streets down to the sea are very narrow and no parking allowed. We found a car park down by the beach and went for a walk. The Atlantic Ocean here is very rough and the rocks are rounded and smooth due to erosion. Despite the dilapidation it was a charming place and we had lunch in a nice little restaurant, just off the seafront. There was a huge amount of reconstruction being done and we thought that this was just for the upcoming tourist season and the destruction was due to the storms from the Atlantic. We were later to find out that Punta del Diablo was almost totally destroyed in December 2011 by an enormous inland forest fire which raced to the ocean, practically unabated. This town of less than a thousand people, in summer swells to 30,000 with tourists from Brazil, Argentina and Europe. Enjoy the photographs of this magical little spot................