Latin America Travel Blog.com

I was working in U.S. for a long time, and I noticed several old people ready for retirement, looking for a peaceful country to spend the rest of their lives.

It was so funny to talk to a very old man named Randy, looking for information about Panama (Caribbean). Even when Panama is a nice country for going on vacation and enjoying the beach for a while, I would never suggest you to live there. Criminal index is high, every single place is crowded (almost 4 million people sharing a very small territory), low political stability, among others.

So I told him… Do you like tropical weather all the entire year? He said no. So I suggested Uruguay as a great country for retirement.

 Uruguay has everything you need to spend the rest of your life with a peacefully living.

You can buy a very decent house in our Top City Punta Del Este, for only 100K (if you have 250K to spend you can have a mansion-like house near the beach). Then you can stay there over the summer and enjoy its beautiful beaches. If you like the idea of being alone, read, enjoy the sun, and swim without people bothering you, then you can find your peaceful place within the 40 miles of coast of cristaline water and clean beaches. At noon you can have lunch in any of the top restaurants offering a wide range of foods. From international dishes, fresh fishes or our classic meal for export (you won’t find any closer to it anywhere in the world, not even in Argentina).

You can enjoy the sunrise in the port, walk over the coast, being sure no one will harm you or bother you.

Even when you can really enjoy Winter in Punta del Este as well (going to the movie, casino, theatres, shopping mall, or just staying at home resting) I suggest you spending 5 hours driving to the north of the Country, to spend some time in “Las Termas”. This wonderful region has to offer thermal waters! You can go to the public thermal pools, but I advice you pay some bucks and go to a private one. I stayed there in Horacio Quiroga’s Hotel. A 5 stars hotel with great thermal pools where you can spend the time relaxing and enjoying warm waters until night.

If that is not enough, you can spend some weeks of your retirement taking a tour in our old city named Colonia. Where old streets (from begining of 1800’s) remain as never touched, visited by thousands of tourists yearly, you must definitely stop by and have a dinner next to Rio de La Plata’s river, watching the moon and drinking some fine wine.

Of course if you like movement, night, shopping, casinos and all like that, you must go to Montevideo. It is only 2 hours away from Punta del Este, and has everything a capital has to offer. Plus a very nice and kindly people, safe, and many great places to visit.

Well, this post is getting long, so, I just must say, Uruguay is without any doubts, the country in Latin America I would choose for retirement. It is safe, cheap, quiet and funny. What else do you need?

One of the cultural shocks visitors have when coming to Uruguay, is the wide use of kissing (on the cheek) for greeting people. Visitors coming from USA for example, are astonished when someone kisses them when saying “hello”. There is an awkward moment when one extends the hand but the other person is already diving in and too close to even see your hand extended.

But kissing between people does not happen ALL the time. There are some situations where the hand shake is used. So… what to do then? How do we determine when a kiss is appropriate?

Let me tell you my formula, starting by the basic rule:

Opposite sexes kiss, equal sexes shake hands

That is the main rule. But like every other rule, it has exceptions, and that depends on the situation and the people involved.

If the situation is very formal, with people meeting for the first time, a man and a woman should shake hands. If some level of trust is achieved between the two individuals, then kissing can be used.

If the people involved are good friends, then kissing is customary between same sexes. Yes, man to man too. In this case, you should see what kind of connection you have with the other person of the same sex.

These rules will get you through the most of greeting situations. If you find yourself without knowing what to do, then go for the hand… and play it by ear.

Using sunscreen is very important in Punta. I learnt that the hard way. The ozone layer
that protects us from UV rays has a “hole” over Antarctica that increases the exposure to
UV rays in the South hemisphere.

For this reason it is recommended to avoid going to the beach from 11 AM to 4PM.
Although this seems there is no time left to enjoy the beach, bear in mind that you can
stay in the beach till around 9 PM and still have some sun. If you were to go during the
restricted time (like almost everyone does), then pay close attention to the use of sun
screen. You should use it at all times, but especially if you go during the 11 to 4 period.

I did it all wrong and paid the consequences. I went to the beach at noon, and fell asleep
in the sun. Let me tell you I felt the worst ever. It was hard for me to move for the next
couple of days, and sleeping was a nightmare itself.  Thankfully I came across a gel from
“Hawaiian Tropic” that soothed the pain and helped the skin get well faster.  Look for it,
there are a couple of them, they usually come with Aloe Vera and have a bright green
color.

Also, if you go to the beach around noon and feel hunger, there should be plenty of
places where you can buy some food. Apart from the “restaurants” that are on the beach
(and expensive), there are also small “huts” where you can buy things like hot dogs, corn
on the cob and drinks. I strongly recommend the corn. They put melted butter and salt on
them. They are DELICIOUS!

Punta revolves around the beach. As you will see in the map, Punta is a peninsula, with beaches on both sides of it. The west side is called “La Mansa” (The Calm Side) and the east side is called “La Brava” (The Rough Side).

As you might imagine, “La Mansa” has calmer waters than “La Brava”, with almost no waves. Somedays the water is so calm it resembles a pool. So if you want to spend a relaxing time in the water, go to “La Mansa”. But if you want to ride waves and have adrenaline rush, then go to “La Brava”.

Once you decide on what side you want to be, you can pick any spot along the coast to get in the sand. As you drive along the shoreline, you will see certain places that “mark” a beach. Those places offer food, drinks and bathrooms, but you don’t have to go to those places, you can go anywhere you want along the shoreline.

If you look in the map, you will see that beaches continue further east. I recommend you drive east to those places, where you’ll find a different scene, younger people and thicker sands. There are lots of things going on over there, but I think I will leave the details for a following post. There is a lot more to cover about this great place!

Have you been to Punta?

Punta del Este is my favorite place in Uruguay during the summer. It is a 1 ½ hour ride east from the capital (Montevideo), and a place where the beach and the night are predominant.

The season

Punta gets crowded during the first two weeks of January. Mostly because of the enormous amount of visitors from Brazil and Argentina that choose those two weeks to go there. But the truth is that as long as it is warm enough for swimming, Punta is the hottest place in Uruguay. This means that tourists will go in and out of Punta, from mid December till early March.

During autumn, winter and spring, Punta is almost a ghost city. Some people like it this way because it is very peaceful, so they choose to reside there permanently. But most people go there only during the months of summer, and leave their houses empty during the rest of the year. This gives house thieves the perfect opportunity for their trade. But don’t let this spoil your vacation. Security is improving every year in Punta, and crime rates are going down.

Personally I would choose autumn or spring over winter. Both of those seasons are beautiful there. The colors, the smell, the peace, and the temperature. Everyone should try it sometime.  

In my following posts I will write about the beach and the night life of Punta. You don’t want to miss that!!