Montevideo to Punta del Diablo...

Our bus from Colonia to Montevideo was only about an hour and a half.  We pulled into the huge terminal of 'Tres Cruces' ahead of schedule, found a hostel for the night, and got insight on a restaurant where we could take in Uruguayan cuisine, to say the least...We walked only 5 blocks, and found "La Otra Parillada," and had an excellent meal!  It was one of the best restaurants we've been to on this trip by far.  Bread with Basil and Tomato chutney, and Steak with Uruguayan wine and a plate of grilled Provolone cheese topped with chopped tomatoes and garlic and parsley...Wow.

Next morning, we took a cab to the bus terminal again, and then waited a bit for our continuing bus to Punta del Diablo, where we decided I would roll in my 30th year...

Our friends Aoife and Luis, whom we had met originally in La Paz, Bolivia, were still in touch, and had recommended Punta del Diablo to us.  We had also heard of this place from others, and sure enough, even our Lonely Planet guidebook had a section on it.  It was on...Not only did Aoife and Luis speak highly of it, but put us in contact with Andrea, who had some cabins for rent in the area...We called her, and she was booked up for the days we needed, but she was doing some house-sitting for another guy with some cabins as well, and we found 'Cabanas Chiringas,' just down the road, through Andrea.

We booked the 13th and 14th, respectively the day before, and of my birthday.  We walked all the way down the beach to Playa Grande, and the whole coastline the way back and were very much impressed.  There were tourists, of course, but it was perfect.  Danica cooked me an amazing birthday breakfast, and that night, we barbecued out back, on the included Parilla.  Steak, veggies, wine...It was to write home about.

my delicious birthday breakfast...

 

The next day, we decided we definitely wanted to stay longer, and did...One more night we booked through Andrea, and the next day after, we wanted to stay longer, but thought that finding a campground would save us some cash, so I set out on a search for hostels/campgrounds/etc...

As I returned back to the pad, Alfredo, the owner of the property, and his family, pulled up in their Ford Escape SUV.  He asked where we were headed, because all of our belongings were out on the deck, and I told him I was looking for a hostel...Despite the busy tourist season that normally engourges this part of the world, they were quite slow at the moment, and he asked what the hostels were charging.  He said he'd give us the same price, which absolutely couldn't be beat, and we took it.  Another 2 nights there, and we had enjoyed the Devil's Point to our fullest.  What a nice guy he was, and ended up driving us to the bus terminal with all our stuff, and the night before, inviting the two of us to dinner with his family!

We would recommend his cabins in a heartbeat, and of course, also Andrea's, at "Cabanas Techari", right down the road...

Streets of Punta del Diablo

Sunsets almost every night, just like this...