Southeastern Coastline (Punta del Diablo, Valizas, Cabo Polonio), Uruguay
February 22-March 2, 2016
Squeezed in between Brazil and Argentina, Uruguay is a small, flat and lesser known country mainly because it lacks any major attractions compared to its neighbours. But once you're here, you end up hanging around. And that's kinda what happened to us! We connected with some amazing opportunities which allowed us to spend a lot of time in the interior of the country while we escaped the summer crowds along the coast. When the timing was right, we headed out to visit what they say is Uruguay's best feature: its coastline. From off-grid hippie enclaves to chic upscale hangouts, there's a beach here for everyone. Our goal was to experience the small fishing villages of Punta del Diablo followed by a few days exploring the remote villages of Valizas and Cabo Polonio.
Punta del Diablo
Punta del Diablo translates as "devil's point" and is a remote surfing town near the Brazillian border. During the low season its a sleepy place with about 1500 permanent residents. During the summer months the population explodes to 20,000 as backpackers and families from Brazil and Argentina descend onto this tiny village. It has a great surfing beach with a calmer swimming beach just a 5 minute walk away through the sand dunes.
We stayed in a cabana called Mono Verde. We liked the location and setup since each unit was equipped with a small kitchenette and sea views. There are many rentals available in the village for every budget range.
Valizas
Valizas is a very small fishing village with an immense strip of sandy beach. Our initial thought was to stay longer in Valizas and use it as a base to visit nearby Cabo Polonio but it didn't really come together the way we envisioned. We decided to camp since it was the adventurous choice of the dilapidated choices available. It ended up being a hippie enclave full on with dreadlocks, weed smoking, and people playing guitar to raise money for their new born baby. Albeit nice people, its just not our thing. And it rained. Which meant we were either stuck outside with the mosquitoes or inside our musty tent. So we decided to stay just one night. On a sunny day with better accommodations perhaps it would have been better!
Cabo Polonio
Without roads or electricity and a population of about eighty, Cabo Polonio is the place to go for an escape from civilization. The Cabo Polonio experience begins with the journey: a ride in a mega souped up 4X4 from the national park entrance through the sand dunes to the village. It was certainly the most unique way of getting somewhere that we'd ever experienced. There are very basic accommodations and a handful of cabana's to rent though many of the places we looked at seemed to have solar power for lights and hot showers. There are a few shops, a back-in-time grocer, and some tin roofed restaurants who fire up asado during the summer. There isn't anything "to do" in Cabo Polonio other than lie in a hammock, drink beer, and pay a visit to the sea lions who hang out near the 120-year-old lighthouse. We enjoyed our night at this remote little village and can certainly understand why people who come here end up staying much longer than anticipated. If you're looking to disconnect this is a good place to do it!
We found a place to stay called Alojamientos el Loro located in the village centre with lights, hot showers, and sea views.
We found it to be clean and well managed.