URUGUAY - 1st to 4th April 2010

Introduction

Uruguay not only won the first soccer World Cup that was played here in 1930, but is our 70 th and final country on this amazing trip! If we had opted to see it before Argentina , the great beaches with a free camping culture would have had us miss our sailing date back to South Africa that we had organised in January! Although Uruguay also has atmospheric cities, it does not have a whole lot going on nature-wise. Uruguayans are a relaxed, mate obsessed lot with poor rural folk driving really old cars and then ridiculously rich coastal areas. They are predominantly European with 8% mestizo and 4% descendants of African slaves.

Background and History

In the beginning the Charrua were here first and did not take kindly to European explorers until they got some cattle and started trading. The Jesuits were on the scene as early as 1624 and shortly afterwards Portugal and Spain fought for a foothold for almost 200 years. The region was liberated with the help of Argentine troops in 1828, when the Portuguese were in control and then more drama followed. There were rebellions and coups into the 20 th century until things improved with a socialist government that financed programs largely through taxing the prosperous livestock sector. But in the 1960's the wheels fell off when this sector faltered, leading to economic stagnation, inflation and social unrest. The country slid into dictatorship with leftist parties outlawed for supporting the guerrilla ‘Tupamaros'. From 1971 the military took control with arbitrary detention, torture and corruption that lasted for over a decade until democratic traditions returned. A coalition of leftist parties grew in stature as the country entered the 21 st century with a crumbling economy as a result of a ban on their beef and Argentina 's banks freezing deposits that made up 80% of foreign reserves. A massive bailout with loans from the US and world bank stabilized the plummeting peso and from 2005 a left leaning government is leaning more towards encouraging foreign investment and trade.

Our Experience

The busy border crossing into Uruguay , our 70 th country was relatively easy and all free. From Paysandu the main highway via Trinidad to Cuidad del Plata was 350km of a reasonably patched, but rutted surface with a rolling Pampas-developed landscape. We found a wild camping spot around dusk at Cuidad's ‘beachfront' where the Rio de la Plata empties into the Atlantic Ocean . Aggressive mosquitoes kept us indoors and we only appreciated our spot the next morning.

Everyone – fishermen, campers, strollers and even people on motorbikes had a thermos and cup, drinking mate (pronounced mutt-tay) from a gourd with a straw-like utensil called a bombilla that filters the tea. The herbal infusion of dried ground leaves of a bitter plant dates back to the pre-Hispanic Guarani culture.

We were only a few kilometres short of the capital, Montevideo , and the quiet streets on this Easter Friday made the sight-seeing drive a pleasure. However, many of the grand 19 th century neoclassic buildings are unkept with homeless beggars and drug addicts roaming the vestiges of this historic centres' colonial past. At lunchtime we had to test our carnivore status at the atmospheric market, Mercado del Puerto that is filled with parrillas (barbeque steakhouses). Well, we realized that we were more herbivores as the chunks of fatty meat did not appear to have been cut by a skilled surgeon and was served without salad, a starch or veggies! The seafood paella was ok, but our bill of $US100 left us with a bitter taste! Car guards and frequent tolls added some more frustration, until we hit the coastal road east. Montevideo 's beachfront apartments seemed to go on forever with beautiful bays – except for the water which was an ugly bottle green. But the 150km east just got better and better, with scores of perfect wild camping spots.

As we approached Piriapolis, then Punta del Este, the setting and scenery got more impressive with international beach resorts and beautifully toned people. After rounding the point, numerous lovely beaches along a gorgeous and cleaner Atlantic Ocean were dotted with striking, ultramodern apartments and homes. Despite this serious money, the coastline had great public access and we were spoilt with wild camping choices. We eventually called it a day when darkness forced a u-turn at Jose Ignacio – or we could have gone all the way further north to Brazil ! La Barra's chic furniture shops had us oohing and aahing all the way to our wild camping spot overlooking this opulence.

The 3 rd April was initially a day for relaxation with the kids exploring the beach with a huge washed up sea lion. But as overcast and windy conditions were not ideal for lazing on the sand, we headed back for a drive around Punta del Este and a people watching lunch stop at Playa Brava. Tipperdee however wanted to hit the road and with a few hours of light remaining, we headed back west via Piriapolis through a dark and wet Montevideo to wild camp at a gas station. On our final day in Uruguay we rolled over 380km of good tarred surfaces through dated towns further north-west to wild camp at another gas station outside Fray Bentos. Halfway, a 4 hour stop in atmospheric Colonia del Sacramento made for a great break. This smugglers port on a point was founded by the Portuguese in 1680 and its intriguing history is reflected in the ruins and stucco colonial houses that still line narrow uneven cobbled streets.

Our final day of travel in Tipperdee on this journey of a lifetime was on the 5 April 2010 – first a 100km straight north took us back to the border at Paysandu and into Argentina for the 6 th time.

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