Rocha

We lucked into a friend's house in Valizas for the last half of Tourism Week here in Uruguay. 

We'd had a great time in La Paloma, but Valizas is way up into Rocha, the department (or county, sort of) that holds all the really good beaches.

The farthest town in Rocha, before Brazil, is Chuy a border town that's know for duty free shops and deep discounts. A kind of SA Tijuana. I haven't been that far yet.

We have made it to Punta del Diablo which is nearly as far and awesome. This blog's cover shot is from there. We checked out the old fortress  of  'Santa Teresa'. Built by the Portuguese, taken by the Spanish and eventually dealt to whomever the waring powers favored during the land divides of the mid 19th century, it ended being abandoned and covered over by sand. Check the link for more.

This groovy street sign even had a map.

But Valizas has always held a special charm for us. We've been coming here since I was brought to Uruguay in 1995 and for Janine, uh, I probably shouldn't say when she started coming, but it was a long, long time ago.

It's very quaint and decidedly unpolished. Homes range from really decent places that would be nice anywhere, to cute little get-a-ways like the one here. 

There are a few ramshackle dwellings to round things out.





However, one of our first orders of business (after the direct path to the ocean) was a trip to the Dunes. This unmistakable landmark is what's unique about this part of Uruguay.

These huge sand dunes front the ocean and are accessible by foot, but it's no stroll in the park. You'll feel it by the time you reach the top.

While walking up, I was imagining those guys reaching the top of Everest. You can see your companions, but with the wind you can't really hear anything and the blowing sand seemed like snow. 

It was very cool, but all that sand killed the camera so these were the last shots I have from this trip.

 

On the way we spotted this likely sick Sea Turtle. The sea animal rescue squad was on their way, we were told. Something like 35 had come ashore for reasons unknown.

These guys were ready for the trek, but by weeks end they will have walked enough. 

Later in the week  we walked the shore to Cabo Polonio: just 4 hours! Cabo is my favorite beach here, accessible only by four wheel drive trucks, it's a rare place. I wouldn't venture there in January though;  apparently it's special to a lot of jet-setters too.

Climbing.

So off we went to climb the dunes. 

They feel a lot bigger than they look here.

Yes, it was surreal.

Vincent had his pal Manuel and Luca brought Santiago, whom you may recognize from our La Paloma vacations. 

They were wild, but mostly well behaved. Throwing water balloons around town at night and running home for cover when they got caught, things like that. 

Hey, we asked for it.

Up at the top the view was spectacular and the back slope was very steep. The kids tried to sand board, but that was a tall order for these inexperienced sand surfers. Plenty of fun sliding around though.

The back slope was serious.

So they had to jump. They had to.

I wish I could show some of that walk to Cabo Polonio. I've been asked about a million times how many kilometers it was, so I'll have to find that out. It was a lot, just ask my barking dogs.

I am still tired from this trip, but in the best way.

Today is Luca's first day, back for his second year of High School. This 6:00 am is gonna take some getting used to.

Later.

Vacation - La Paloma

We wait all year for these weeks. Thoughts of languid days, rough furniture and very few showers help us to last out the frigid winds of winter in Uruguay. If not for Rocha I don't know that we'd have made it.

                            

We weren't disappointed.                                                        

 Amalia came for a few days.  She had a great time with the exception of that one arrest which was huge misunderstanding, charges she's likely to beat.

Jani, Mora, Clo

Gonzalo

  








Claudia Carambula swung by too. We entertained the idea of going to La Pedreda for a day, but in the end couldn't. We won't likely see Chero and family until they're back in town.



 Two asados the week I was there. I did ok at my turn, for the other a friend took over and showed me a few new tricks. Watch me next time.

Cacho worked the mussels.

Pass the er....

Me make fire.

The kids were drawn to the town fair; crafts, henna tattoos, crazy t-shirts. We had to go a few times and hang out, but it was easy.

It was an easy evening at the fair.

Vincent, Joaquin, Emilio check out the fair.

Afternoon break means WAR!

I introduced fly strips to La Paloma.

 It was nice to be out of doors, all the time. And better usually, the flies were pretty bad. I killed many, but there's still more work to be done.

I got crazy trying to capture the sunset with my digital camera.

Cacho and Janine get the fish night going.

 

A moment of peace.

A week spent very chummy.

We have news of the unrelenting snows in the Northeast. Of course, we miss the snow, but that sounds wrong when you have too much that just won't quit. So for now we are in glorious summer and that ain't bad.

Thanks for reading.

Hollywood Moore Visit's Uruguay

We had a nice visit from one of my oldest friends these past two weeks. Holly is a world traveler and has hit Mexico, Jamaica, San Fransisco and Montevideo all this year! A fine artist and union scenic in New York's film and tv industry, she handled time in the southern cone with ease.
We went to the beaches of Rocha; Valizas and Cabo Polonio. Had a gourmet meal in Punt del Este. We had lunch at the famed Mercado del Puerto in Montevideo's Old City and took a trip to our oldest settlement Colonia de Sacremento.
I have some nice shots from both of our cameras as well as some of her recent work. That's Burning Spear, mon.