Punta del Este - The Gold Coast in Uruguay

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Well our trip to Punta Del Este started badly when our idiot taxi driver took us to the ferry terminal instead of the bus terminal, then when we finally got the bus, we got off one stop too early and had to walk five kilometers into town on a stinking hot day.

Once we got there though it was a very nice place, a bit like the Gold Coast actually, but on a thin peninsula with beach on both sides and heaps of high rise hotels.  I read somewhere that it has been compared to some of the best beach resort places in Europe and hence is absolutely packed with Uruguayan's and Argentinean's for most of the summer.  Fortunately we arrived mid week and it wasn't too busy.

A giant hand in the sand
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Only ended up staying only one night as the place is a bit expensive from a backpackers point of view but did manage to squeeze in some quality time on the beach and a bit of shopping.

That was pretty much it for Uruguay, if we had more time we both would have loved to have stayed longer and seen more of the country as there is supposed to be some spectacular beaches further along the coast (Punta Del Diablo, La Paloma etc), the people are nice and the whole place has a generally nice vibe....oh and the steak!!!