More Pics from Uruguay

Thought I would share a few more pics from our Thanksgiving weekend in Punta Del Este and Jose Ignancio. Above is the lighthouse on the same beach as La Huella restaurant in Jose Ignancio. (Best viewed large!)

It is a good surfing beach. The dad and brother of one of my daughters classmates happened to be surfing there while I was taking these pics.



The local beer...


...But some brands are universal.

La Huella Restaurant in Jose Ignacio

On our trip to Punta del Este, we stumbled upon one of the greatest seaside dives—Parador La Huella.

According to Peggy Knickerbocker at Gourmet Magazine, several chefs consider it the best beach side restaurant in the world. It is the kind of place that would be right at home in Austin. Despite attracting an international A-list crowd and having one of best chefs in the region, it is the kind of place where flip flops are the attire of choice.

The restaurant is in a "shack" right on the beach in the seaside village of Jose Ignacio about a 20 minute drive up the coast from Punta Del Este. Jose Ignacio appears on the surface to be just your average sleepy little South American fishing village.

But behind those small little fishing casas are some of the most expensive homes in South America. Supermodel Naomi Campbell, Duran Duran lead singer Simon Le Bon, Michael Eisner, and Ralph Lauren are just a few of the neighbors in this small town.

Punta del Este

As I mentioned previously, I took my family across to Uruguay for the four-day Thanksgiving weekend. We picked the beautiful beach resort area known as Punta del Este.

Punta del Este is THE place for porteños to get away to. During summer, many families in Buenos Aires just pack up and move there for three months. It is easy to see why. It is a very beautiful place.



Many famous beach resorts in the US, Europe or Mexico end up looking like one giant stretch of tacky tourist shops all selling the same cheap "I went to XXXX and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" kind of crap. Their initial beauty overwhelmed by excess commercialism to the masses. Not Punta del Este.

Some of the best designed apartment buildings and vacation homes can be found here. Most are modern masterpieces right out of the pages of Dwell. Yet despited all of the high-end design and well heeled visitors, the place has a very relaxed, laid-back feel.



We stayed at the Mantra Resort. A very nice resort on the north end of town. The room was one of the best I've stayed in. However, the service was very lacking. I think those in the know end up renting one of the sleek, modern bungalows on the beach. That is what we plan to do next time.

As for our trip. We didn't get to spend much time on the beach. The weather was cold and cloudy on Friday and Saturday. It turned nice on Sunday, but we had to leave by 8:00am so we could drive back to Montevideo to catch our Buquebus ferry.

We still had fun. It was nice to just get away and enjoy the natural beauty of the area. Oh, and we had some great food too. But that is another post.

If you ever come to Buenos Aires, make sure you carve out time for the trip north to Punta del Este.