Punta del Este, Uruguay, the Hamptons of South America

Then we walked the streets. I bought an Uruguayan mate cup, fridge magnets, a scarf, and a sweater. It was really cold with the wind. It was the first week in September so that meant early Spring for Uruguay. When I was buying the scarf I was bawling like a sheep, and plucking at my chest, “Baaaaa Baaaaa!” The woman didn’t get it. She must’ve thought I was nuts. Finally, I said “Algodon?” “Ah, no, no, Lana!” she said. Lana. How could I have forgotten the word for wool? So I bought the scarf.

Manos Del Uruguay

A few minutes later, I found a Manos Del Uruguay store that sold woolen products but not wool. I was ecstatic. I like to knit and I love their products. However, I was so excited to be in an actual Manos Del Uruguay store that I didn’t care if they sold wool or not. I bought Maureen green fingerless gloves and a sweater. She needed them because our next stop was “The Hand in the Sand” and it was frosty with that wind, especially for our delicate subtropical organisms.

Two Beaches in Punta del Este

There are two beaches in Punta del Este: La Playa Brava and La Playa Mansa. The former is a rough beach, the latter a calm beach. This is because of the water. So we went to the Rough Beach because we like rough stuff. The rougher the better. We were not disappointed. The waves crashed and the surfers in their wetsuits struggled to stay atop the dark, grey waters.

We found an eviscerated seal washed up near a shrine to the Virgin Mary. I looked at the seal and then at the surfers. Pretty similar looking. I’d say size was the only thing telling them apart. They probably taste the same, too.

Patron Saint of Punta del Este, Uruguay

The Madonna in this photo was ripped from her shrine a few weeks after we left in yet another hurricane. Surfers found her headless body in the sea and then found her head in the rocks. She was repaired and restored to the shrine. The shrine has been here for approximately 40 years. I have a question. Was it really the storm?

This is also the spot where the first Spaniards landed under the navigator Juan Díaz de Solís. They had their first Catholic mass on the rocks here. There is a joke there somewhere. Could I have a Catholic Mass on the rocks, please?