Punte Del Este, Uruguay

Never heard of Punte Del Este, Uruguay?  Yea- us either:-).  But, we spent a few days here to soak in the beach air in Uruguay!  Cozy, quaint beach town it isn't.  This is high-rise hell for rich Argentinians and Brazilians.  Lucky for us, we are cheap:-).  So we stayed in this hostel in the middle or the old town, which means in 5 minutes walking in 3 different directions you are at the beach!  Did I mention the old town is on a penninsula?  Yea- very cool!  

First,the hostel.  There were 6 of us traveling together and we all needed someplace cheap to stay, so we stayed at El Viaje Hostel.  Looked just like a hostel filled with people 1/3 our age all wondering what these old people are doing there-LOL!!!!  It left us wishing we were 40 years younger too!  But except for the very loud music, the beds were quite comfortable, it was centrally located, we had private rooms (we are SSSOOOO past dorms!).  The breakfast- typical for an 18 year old- lots of cheap carbs.  You know, the kind we elder people don't eat because we are watching our blood sugar and cholesterol levels.  But lots of great restaurants all around.

Now to the town.  It had a very nice Rambla (walking area) all along the coast, a very nice light house, beach art, ice cream, and time for good friends to talk.  The high rises weren't so bad,and even the high-end shopping area was fun to browse.  

But in the end, it is always the beach that calls us!

Stefan, Ivan, Linda and Rich

The craggy coast!

Punte Del Este across the bay.

More craggy coast

City view

bay view

The hostel desk is made up of luggage- thought is was very cool!

Los Dedos- The Fingers!  Giant concrete fingers that sprout from the sand in Punta Del Este.  Just the fingers!  According to Wikipedia (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mano_de_Punta_del_Este).  Locals say it is a memorial to those who have drown, because the last thing you see as a pesons sinks is their hands.  These are gigantic!  At night, they have lights reflected onto the fingers that change colors!

Peregrinos love their ice cream!

The Rambla has little sitting areas to see the coast.  Some is rocky, some is sandy- something for everyone!

The fishing harbor is like the days of yore.  Except there are giant high-rises in the background:-)

If only we had a barbecue!!!!

Seal Lions love this place!

Me, Ro, Stefan, Linda, Ivan and Carolin (Ro's sister)

The coolest bridge in the world!  Driving it like a roller coaster!