Camping anyone...

On Saturday my uncle, the girls, Jay and I got in the car and drove to Punta Del Diablo, this is on the East Cost of Uruguay. After a three hour tour we arrived at the camp site. The camp site was wall to wall tents. No site number, no real sectioned areas, you pay up front, get a wristband and find a place to put your stuff. So we did just that, after pitching our tent we went into town. Punta Del Diablo is a small windy hippie town. A youthful paradise for people who don't care to shower and don't like brushing their hair much but it's a great place to visit. It's full of cute little places to eat/drink, lots of Hippies selling hand made goods, small fishing boats and a lovely beach. A charming, must see place. We spent some time at the beach then headed back to BBQ. Barbecuing has become Jays new hobby and he is very good at it! Barbecuing is an art form in South America and not everyone has the skill to make a perfect medium rare piece of meat but Jay, with only one lesson from my uncle, is perfecting it. After dinner we went to bed, or should I say tried to go to bed. The camp ground did not have a lights out rule so people partied until they passed out.

On Sunday we woke up and decided to visit a couple fortresses. We went to Fortaleza de Santa Teresa which was started by the Portuguese in 1762 and was finished by the Spaniards after its capture in 1793. Santa Teresa is enormous site to see. Before our next fort we decided to stop in Chuy, the town where Uruguay and Brazil meet. Here pedestrians and vehicles are able to cross freely, the streets are lined with duty-free shops and you are only able to buy if you have a passport from an other country. It reminded me a lot of TJ just a little more upscale. After our visit and lunch we headed to Fuerte San Miguel, of the two forts this was my favorite, it's much smaller and has so much character. It was built in 1734 during the hostilities between Spain and Portugal. Its entrance overlooks the greenland border of Uruguay and Brazil. Right next to the fort in the Museo Criollo, it displays an impressive array of carts and machinery that the gaucho, indians and pioneers used. We ended the day with pizza and beer in Punta Del Diablo.

On Monday we got in the car and drove to every small beach town on the East side. At about 6pm we arrived in Punta Rubia. My Uncle wanted to pull in and see what there was, we decide not to stop and as he went to turn around the cars front wheels got stuck in the sand. First Jay and I tried to push the car out, then my uncle and Jay tried to push it out, then a nice man (who spoke english) tried to help but after about 45 minutes we realized we just made it worse. As we stood there trying to think of something a man with his family drove up in a old bug. He got out and said that he would help pull it out. He looked at our situation and got started, first he pulled a rope out of the bug, placing one end on his bug and the other on my uncles car, then he picked up a rock and asked Jay to pull it under the wheel when he PICKS UP THE CAR!!! On three he lifted the car and Jay placed the rock under the wheel. It is the most AMAZING thing we have ever seen. In just minutes he had the car out of the sand and we where on our way back to the camp site. Still amazed Jay and my uncle tried to pick up the front end of the car but had no luck. (Seriously, I tried and wound up with nothing but a desire for more muscular legs! - Jay)