Punta del Este

It took 5 hours to drive from Fray Bentos to Punta de Este. I decided to splash out on a decent hotel and chose Las Cumbres (www.cumbres.com.uy) which is up in the hills about 10km west of Punta del Este.

It is an eccentric hotel that is unfortunately starting to look a little tatty around the edges. However, I got a very good deal as I was out of peak season and so it made an excellent alternative to a hostel.

It has amazing views over the coast.

And great sunsets.

Punta del Este reminded me of Miami but without the Art Deco.

I had a quick drive around the peninsula which is really just condominiums and beaches with the odd bit if art thrown in as well.

I was beginning to get rather depressed about the place and then I saw this which was the final straw.

However, I really liked the places on either side. Just to the east is La Barra which has much more edge to Punta del Este and, I think, much nicer beaches.

It also has quite a quirky bridge.

One thing I notice all over this region was the popularity of thatched roofing!

Whilst in La Barra, I stopped off at the hotel that was my second choice for this stop – Casa Zinc (www.casazinc.com). It is quite new and very small. I had a coffee there and caught up on my reading. A lovely quiet spot in the residential part of La Barra.

My favourite place was the Carlos Paez Vilaro museum in Maldonado (www.carlospaezvilaro.com.uy), to the west of Punta del Este. The artist is not very well known in the UK, I only learnt about him whilst in New York.

He started work on Casapueblo in 1958 and it took 40 years to complete.

It started off as a home and studio. He then started adding apartments for his friends, then the hotel and finally the museum.

I considered staying here but, unfortunately, it wasn’t rated that highly and was also very expensive.

However, the museum was great.

On the way out of Punta del Este, I stopped off in Piriapolis – a resort town on the coast between Punta del Este and Montevideo. It predates Punta del Este and was once a very popular resort. It has now fallen harder times but still has a great waterfront promenade – Rambla de los Argentinos.