Uruguay - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 844

in 1898, this confectionery shop and tearoom is one of the
great treats in the region. Try their speciality - yemas -
bonbons designed to look like egg yolks. Selection of
pastries with coffee UR$50. Daily 9am-9pm.
Ki-Joia Domingo Pérez 489, Plaza Libertad. A surprisingly
modern, good-value parrilla with quick and friendly
service and alfresco tables overlooking the plaza. The meat
is good and the home-made pasta (with real parmesan
cheese) is excellent. Mains UR$150-500. Daily from 6pm;
parrilla open from 8pm.
Ì Ventorrillo de la Buena Vista Villa Serrana (see
p.847). The name means “Good View Inn”, and if you can't
afford the UR$2000 for a double designer room (each has
a living room with working fireplace as well as bed and
bath), at least eat at the restaurant and enjoy one of the
best views and meals in Uruguay (mains UR$200-300).
Try the Borego Confitado - lamb, date and walnuts
with beetroot pasta. Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, or 11pm at
weekends for dinner.

shimmering lagoons full of birdlife
in between.
he towns are easy to hop between,
especially in the summer, but be warned
that they change drastically off-season;
holidaymakers can increase the
population in these tiny towns to twenty
times their normal numbers in high
season, but in winter everything shuts
down and they can feel completely
deserted. Other than in luxurious Punta
del Este, be sure to come with enough
cash to fuel your stay; there are no banks
or ATMs in the smaller villages.

10

PUNTA DEL ESTE
Situated on a narrow peninsula 140km
east of Montevideo, PUNTA DEL ESTE
- often written as PdE - is a jungle of
high-rise hotels, expensive restaurants,
casinos and designer stores bordered
by some of the finest beaches on the
coast. Exclusive, luxurious and often
prohibitively expensive, between this
and the nearby towns of La Barra and
José Ignacio , this is the place to be seen
for many South American celebrities
in summer.

DIRECTORY
Av 18 de Julio is the main commercial street and has many
banks, casas de cambio and ATMs as well as pharmacies
and laundries.
Hospital On Av Pedro Varela between Maldonado and
Dighiero T 44422058.
Internet Cyber Peatonal on 25 de Mayo charges UR$12/hr
and there's free wi-fi in Plaza Libertad.
Left luggage Facilities at the bus terminal (see p.847).
Phone Antel of ce at Treinta y Tres 589, just of Pza.
Libertad.
Police Off Pza. Libertad down Vidal y Fuentes.
Post o ce Correo Uruguayo, Wáshington Beltrán, at 25
de Mayo.
Supermarket Las Palmas, 18 de Julio, at Sarandí.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
The best thing to do in PdE is what
everyone else does: go to the beach
during the day and go drinking at night.
Within striking distance and well worth
the trip is the whitewashed Casapueblo ,
a remarkable villa and art gallery.

The eastern
beaches
Uruguay's biggest draw is its vast, and
largely unspoilt, coastline. Humans have
made their mark with balnearios (coastal
resorts or villages), each with a very
different feel to them.
Between Maldonado and Rocha
departments you can choose between
the hedonistic party life in Punta del
Este , the isolated and rugged Cabo
Polonio , the blissful beaches and
dunes of Valizas or wild surfing and
nightlife in Punta del Diablo , all with

The beaches
These are what attract most visitors to
Punta del Este, and two of the best are on
either side of the neck of the peninsula.
Playa Mansa on the bay side is a huge,
arcing stretch of sand, with plenty of
space for sunbathing and gentle waves,
while Playa Brava on the eastern side is
where you go if you're serious about
surfing , or simply to compare your height
to the fingers of the uncanny Hand in the
Sand sculpture, one of Uruguay's most
famous sights. Both sides are commonly
referred to by these names, although
there are actually many beaches with their
own names.