Uruguay: why ?! 

South America beckoned.

Patagonia looked beautiful on the 'hardcore' touring cycle websites. And Charlie wanted to visit Colombia after watching TV series about the drug cartels ! So we packed our stuff and flew to Argentina.

Buenos Aires had an edgy feel, was surprisingly expensive, and wasn't very warm.

It then dawned on us that Patagonia would involve lots of camping in much colder weather, and fierce headwinds.

Charlie has always loved Fray Bentos Pies and it turns out, they were originally made at a massive factory in a town called FRAY BENTOS in Uruguay!!

And so we caught a ferry from Buenos Aires to URUGUAY instead !!!

Our Route

We left Buenos Aires on a ferry, then pedalled 900 sunny miles around Uruguay from Colonia to Montevideo, via Fray Bentos (red marker).

The Journey 

Buenos Aires was short and sweet for us. Argentina had rampant inflation at the time, but this didn't help our money go further as there was a separate exchange rate for tourists.

We Air BnB'd in the suburbs, but even there food prices seemed high.

We jumped on the train to visit the city centre, including lively "La Boca".

On the walk back to the central station, an armed policeman insisted on escorting us through this "very dangerous area" (we had no idea!). 

Below: La Boca,Buenos Aires was full of colour and character.

Our pedal through Buenos Aires to the ferry port took us through another edgy area of the city - a passing motorist warned us not to stop, even at the traffic lights ! 

The ferry took us to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay, which felt much more relaxed. From there, we headed north towards Fray Bentos (below).

The old factory museum at Fray Bentos (Museo de la Revolución Industrial) was an unexpected delight. We enjoyed a personal tour in fluent English. This place kept both sides in corned beef and Oxo during World War I, making Uruguay rich. The scale of production was mind-blowing: millions of cows slaughtered round-the-clock, by men using SLEDGEHAMMERS (below). 

Termas del Daymán was a fun stopover, thanks to the "Acuamania" water park - a low-key place, but their "Kamikaze" slide remains our gold standard !

Below: beautiful restful accommodation in Termas del Daymán 

Accommodation became sparser deep in the interior - not generally a problem, although we did take one intercity coach (from Salto to Tacuarembo) for this reason. The colourful birds and glimpses of real-life "gaucho" cattle ranchers (below) were well worth it.

This region challenged us with our single worst accommodation ever (below).

We arrived to a comical scene, as the proprietress hurriedly plucked weeds and sprayed air freshener around a tiny, windowless shed. It was sweaty, but we slept fully-clothed due to the questionable cleanliness and resident mosquitos.

The loo was in a separate outbuilding - Charlie discovered that flushing it drenched the victim in water from the overhead shower. At £30, it wasn't even particularly cheap for Uruguay.

Oh, how we laughed ! (afterwards)

In the northeastern border town of Chuy, the main street was divided into Uruguayan and Brazilian sides. The latter was notably cheaper, and a bit more edgy.

An overnight stay was enough to experience the pungent sea lion colony, rustic accommodation, and pricey cafes !

Below - very rustic and quirky accommodation on Cabo Polonio

Continuing down the coast: the fashionable seaside city of Punta del Este was a totally different Uruguay, with its high-rise buildings and hipster beachfront bars.

The quieter beach town of Piriápolis, further south, suited us better for a relaxing stopover.

Our Uruguayan pedals ended in Montevideo. It was a short walk from our budget-friendly Air BnB to Playa Carrasco: miles of deserted, sandy beachfront, amazing for a capital city !

Food & Accommodation

Like Buenos Aires, basic groceries seemed quite expensive in Uruguay. Strangely, fresh fruit was in short supply - so we developed a tinned fruit & cream habit instead !

Eating out was pricey and limited, mainly involving bland burgers, breaded meat/fish, and fries.

We soon committed to cooking our own simple meals whenever possible. Most stays had a basic hob and utensils.

Fortunately, basic accommodation was generally affordable and decent (we usually paid approx.£30-40 per night).

We didn't have to camp at all. Molly was especially pleased about this, after a couple of furry spider sightings.

Uruguay - Our thoughts

For us, Uruguay was a gentle introduction to cycle touring in South America.

It felt safe, and the pedalling was easy. Most of the country was rustic, sleepy and charming.

Uruguay is pancake-flat with large inland plains, so some sections can feel monotonous. The exotic birdlife, for which the country is named, is anything but dull !

Its coast is largely unspoilt and accessible. The roads were mainly quiet, with good tarmac.

During their early summer (Nov-Dec), we enjoyed perfect pedalling weather: warm, dry and sunny.

Practical pointers