So the last time I saw an ocean it was the Pacific & was over a month ago (end of April) in Valparaiso, Chile. The time before that was watching the sunset in Lima, Peru in early March. But the last time I was in it, playing, enjoying was the Galapagos in February. That’s a long fucking time for someone who loves the water & is traveling South America. So while I’ve obviously enjoyed my trip (severe understatement), I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to craving & missing the ocean. That need was satiated a bit by Punta Del Este, Uruguay. “Punta” is Uruguay’s most famous beach resort & known as a glitzy & glamorous getaway for the Argentina & Brazil elite. Definitely not low key. My initial plan, before I was delayed by Patagonia, was to spend a couple days here then head North up Uruguay’s coast hitting smaller much more laid back beach towns including Punta Del Diablo – it just kinda sounds way more like my style. But by the time I was now hitting the Uruguayan coast, the hot temperatures were long gone. I still wanted to see it so I visited Punta Del Este in the low season & it was not so glitzy & glamorous. More like a ghost town with a pretty coastline. There weren’t so many tourists around. Many places were closed after the high season. Very little traffic on the streets. You know it’s dead when the town has decided to turn off all of the traffic lights in the city, forcing a yield at every intersection – although I don’t believe I ever saw a car having to use its brakes. But all of that means I simply enjoyed it probably way more than I would’ve in the high season when all the tourists would’ve annoyed the hell outta me. But it was nice to see & the beaches were stunning which only makes me excited for a future visit to Uruguay’s chill northern beaches. There’s one exception to my enjoyment… due to the temps, I of course was unable to play in the water so I only stayed 3 nights & kept myself busy & happy taking a borrowed bike to explore the coastline. But those waves & those beaches only made me more excited to head further north to Brazil in search of the heat.