I spent the weekend of March 19th – 20th in el Punto del Diablo: another vacation, relaxation, warm sand sensation sort of place east of Montevideo. I’m writing now two weeks after the fact but a few of my adventures are still fresh in my mind.
The early mornings of Saturday, March 19th, and Monday, March 21st, were devoted to the five-hour bus ride and my recovery from it. Five hours on a bus can be absolutely terrible: meandering like those five minutes before class dismissal. But great traveling partners make a world of distance. I traveled with Manue from France, Daniela and Manuel from Germany, and Julia from New York. We spent the time sleeping when we could and talking in Spanish when we couldn’t.
Travel Tip 011: Take advantage of your travel time. Studying abroad or vacationing in another country, it’s easy to forget about the essential requirements like sleep and homework. Travel time, no matter how extensive, should be utilized in whatever ways possible. Use the time to sleep (possibly even saving the need for a hotel or hostel), or for studies, practicing the language, building relationships with friends, or, and indeed this may be exactly what you need, relaxation.
Saturday, by in large consisted of taking in the small city of el Punto del Diablo, relaxing at the beach, and posing for/taking photos. El Punto del Diablo is tiny: a rough splotch of colorful, titled buildings set up for tourists and travelers. The few local residents live on a separate side of the town, their precarious, leaning homes harboring the ocean. El Punto more or less reminded me of my hometown of Pepin except with many, many more wild dogs roaming the countryside and the coast: It was small, the people were friendly in a reserved sort of way, and there was a definite sensation of the stale energy left behind from summer tourists. Because it was near the end of the summer and beginning of autumn, there were few people walking about the town. Like walking into an empty movie theatre, el Punto felt more personalized for me and my friends and we had a great time.
Sunday, I went on a horseback riding adventure. Although I’m from Wisconsin, I have never been real comfortable or confident around horses. Put simply, they’re huge. Manue, Daniela, Cecil from France, and Megan from Wisconsin accompanied me on the adventure along with our guide (whose name I’ve managed to forget) and, although timid at first, I quickly warmed up to the rhythm and tempo of riding a horse. I was comfortable with the slow pace and my calm horse (whose name I’ve also forgotten but wouldn’t have know how to spell anyways as it was in Portuguese – the horse also only understood vocal commands in Portuguese and, although I managed alright by directing the horse with the reins, I could only hope my horse understood I meant well when I spoke to him in Spanish) but I soon learned that I much preferred galloping. It wasn’t until we were nearing the end of our journey that I had the chance to gallop on the coast of the ocean. The canter of galloping felt much more natural than a bumpy trot and my horse and I easily broke into a comfortable, but rapid pace. It’s an experience I would recommend for anyone.
Returning back to Montevideo on Monday (at 2 am) was sad but I needed the rest offered by the bus ride. Classes that day were difficult as well but well worth it for my weekend of adventuring.
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