Travel Talk

Day at La Barra, Bikini Beach & Jose Ignacio in Uruguay

December 11, 2013August 2, 2019 by SHABL

drinks_la_huella_jose_ignacio

Good day!

What a busy day for a guy who is trying to lay low before a weekend in Buenos Aires. You just can’t tell what the future will bring but the past does have a tendency to repeat itself; yes? I met some interesting characters of late and together like some weird mosaic we found ourselves in a car headed down the highway out of Punta del Este and into La Barra for breakfast, to check out the infamous “Bikini Beach” before driving to Jose Ignacio to kick some sand, soak up some sun and dine at La Huella which is a pretty famous restaurant and for good reason.

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The crew was myself, a lady from the USA & three distinguished gents from Germany. La Barra was pretty cool and I can see the sleepy town starting to wake up compared to last attempt at checking it out. I also realized I never actually made it to La Barra, close but no cigar as they say. It’s nice and known as the hip spot to hang and kick it compared to Punta del Este which is a different beast all together. It’s roughly 10KM away and has some good surf.

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Not far from La Barra is “Bikini Beach” because during high season it’s stacked with well, women who are stacked in bikinis. It’s no surprise that this happens to be where a decent surf break is so it’s basically women in bikinis and surfers and as a result has a vibe different than the average vanilla who knows how old apartment / home owner with a family in the region; yes? I enjoyed it, didn’t see too many bikinis but can see what all the fuss is about.

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This whole area is sweet and rent a car if you as the coastal highway aka #10 is just endless beach, It’s beach town after beach town in Uruguay. Lots of sand dunes, small ones developing in between bigger ones. Once you head east from La Barra you can cruise for a bit before hanging a right into Jose Ignacio. This place was smaller with a sweet feeling to it and it literally had pristine beaches in every sense of the world. Also, supposedly a lot of original Punta del Este types moved to Jose Ignacio as it’s away from the madness and the masses aka what Punta used to be like before the “word got out”.

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They have a restaurant there called La Huella which basically translates into bare-foot and hate to say it; great example of bare-feet luxury or whatever those eco cats are calling it these days. You know, you can get phenomenal food and service but show up in a tank-top and wet board shorts or bikinis for you ladies out there. This was my kinda spot and the food was sensational; I did a combo order with the lady from the USA which was erroneous but one of the gents picked the “catch of the day” which was truly terrific.

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So yeah, it’s now 6:30 and I’m sitting in Punta del Este with a cold beer. I left to visit La Paloma with unfinished business and now, I’ve completed such said tasks. I have a way better idea of what this area is like and guess what? I love it even more. This area has everything and there is no surprise that wealth from around the world is literally pouring in here as fast as construction workers are laying thick foundations for skyscrapers.

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Good times, great times. Tomorrow I should be off to Colonia for a night before back into the beast called Buenos Aires. Mixed emotions about leaving as one side of me wants to cruise the coast until Brazil which is supposedly brilliant but I’m also on a Spanish speaking binge and wish to prolong it; not sure I’m ready for the next course which is Portuguese. Oh yeah that and in Brazil I can’t play the “cambio game” which is a game there are none the $ame… Speaking of which, here are some interesting facts about Brazil. Which looks like it’s going to be my next country.

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