Yes, we’ve been to Uruguay.  One of the least visited countries in South America, wedged between its two big brash neighbours Argentina and Brazil, small in size and low in profile, Uruguay is often confused with Paraguay and missed on most geography tests.  Its capital, Montevideo, lies literally in the shadow of Buenos Aires on the opposite bank of the huge Rio de la Plata and has a modest historical, cultural and economic reputation.  But Uruguay, and Montevideo in particular, plays a huge part in our South American plans because it is the end of our Americas journey and from where we are shipping Tramp to Europe.

Our last day in Argentina was marred by cold, grey and heavy rain.  Not a good way to leave a fabulous country.  We camped our first night in Uruguay on the banks of the Rio Uruguay outside the little town of Fray Bentos.  If you are our vintage and you grew up in a Commonwealth country you might recognise the words Fray Bentos as a brand of tinned meat commonly found in supermarkets of the day.

In fact, Fray Bentos is the site of what was once perhaps the largest meat processing plant in the world.  We camped on the grounds of the processing plant and the next morning visited the museum and had an impromptu mini-tour of the plant.  Crazy as it sounds, this processing plant, which closed in 1979, is now a UNESCO World Heritage location due to the role it played in feeding the people of the world, particularly the soldiers of both world wars.

At its peak in the 1930’s this plant employed 4,500 people and slaughtered as many as 1,500 cows per day.  They processed and sold every part of the cow in some way and it was said the only part that wasn’t used was the moo.  They said that, not me.

With the sun shining, the rolling fields glistening in shades of green and our heads swimming in meat by-product statistics we headed for the beautiful riverside town of Mercedes for lunch and a quick look at their historic downtown area.  The temperature reached 82F/28C, we were stripped down to T-shirts for the first time in yonks and all was good until we stopped for fuel and found out Uruguay must have some of the most expensive gasoline in the world – about A$1.90 per litre or US$7.10 per gallon.  Ouch!

Onward we roamed, passing through beautiful grazing and agricultural land, cattle everywhere, huge well-kept estancias dotting the fields, a feeling of affluence and prosperity we’ve rarely seen on this continent.  We explored a couple of country towns and ended up camping on the banks of the Rio de la Plata which separates the two capital cities of Montevideo and Buenos Aires.  It had been a thoroughly enjoyable introductory experience to Uruguay (except the cost of fuel!).

The next morning we visited the UNESCO World Heritage old colonial walled city of Colonia de Sacramento, built interchangeably by the Spanish and the Portuguese starting around 1680.   The old town of Colonia, as it’s called, still has rough cobblestone streets and old buildings, including the oldest church in Uruguay.  The town has retained its historical charm and character, a rarity in South America, and we enjoyed exploring the walls and narrow streets.

We moved eastward, making good time across excellent roads, rolling up and down the gentle slopes of the very fertile and green fields.  We spotted the occasional gaucho, still in their traditional cowboy dress, and marvelled at the fat cattle and rural prosperity.  Uruguay might lack the colour, bravado, rich history, soaring mountains and desolate windswept plains of other parts of South America but it definitely had a feel of stability and success.  And the prices of everything we saw were high to prove the point.

Another curious feature of Uruguay.  They have seriously embraced three significant cultural attributes of Argentina, their big brother to the south.  Their cowboys on the big estancias are called gauchos and wear the traditional baggy pants, long boots, woollen poncho and flashy beret, all part of the Argentinean tradition as well.  They are also totally hooked on mate (pronounced mah-tay) the super-bitter tasting tea that is served in a group with great formality and sipped through a metal straw all day long.  And finally, they have practically claimed the tango, the quintessential South American dance which is firmly associated with Argentina, for themselves.

We bypassed Montevideo and camped for the night amongst a grove of gum trees, an absolute staple in Uruguay (gums are also all over Argentina but I don’t think the Uruguayans stole the idea), not far from the country’s famous beach resort area of Punta del Este.  It was a drizzly low season evening and for the second night in a row we had an entire semi-closed campsite completely to ourselves.  Just the way we like it.

One feature of Uruguay which they seem to own over their fellow continental partners, with the possible exception of Brazil, is their beautiful beaches.  Argentinians and Brazilians are said to flock to Uruguayan beaches by the thousands every summer, own holiday units on the beaches and loll about in the hot Uruguayan sun.

There are many places up and down the Uruguayan coast that draw these visitors but the primo spot is Punta del Este, a finger-like peninsula that features fabulous beaches on both sides and a long string of high-rise apartments, condominiums and hotels running down the middle.    Punta del Este is where the beautiful people with deep pockets hang out and even in low season on a drizzly miserable day we could tell this place really shined.  This is an upmarket Gold Coast in Australia, a contender to Cancun in Mexico, Miami Beach or the Cote d’Azur in France.

Tramp attracted his usual paparazzi in Punta del Este and as always we had numerous conversations and posed for photos with people curious about our home on wheels.  Telling our travelling story and more details about Tramp every time we stop for photos or even petrol can wear you out sometimes.  Never mind, its all part of the package and we made our way along the coast to Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo.

Montevideo is the end point for our South American journey and we gave ourselves three days to take care of all the cleaning, administration, packing and sightseeing before handing Tramp over to the port authorities for his long ocean cruise to Antwerp Belgium.  It also meant we were only a few days from flying back to Australia to see all our family and friends.  Definitely some mixed feelings going on there.

We camped for two nights behind a big shed near the Punta Brava lighthouse with fabulous views of the bay and the city skyline.  The first night we celebrated our successful arrival by treating ourselves to a great meal in the restaurant near the lighthouse.  The last two nights we stayed in a modest hotel while we sorted out washing, divided our packing into what was flying with us and what was staying on Tramp and flogged the hotel’s wifi.

Montevideo sends its visitors mixed messages.  For a city of 1.3 million it felt much smaller, easy to navigate and exceptionally friendly.  The Ramblas, the wide road that snakes around the coastline between the water and the city, provides a great range of parks, playgrounds, playing fields and viewpoints for its local citizens.  The many beaches that line the coast are absolutely world class. Plaza Independencia, marking the centre of town, is a typical colonial plaza, complete with the obligatory statue of their independence hero astride his valiant horse.  The city certainly provided a good – if somewhat modest – vibe for us.

But after that Montevideo is a bit more subtle and subdued for first-time visitors.  Yes, there’s the market, theatre, cathedral and a few more tree-shaded plazas but the place doesn’t jump out and grab you.  Many buildings feature the awful 1950’s or 60’s architectural style of tall square design, red brick, small windows and no balconies.  And from what we could see their so-called Old Town, which in most cities features cobblestone streets and historical buildings from the 17^th century or similar, was only old in the sense that all the buildings are about 60 years old and look like they’re ready for the wrecking ball.

Never mind, Montevideo was our short term home.  One morning we spent dealing with a local Ford dealer to get Tramp’s oil and filter changed.  We also had a lot of clothes and linen to wash at a local laundromat and gave Tramp a complete spit and polish before handing him over to the Aduana for his long cruise.

The following day we visited the shipping agent to process the paperwork and pay the local fees.  Compared to the process in Panama this was an absolute breeze, one form, one payment, I don’t think we even got a stamp.  We spent the afternoon repacking Tramp, loading everything in the camper which we hope will be safe during his long sea voyage.  We can’t leave anything inside the truck because the port authorities will have the key so they can drive Tramp onto the ship and off again.  Tramp will sit out in the open air on top of the container ship in what is called RORO shipping, or Roll On, Roll Off.

That night we went out for our celebration final dinner, a strong mixture of sadness and excitement.  Sadness because the Americas leg of our Follow the Sun journey is finished but excitement because we are going home to see family and friends before continuing our journey in Europe.  We reminisced about the trip, talked about some of our favourite moments, quietly cursed some of our mechanical delays in Alaska which cost us so much time, joked about where we’ll go next time.  After 15 months on the road we’ve collected a lifetime of memories and are aiming to add to the database.

Our last day in South America started by us dropping Tramp off at the port where he will sit for nine days until our container ship – the Grande Buenos Aires – will whisk him away to Belgium.  We eventually made our way to the airport and began the three flight, 30 hour, jet lag-inducing journey back to sunny Sydney.  Awaiting for us were all our family and friends, and in particular our darling little granddaughter Abby.  Follow the Sun has been an extraordinary journey so far but after we recharge our batteries in Australia the mighty threesome will reunite in Europe to continue our odyssey.  Can’t wait!