Hippies and Dunes - Cabo Polonio

Many people (both Uruguayan and other travellers) recommended a visit to Cabo Polonio.  It's a beach hippie enclave on the eastern side of Uruguay.  The collection of tumble-down, arty shacks that form the settlement were later encompassed by a national park, but the private land of the settlement was "grandfathered" (as it invariably is in South America), so it still exists.  It sits on a headland, with a 19th century lighthouse in the middle, gorgeous beaches to either side, and sand dunes behind it.  While tooled up for tourists a bit, it has stayed true to its roots: no outside electricity (solar and wind only, maybe a rare generator and gas for cooking), no modern buildings, no banks or ATMs - and there's a good chance your host will be peacefully high or drunk.

After a couple of hours on the bus from Montevideo, you board one of these bad boys for the 8 km trip across the dunes to the settlement.

First beach shack sighting - but outside of Cabo Polonio proper.

Not a bad beach - the south coast of Uruguay appears to be mostly beach and sand, and is refreshingly free of over-development.  (With the exception, we hear, of Punte del Este, which is supposed to be like Monaco on steroids.)

The biggest, fanciest "main street" in town - just a dirt foot path one row of hostels and restaurants from the beach.

The lighthouse near the center of the settlement.

The beach near town is almost entirely composed of sea shell fragments.

You can gather mussels for supper off the rocks right in front of the village.  And seaweed (sea lettuce) that our host incorporated into a very tasty omelette.  Or you can try your hand and night-time net fishing.

Our hostel.  It's tiny and rough and more expensive than you'd think (limited supply of accommodation), but we had a great group of guests, and it was only 80 feet from the beach.

Drinking mate and playing chess at the hostel.

The Swedish guests break out their ukuleles and serenade us with some very accomplished folky tunes.  Including some Neil Young!

I took advantage of the house guitar, though poorly-executed 90s grunge isn't exactly built for a classical nylon-string instrument.

The main attraction - the beach!  Refreshing and clear and now salty since we were finally free of the Rio de la Plata.

Behind me is the heart of Polonio - small and chill.  We came early in the week and it wasn't quite peak season, so it was very relaxed and quiet and seemed to have something more of its original hippie vibe than it probably does when overrun on weekends in peak season.  Even the scrambly middle-aged day-visitors couldn't break the spell we multi-day visitors soon fell under.  Brought me back to my childhood summers spent at the family cabin on Shuswap lake - just cabin, beach and water.  Ahh.  Many people come for a day or two, and end up staying 2 months.  Time works differently in Polonio.

Hand-built playground across the street.

This dog from our hostel was a real pack animal.  He would always follow our group to the beach, lay down with us, and accompany us back, never moving more than a few feet from us.  He always scratched a hole to lie in, down where the sand was cooler.

Almost another duck toller sighting!  This guy was a bit too small to be a full toller, but his colouring sure suggests he's a cross with one.  Almost every time we hit a remote beach town, we see another of Allie's cousins.

Sarah took a walk on the dunes for a different perspective.

I decided to replace my crappy Argentina-purchased wooden mate (which cracked almost immediately) with a proper Uruguayan gourd shrouded in metal and leather like most of the locals use.  Here I am with my first drink from it.

And here I'm displaying proper mate-carrying technique - hot water thermos tucked under the same arm you carry the gourd with.

We had one of the more amazing sunset-light-on-clouds evenings I've ever seen.  Lots of big storm clouds, full moon, and purple through light orange light glowing all around.

The island has private homes, hostels, restaurants and two "provision" corner stores, all in little shacks.  That's it.

Our constant companion sticks with us again.

Looking toward the lighthouse and typical private houses from the far-side beach.

Cabo Polonio was fantastic (apart from a big crop of mosquitoes and no-see-ums that ravaged my forehead despite mostquito netting), though perhaps not for everyone.  We had a very relaxed, down-to-earth time unwinding by the beach, which was perfect for us.  You're only one step removed from camping and you have to create your own entertainment with the other guests and the limited nightlife available.  But it's a unique spot and a cool get-away.