Uruguay

Dear Ivan,

With its wide-open beaches, rolling farmland studded with emerald green trees, lush vineyards and olive groves, Uruguay is sure to enchant you and the family for the five days you plan to spend there.

With a population of 3 million, half of whom live in Montevideo—the capital city with one foot lingering in 19th century Italy—Uruguay is a composed, and under-the-radar South American gem. Boasting two waterfronts—an Atlantic coastline of wide empty beaches and temperamental surf and a quiet, riverine stretch along Rio de la Plata—it has another face of rolling farmland studded with tree clusters (montes), pools of standing water, cattle, horses and that quintessential folk hero, the gaucho. Increasingly, the wide-open spaces are shared with vineyards and olive groves. Indeed, the quiet Uruguayan entrepreneur (oftentimes an Argentine or Brazilian transplant) has ambitious plans to go head to head with his Mendozan neighbor across the river to produce iconic wines and oils.

Day 1: Arrival

Arrive at the former Portuguese town of Colonia del Sacramento. Ignacio will collect you from the airport and give you a tour of the town. Per our conversation, I have planned a day of delving into Colonia in all its 19th-century glory. Lunch at a riverside café while taking in the views of the Rio de la Plata glimmering in the sunshine. Head down to the town’s beautifully preserved center—an historic UNESCO World Heritage site—and steep yourself in its old-world charm. Wind your way through Colonia’s cobblestone streets where around every turn you catch heart-stoppingly beautiful glimpses of the water kissing the shoreline.

The seasons of Uruguay are, of course, those of the southern hemisphere with all the gradations that you, who live wide from the equator, have come to love. Yet there is fierce weather here, with winds and rains punctuating the days along with extraordinary bruised skies and glorious rainbows. The by-product of this quixotic weather is a land that is well-watered, herbivores that are well-fed, and a citizenry that seems well-adjusted and content.

Day 2: Carmelo

Spend the day at Carmelo, one of Uruguay’s best kept secrets. With its mix of laid-back beaches, world-class wineries, great food and outdoorsy pursuits, Carmelo is the ideal family-friendly destination. You will check into Narbona Wine Lodge, one of Carmelo’s most charming hotels. You will then spend the morning kayaking on the river—an activity we have planned especially for your children. Enjoy lunch on an estancia or a Uruguayan ranch that has now opened its doors to those who want to get a first-hand experience of Uruguay’s rich and varied culture.

Uruguay is at the latitude of Cape Town, South Africa. Though not quite within spitting distance, it shares a startlingly similar landscape that, at times, recalls East Africa more than the south. I have photographed rocky vistas here that are indistinguishable from those of Tanzania’s Serengeti. Squint an eye and the cattle are wildebeest grazing in God’s paradise.

Day 3: Punta del Este

Today, set your compass toward Punta del Este. A helicopter-ride away from Carmelo, Punta del Este is a quiet beach town. You will spend your day at this glitzy 1980’s watering hole draped around a headland in the Atlantic.

This party playground comes alive from mid-December to Easter. But in the timeframe you plan to visit, Punta and the rest of the towns strung along the beach virtually close down and revert to their fishing village roots. We have organized lunch at Garzon, owned by a local celebrity chef, Francis Mallmann, renowned for using local ingredients in authentic yet unusual ways. Spend the day strolling this rural gaucho town.

In the evening, you’re in for another gastronomical treat: dinner has been reserved at La Huella, an iconic spot in Jose Ignacio where you can have delicious local seafood. Don’t forget to order the Volcan de Dulce De Leche while you watch yachts bobbing in the frisky Atlantic. Stay the night at Estancia Vik, a hotel with interiors decorated by various Uruguayan artists, sited on an open grassland.

Day 4: Coastal towns

Venture north today from Jose Ignacio, past La Perdrera and up to Cabo Polonio. Per our conversation, we will arrange for you to stay at a quaint bed and breakfast in one of the villages that dot the Atlantic coastline. Spend a tranquil day taking in the dramatic coastal views, eating the freshest of seafood and letting quintessential small-town Uruguay wash away the stress of city life.

Day 5: Gaucho country

On your last day in Uruguay, step back in time in gaucho country. Just in from the coastline, and the lagunas that shadow it, is gaucho country—miles and miles of ranchland across which horses, cattle, and sheep graze. One highway connects the provincial towns where the general store still rules, and dusty roads branch off, ending in villages and hamlets in the hills whose reason for being often seems lost in the memory of the old ones who are also vanishing.

This is the Uruguay where you can step back to simpler times and create memories as a family. I believe that one of the greatest values of travel is the storehouse of memories that lighten our lives in tough times, memories that, over time, become much of who we are.

There are surprises in these hills, from graceful, evocative ruins of patrician houses with almost Palladian proportions, to miles and miles of vines planted on the half-moon rather than in straight lines so as to better conform with the curvaceous landscape. Increasingly, visitors come to taste the reds and whites, the almonds dusted with pepper, the olive oil variations. There are horse farms as well that breed and entertain with dressage, and estancias engaged in organic farming offering asados around an open fire. The stars are close, here, the sound of nature surprisingly loud, and an almost year-round slight chill to the evening air.

Uruguay is about all of these things, and then about nothing, really: The sea, food cooked on an open fire, timeless activities connected to the land. It is for those who savor with the five senses, who have little need to be entertained. It reveals its charm slowly though not grudgingly; it asks for patience and, yes, even a sense of humor.

Ivan, it has been my pleasure to plan this itinerary for you and your family. Please feel free to contact me at any time, should the need arise