Top 10 Reasons Why You Need to Visit Uruguay

Well, in no long winded way, here you go! Oh, and if you have something to add, let's hear it:

1. Beautiful beaches: Uruguay is home to many stunning beaches, including Punta del Este and La Paloma, where you can enjoy sunbathing, swimming, and water sports.

2. Rich culture: Uruguay has a diverse and fascinating culture that reflects its European, African, and indigenous roots.

3. World-renowned wine: Uruguay is famous for its Tannat wine, which is considered some of the best in the world.

4. Delicious food: Uruguayan cuisine is a fusion of European and South American flavors, with dishes like chivito, asado, and empanadas.

5. Charming towns and cities: Uruguay's towns and cities are full of colonial architecture, vibrant culture, and friendly locals.

6. Music and dance: Uruguay is home to many different music and dance styles, including candombe, tango, and milonga.

7. Natural beauty: Uruguay is a small country with a diverse landscape, including beaches, forests, and wetlands.

8. Sports: Uruguay is a soccer-crazy nation, and you can catch a game at one of the many stadiums throughout the country.

9. Nightlife: Uruguay's cities come alive at night, with bars, clubs, and live music venues offering entertainment until the early hours of the morning.

10. Safety: Uruguay is one of the safest countries in South America, with a low crime rate and friendly, welcoming people.

Wine in Uruguay? Duh.

Basically due to the country's Atlantic coastal set up and the adequate temperatures coupled with rainfall levels, it is often compared to that of France's Bordeaux region. This has allowed wine production with a well balanced levels of acidity and alcohol. So you don't have to travel all the way over the Atlantic any longer for some solid wine experiences!

But where to go exactly? And what wines to try? Beyond saying as many as possible, the following places are known here in Uruguay as the best spots to go on your wine adventures: Canelones, Durazno, and Mandolado.

For more information on exact tours and even more places to visit, the best website full of information is HERE.

(Home)sick in a Foreign Land with Carritos

I'm not homesick - save a couple of things like Sunday (American) football with the family, and a very cool dog named Junior. But not the point of this entry - sickness is though. In all fairness, being away from home is not ideal all the time (of course right?).

Let's take Saturday night (in the area below, but at night) - I was walking to that friend's house in the center of town and I had to do it. I saw it standing there, beckoning me to come over and say hello, to inquire a bit. They are carritos - trucks stopped on a street that are ready made restaurants. I had just finished a 10K race (OK, and had just eaten a hot dog in the Plaza de Independencia but was famished) and I deserved something BIG.

I got it - the carrito served a hamburger loaded with mounds of vegetables and sauces and meat. What a treat (rhyme honestly not intended). Long story getting longer than necessary. At the party I started to feel a bit strange...so I left early.

At 7:30AM on Sunday morning my brutally hellish sick day would commence. I stayed inside all day, close to the bathroom. I hated carritos at this point. By 2PM I was in bed, under the covers, hoping the pain would stop (in between saying hello to the bathroom). Then at 3PM began the Murga drums and practice. Those powerful, brilliant, absolutely annoyingly lame, overexaggerated, and (at the time) out of sync beats lasted for the next six hours outside of my place. Don't believe me? This is today's example from my place. Horrible sickness. Horrible experience. Sunday here in Montevideo was by far the worst moment(s) I have experienced.

Just wanted to share that it isn't all rosey and peachy in carrito-land...not all the time anyways. But this is what makes trips the stories they are - when crisis of certain degrees present themselves.