Cycling Uruguay

Why Uruguay ?

South America beckoned: Patagonia looked beautiful on those "hardcore" bikepacking websites.

So we packed our stuff and flew to Argentina.

Our arrival point Buenos Aires had an edgy feel, was surprisingly expensive, and wasn't very warm. It then dawned on us that Patagonia would involve lots of camping in much colder weather, and fierce headwinds🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️

A change of plan was needed ...

Charlie has always loved Fray Bentos pies.

Turns out they were originally made in a Uruguayan town called Fray Bentos, where the old factory is now a museum.

And Uruguay is just a short ferry ride away from Buenos Aires.

Destiny !

Cycling Uruguay: Our Route

We left Buenos Aires on a ferry, then pedalled 900 miles around Uruguay from Colonia to Montevideo, via Fray Bentos (red marker).

Cycling Uruguay: The Journey 

Buenos Aires was short and sweet for us.

Argentina had rampant inflation at the time, but this didn't help our money go further as there was a separate exchange rate for tourists.

We Airbnb'd in the suburbs, but even there food prices seemed very high.

We jumped on the train to visit the city centre, including lively "La Boca". On the walk back to the central station, an armed policeman insisted on escorting us through this "very dangerous area". We had no idea !

Above: La Boca,Buenos Aires was full of colour and character.

Our pedal through Buenos Aires to the ferry port took us through another edgy area of the city. A passing motorist warned us not to stop, even at the traffic lights ! 

The rather expensive ferry (75 minutes, £100) took us to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay, which felt much more relaxed.

From Colonia: we headed north, following the Uruguay River towards Fray Bentos (below).

The old factory museum at Fray Bentos (Museo de la Revolución Industrial, below) was an unexpected delight.

We enjoyed a personal tour in fluent English.

Fray Bentos supplied both sides with corned beef and Oxo during World War I, making Uruguay rich.

The scale of production was mind-blowing. Millions of cows were slaughtered round-the-clock. 

Using sledgehammers !

Continuing north: Termas del Daymán was a fun stopover, thanks to the "Acuamania" water park - a low-key place, but their "Kamikaze" slide remains our gold standard !

Above: Lovely, restful accommodation in Termas del Daymán 

Heading deeper into Uruguay's interior, accommodation became sparser. 

This wasn't generally a problem, although we did take one intercity coach (from Salto to Tacuarembo) so we could avoid a night in the tent !

Above: "Gaucho" cattle ranchers can still be seen in rural areas.

This region challenged us with our single worst accommodation ever.

We arrived to a comical scene, as the proprietress hurriedly plucked weeds and sprayed air freshener around a tiny, windowless shed (below).

It was sweaty, but we slept fully-clothed due to the questionable cleanliness and swarms of mosquitos.

The loo was in a separate outbuilding. Charlie discovered that flushing it drenched the victim in water from the overhead shower.

Oh, how we laughed ! (Afterwards.)

Above: Still our worst accommodation to date ! And at £30, not even especially cheap (for Uruguay)🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️

In the northeastern border town of Chuy, the main street was divided into Uruguayan and Brazilian sides. The latter was notably cheaper, and a bit more edgy.

Above: Just south of Chuy, the 16th-century Santa Teresa fortress had commanding views and old weaponry on show.

An overnight stay was enough to experience the pungent sea lion colony, rustic accommodation, and pricey cafés !

Above: Very rustic and quirky accommodation in Cabo Polonio

Continuing down the coast: the fashionable seaside city of Punta del Este was a totally different Uruguay, with its high-rise buildings and hipster beachfront bars. We only stayed for a coffee !

The quieter beach town of Piriápolis, further south, suited us better for a relaxing stopover (below).

Our Uruguayan pedals ended in Montevideo.

It was a short walk from our budget-friendly Airbnb to Playa Carrasco: miles of deserted, sandy beach. 

Amazing for a capital city !

Above: The Trek store in Montevideo kindly supplied us with bike boxes for the flight out.

Cycling Uruguay:

Food & Accommodation

Like Buenos Aires, basic groceries seemed quite expensive in Uruguay.

Strangely, fresh fruit was in short supply in rural areas so we developed a tinned fruit & cream habit instead !

Above: A typical smalltown grocery store

Eating out was pricey and limited, mainly involving bland burgers, breaded meat/fish, and fries.

We soon committed to cooking our own simple meals whenever possible. Luckily most stays had a basic hob and utensils

Above: Our sole culinary highlight of Uruguay - dulce de leche !

Fortunately, basic accommodation was generally decent and affordable. 

We usually paid approx.£30-40 per night.

We didn't have to camp at all. Molly was especially pleased about this, after a couple of furry spider sightings 🕷️

Above: Our great little Airbnb in Montevideo

Cycling Uruguay: Ups & downs

🤗 For us, Uruguay was a gentle introduction to cycle touring in South America.

Most of the country was rustic, sleepy and charming.

Above: Molly scouting a rural roadside store for snacks. It was staffed by the kids who lived in the pink house (behind).

🤗 The coast was largely unspoilt and accessible.

🤗 During Uruguay's early summer (Nov-Dec), we enjoyed perfect pedalling weather: warm, dry and sunny.

🤗 Most roads were smooth tarmac, and very quiet:

as you might expect in a country bigger than England and Wales combined, 

but with a tiny population of just over 3 million !

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️ Uruguay is pancake-flat with large inland plains, so some sections can feel monotonous.

Although the exotic birdlife (for which the country is named) is anything but dull.

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️ Food stretched our budget, and wasn't a high point. Fortunately, this was offset by the reasonably-priced basic accommodation.

Cycling Uruguay:

Practical pointers

⭐ If flying to South America from the UK: you will probably transit through a US airport. This requires a US visa, even if you don't intend to leave the airport !

We only realised this when we were denied check-in at Manchester🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️

A sweaty race against the clock ensued.

Luckily, our electronic visas were approved within an hour or so. The ground staff were great, and fast-tracked us to the gate in the nick of time.

Above: Without US visas, our South American trip was almost dead in the water ! (Iguana roadkill, Uruguay.)

⭐ Virgin Atlantic transported the boxed bikes as part of our standard baggage allowance.

And although the bikes were only checked through to Atlanta, there was no extra charge on the connecting flight (with Delta Airlines) to Buenos Aires.

⭐ In Uruguay: it's common practice for intercity coaches to carry bicycles in the luggage compartment.

We just had to pop the front wheel off.

Buenos Aires Airport pedal-out rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.

We built our bikes right outside Departures without bother, although space was tight.

The road out was fine to cycle on.