Days 5, 6, 7 and 8 – I am going to run the next days together because in future trips we have decided to change the itinerary to spend more time at the estancias in the interior and cut out the beach portion of the ride. I now feel that in trying to incorporate all the most interesting aspects of Uruguay in one trip I was being too greedy. It was a five hour trip to the coast by bus and then we did not reach the best beach area for riding which would have been far in the north on the Brazilian border. The coast around Punta del Este is very beautiful and justly famous, but was not ideal for riding because in many places the sand was so soft that it became extremely tiring for the horses and in other places the area was too built up. While we enjoyed the beach section, it paled somewhat by comparison with the three wonderful estancias in the interior. We had fallen in love with the warm hospitality and friendliness of those lovely estancias which we had to ourselves and we appreciated the close contact with the local people who were so pleased to show us their way of life. We all felt that in future trips we should spend a full week visiting the estancias in the interior.
One thing which will be the same at the end of the trip is the magnificent lunch we had on the last day in Montevideo just before heading to the airport. We ate in the bustling market place where the food included mouth watering dishes of Spanish and Italian origin. It was a marvelous experience full of local color.
