The day for crossing into Uruguay. We drove through Barra du Chu
which is the southern most town of Brazil. Then on to Chuy where
being Sunday discovered no supermarkets open but lots of people and
other small shops. We spent our remaining Brazilian monies on
Diesel then headed back north to clear customs and immigration.
Immigration building looked very quiet and we were concerned that they may not work on weekends but no, we found it open. Cleared out very easily and quickly and headed into Uruguay.
Uruguay was very straight forward for immigration and customs. Passport stamped, EC paperwork done, no inspection and were through.
Now for local currency, stopped at one ATM at Capocho out of service. It started to rain which bought a relief to the heat. We pulled off in tho Parque Nacional de Santa Teresa. No entry cost. The place is managed by the army and has a fort nearby but outside the parque area. The ATM machine was not working either.
We donned our ponchos to visit the
conservatory which was built with big blocks of stone. A very lovely
spot with many local plants many the same as we can get in Australia.
There was also a bird watching walk which was nice but the wind and
rain kept us moving. A small museum of local history of which we
could only understand the basics. We understand that the army has had
this place since the 1700’s. There was also another shaded in area with more
plants.We wondered who or why it was built. Not something the army normally does. The grounds are wonderfully kept with lots of camping places, all numbered. We found a camp site down by the rough ocean. Previously the road had been washed away and sand hills built on top so we camped at the end of the road wondering if we’d be moved along…..
Had a quick walk
down to the water and got sand blasted. The foam from the seas
crashing on the beach was being picked up and tossed around. Quite
pretty. Nice to see the ocean with a bit of personality!