Once you leave the Punta Del Este area heading north along the coast, you get into rural Uruguay. There are small beach towns all the way up to the Brazilian border, and the one that has the most consistent surf is the small town of La Paloma. La Paloma has a big cape, so there is always one side that will have offshore winds, (sometimes it is side shore if it is from a certain direction.) The La Paloma area is a surfer’s paradise. There are many quality breaks with very small crowds and super friendly locals. We chose to stay near Playa Los Botes in a beach bungalow at the Anaconda Club Apart Hotel. It was perfect for a family, the kids had their own loft upstairs with three beds and they provided a crib for Sunny. They had an old fashioned furnace, which was really cool, as we burned pine cones at night. We had our own bedroom and a kitchen, which was really important for Uruguay, because the food is really expensive there. There is a playground and a heated pool, so the kids were always entertained. The grounds of the hotel are beautiful and the staff was incredibly nice. The property is located close to the beach and close to the shops and restaurants. Everyone at the hotel was very knowledgeable and helped us figure out how to get around and where to go.
The surf was solid the whole time we were there. We met up with a ton of locals, who helped us plan our trip and they even invited us over for a Uruguayan dinner, which our friend Jope Britos cooked. He’s a professional chef and it was the best meal we had while in Uruguay. Our buddy Rodrigo Guanimian at Integral Surf also met up with us and showed us around the city and we watched him shred on his kite board. The La Paloma portion of our trip was really cool. It was very laid back, filled with really cool locals who were really cool to our kids and we stayed in one of our favorite accommodations of the 6 week trip. Iara and Jope taught us about native fruit to Uruguay and we helped them pick it to make a sauce. The kids loved trying a new exotic fruit. We went in late March and the town is dead. Outside of Dec-Feb, the town is pretty quiet, which makes it nice for getting waves and parking spots. This area was quite a contrast from the skyline and party scene of Punta Del Este, just an hour and a half south. We were able to check out Cabo Polonio, which is a really cool little town that has no running water nor electricity.
You can find out more about Anaconda Club Apart Hotel by visiting their website here.
