My newest exciting travel article is on the beach cities of Punta del Este and Punta del Diablo in Uruguay. I’ll guess you’ve never heard of Uruguay so this is your chance to get to know mini-Argentina.

The nightlife in Punta is extremely expensive and hard to deal with. Mobs of rich men and their model girlfriends (still with oversized glasses) swarm the entrances to famous clubs such as Crobar and Tequila in the “La Barra” club district a few miles away, accessible by taxi or all-night bus. You’re not getting in unless you show up way early, know someone, or are willing to pay a painful cover/bribe. So it’s not surprising that most people go to La Barra but not to club, and instead hang out next to their cars and drink on the streets. Either way this scene combines the worst of what you’d expect from a “hot” nightlife zone…

Punta del Diablo gets kinder words. You can read the whole thing here.

I figure if you are going to spend Christmas alone, might as well do it from a quiet beach. Without cars, internet, malls, christmas trees and music, turkeys and hams, tinsel and static electricity, it wasn’t too bad.

View from my canbaña…