Yes, there is surf in Uruguay......

After a few weeks caught up in the frantic Buenos Aires concrete jungle ratrace, I needed to get back into the ocean - a quick check on the local swell charts revealed a solid swell pushing up the coast - nothing coming near BsAs but it looked like the North East coast of Uruguay (only a few hours bus ride away) might cop it sweet. So I packed my bags and headed off. For those who dont surf, Uruguay is not a famous surfing destination. Or really even a popular destination for anything else - The country is more or less deviod of notable tourist attractions, it has easily the slimest section of any country in the South American lonely planet guidebook- which is a probably a pretty reliable measure of how much there is to do in a place.

But it does have some nice beaches, lots of pretty mate-sipping beachbabes (a thermos never seemed so sexy before.....) and yes, some surf.... I managed to find a few waves in a little town called La Paloma - about three hours bus ride east of Montevideo. The town sits on a peninsula offering a nice left hand point break and a long line of solid beachies too. While it wasnt as great as some of the waves we have in WA, and there was a bit of jellyfish feeding frenzy going on (feeding on me that is) it was a fun wave and I could see it would be awesome with a bit more swell... and the water was warm too.

Another thing that surprised me was the standard of the surfing - Uruguayan surfers rip! All 10 of them that were in the water were carving circles around me. But they were very friendly, and seemed pretty happy to let a few waves sneak by my way.... Actually I think they were a bit stunned that someone from Australia was surfing in Uruguay.