Among the BPs of Punta del Este
Greetings from Punta del Este, the place to "see and be seen" according to my Frommer's Guide. This narrow peninsula attracts the beautiful set from Buenos Aires and further afield, says the guidebook.
But this is April and past the high season. So, Punta is a little quiet these days … except for last night when we were treated to a lightening show I haven't seen in years. Today, the city has a quiet, end-of-season beachtown attitude. We've seen fewer beautiful bronzed bodies and more pushy older folks who shove to get in the front of the breakfast lines at the hotel.
All in all, Uruguay has a much different feel from our experience in Argentina's bustling Buenos Aires. Daily activities are a little more difficult to navigate and it seems a bit farther away from home. Yet, people have been very friendly and accommodating to my family despite our embarrassing lack of Spanish language skills.
And speaking of embarrassing, throughout Latin American, viewers here are bombarded by a number of horribly humiliating U.S. sit-coms and reality shows that play day and night. What impressions could people have of the U.S. after watching hour upon hour of "Different Strokes," "Mork and Mindy" and, for those preferring something more contemporary, Nick and Aaron's "House of Carter?" Awful.
