Hunt for waves
Our hunt for waves continued into Uruguay. We knew there was little hope as we would let the wild atlantic coast behind and go further west toward the Rio de la Plata river mouth. Although it is called a river, you can’t see the other side. An immense stream of sweet water is flowing into the open ocean waters.
We passed Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, and as this is a very industrial surrounding, we never put our feet into the water. 200 km further west, Colonia surprised as by all but not by the surf conditions.
If you like old cars, then you can take a flight to Havanna, Cuba. Or you have a look in Colonia. The collection of old timers is amazing. One restaurant even offered a table in an very old Ford… For the passionate surfer, this is boring stuff. For the relaxed traveller, it was close to a week-long destination.
The surf is, let’s say it like this, not existing in Colonia. At the beach, the best you can do is sunbathing, fishing or sailing. It’s ideal for kids, as you can walk a hundred of meters out into the ‘river’. We had fun there, and we liked the place. We almost forgot all about surfing. But during quiet moments at the beach, we thought about one thing: is it that difficult to find a spot to surf?
Two weeks later at Vina del Mar, Chile, we stood disappointed at the Pacific: again, not this time, nothing to surf. Waves too high, too steep, too short. They would bury you right into the sand, head ahead.
The next time me and she would leave for travel, and if we would focus on surfing, we would have to invest a lot of time and research to find good places. Places that were suitable for beginners. But not this time and we took the plane to hopefully good waters - New Zealand.
