Race 2 - Day 3
Crew Diary - Race 2 Day 3: Punta del Este to Cape Town
07 October
It was hard to day goodbye to the people of Punta del Este. The stopover in Uruguay was way better than anyone could have hoped for. Before we start sending out daily updates from the race and the boat, we wanted to thank Punta del Este and its people for being such great hosts. So this article is for them and especially our “mum for everything” Elena, who was there for us every single day!
Hearing about Punta the first time at crew allocation in May, no one really knew much (if any!) about this fairly big coastal resort in Uruguay. “Punta del Este? Never heard of it, where is that?”, was the typical response you would get. Punta is one of the top holiday destinations for Argentinians, Chileans and Uruguayans in the summer, thus it has long beautiful beaches, great nightlife and excellent food. Whatever and whereever you got some food, you knew it would be good!
What made this place so special for us, the Clipper Race crew, were our hosts, helping and supporting us every step of the way. Be it laundry service, WIFI set up especially for us all around the two yacht clubs, or simply having great asados (BBQs) organised for us, everything was done with care and a smile on the face. We were truly treated like superstars. The ambassador of the UK embassy in Montevideo, her majesty's minister of International Trade and Development, as well as the Uruguayan Navy all gave us the honour to go sailing with us for a day.
One of the highlights was the first crew asado, a typical South American BBQ, organised by the Commodore of Punta del Este Yacht Club. Set in lovely gardens featuring modern art sculptures in the country's beautiful countryside, I can tell you this was a PROPER BBQ! With the biggest grill I have ever seen, they were able to prepare a whole cow on it. Every piece of the animal was eaten and nothing was wasted. They organised live music and a band, as well as free drinks for everyone throughout the afternoon. The weather was perfect and after five hard weeks on sea, this was a blast.
I could write a lot more about Punta, but I will leave it with you to explore it yourself during summer. It is worth it!
Tomorrow you'll get boat stories again.
Viva Punta del Este!
Antonia