La Esmeralda – Chuy – 80 km
The next morning involved the same procedure of dragging the bikes through the
thick sand to reach more or less solid ground, and onto the Brazilian border.
Although still windy, the route flattened out, and cycling was past vast fields of
grazing and wetlands. En route, I was surprised and impressed to meet Jorge, from
Spain, who drove his little vintage Citroen from Spain via Asia, Australia and South
America. Nearly the way we cycled.
Chuy was quite a remarkable town. The Uruguayan border was one kilometre south
of the town and the Brazilian border one kilometre north, making Chuy a bit of a no
man’s land. Moreover, the town was divided in half, one part being Brazilian (Chui)
and half Uruguayan (Chuy). Therefore, one side of the main road was Brazilian and
the other side Uruguayan.
Our search revealed a budget ground-floor room in one of the side streets and with
that, we reached the end of our short visit to Uruguay. A country that felt more like
a large farm than a country. Still, this tiny country surprisingly won the football
world cup twice.
Chuy, Uruguay – Santa Vitoria Do Palmar, Brazil – 25 km
Brazil had one of the more relaxed border crossings, and a simple stamp in the
passport allowed entry into this new country. Unfortunately, the first day of cycling
in Brazil came with bucketing rain, and Santa Vitoria Do Palmar thus made a perfect
spot to get out of the weather.