Uruguay Warning or Danger Tips by gandara

Be sure of what you are looking for when you book an estancia de turismo.
Do you want : horse riding? nature? space? sharing country life ? talking to owners? sleeping? resting? reading? Bird watching? swimming pool? Make sure you know exactly what you expect before going. After 200 km of good road, 30 km of bad road, 15 km of path, 10 km of another path with 8 gates to open and close, it is too late.

Even with the label "estancia de turismo" you get the best and the worst.
Don't trust the photos.
Check before going with the owner or the travel agency : private bathroom? next to your room or at the back of another building? modern? with water? hot and cold? clean? double bed? Size of the room? Is there a cook? What sort a menu? breakfast : bread and can jam, lunch : a bowl of gnocchis (2 if you want) and rice pudding, tea : cake, dinner : lentils. No fruit, no salad this day! True story.
Do you have to share "all" your meals with other guests? with the owners?
Some are so bored, they talk and talk and talk and there is no way to eat alone.
is there many small children around? dogs? hens?
Do they have enough horses?

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I hope someone from the office of the Ministry of Turism will read these lines one day.
Among the estancias with the label "estancia de turismo", some are excellent, some are average, some are bad.
The people we met are all, with no exception, very friendly, but some have no idea of what they do for their country.
And it is not a matter of money to arrange the room with no furniture in front of a frame on the wall, to add in the decor some of the old tools, old ropes, or old photos.
To put a small basket instead of an ugly huge plastic rubbish socket in the bathroom .
To fix an old bed in order to avoid the funny noises.
Not a matter of money again to serve for breakfast good home made jams, even if they come from another estancia.
To put a cotton table cloth instead of a plastic one.
"Uruguay natural"? why not serving in each and every estancia herbal tea, dry and narural instead of teabags of unknown origin.
It should be not so difficult to dress the list of all the animals you can see around : birds, insect, game, and the name of the plants or trees.
Encourage the guests to look around them, to ask questions about the way of life.

We have been to many estancias, and on my pages I only mention the ones I recommand.

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