4Runner Roadtrip – Adios South America

Once we had Sebastian’s paperwork sorted it was time to leave Gualeguaychú, Argentina and enter Uruguay. We had a semi-firm ship date for the 4Runner which put us on a tighter schedule than we like. Crossing the border it was imperative that we get a physical copy of our Temporary Import Permit which had recently been changed to digital upon entry to Uruguay. Apparently we could not clear the 4Runner for export without a paper copy. This added a bit of a delay at the border but not too much. Crossing into Uruguay also meant that our food supplies were pretty low as there is a pretty extensive list of prohibited food items. It’s the same heading into Chile or even some parts of Argentinean Patagonia and we’re never sure what is going to be allowed in and what isn’t. In the nearly two dozen or so border crossings we’ve done down here an agent has only really looked once or twice but you never know.

Our first stop for a stock up was in the town of Mercedes. And by stock up I don’t mean stock up. Uruguay is expensive and so we go on the ‘Uruguayan Diet’ as our old container buddies liked to call it. That means very little cheese, hardly any chips or other imported snacks (almost all are imported) and a lot of price sensitive shopping for Shani. We don’t get to buy any food unicorns in Uruguay!

We had booked a cabin in a tiny little village called Zagarzazú, just northwest of the resort town of Carmelo. Shani was keen to check out Carmelo as there are a couple of wineries, some expensive hotels and a few golf resorts. The cabin we had was really nice and modern in a quiet neighborhood. The only major drawback was the swarming, voracious mosquitos. They were absolutely ferocious.  After a couple of days in Zagarzazú, including a few drives to Carmelo to check it out and get some supplies, we were off to Punta del Este. At this point we had a firm drop off date for the 4Runner and also had an appointment in Montevideo to finalize the export paperwork. Called the ‘Miami of South America’, Punta del Este certainly exceeded our expectations! With a lovely mix of high-rise apartments and low rise houses, a ton of green space and sand dunes rising up from the long beach front, all three of us were pleasantly surprised. As we were in Punta del Este in the off season it was incredibly quiet, very little traffic and generally a great place for us to be.

After our first day/night we knew this would be a good spot for us to chill while the 4Runner made it’s way up the coast of South America on the container ship and finally to Houston, Texas where we would retrieve her about a month after setting sail. Shani did some research and found us a lovely apartment with ocean views and an indoor lap pool that was an easy walk to both the beach and grocery stores and the mall.

Then we were off to Montevideo for paperwork and dropping the 4Runner off. More than once we wanted to bail on this idea and keep the 4Runner in South America for another season. We don’t quite feel done down here, but for a lot of other reasons shipping her home made the most sense. And so off we went. We met our agent from On Time Cargo, a nice guy named Sebastian. He thought our dog having the same name was hilarious. A lot of people around the world think Sebastian having a person name is really funny. With our paperwork completed we had to get the car washed and then off to the Regency Park Hotel before dropping the 4Runner at the port the next day. The Regency is a pretty nice place to stay but the standout feature has to be the breakfast – there was bacon and sausages! Quite the treat for us.

After a bit of a stressful drive through Montevideo to get to the port in the morning and a bit of bad timing with the arrival of a ferry from Buenos Aires, we were finally at the drop off stage in our journey. With all of the boxes checked we drove into the port, parked up at the container warehouse and handed over the keys. And that was it. Our new BFF Sebastian drove us back to his office and we got an Uber to Punta del Este. (We’re pretty sure person Sebastian vouched for dog Sebastian as being a good boy for the Uber driver.)

After almost 6 months overlanding in South America, a few weeks in Punta del Este was just what the doctor ordered. We were in a nice safe area with a modern apartment in a quiet neighborhood (in the off season) and convenient grocery delivery! What more could we ask for? Well, warmer weather would have been nice but still, it was definitely a good place for us. We had considered flying to Cancun or Panama or even back to Costa Rica to wait out the shipping time but in the end Punta del Este was the right decision.   Stay tuned as we pick up a very moldy 4Runner, stay in the States for a bit to visit friends and family and then try to figure out what’s next. (Hint: It’s probably back to Europe and more RV adventures.)