This past weekend I went to Punta Del Este--the Hampton's of South America. With good reason, Punta is the first place I have been on the trip whose prices are on par with Manhattan. The city is beautiful. Set on a peninsula in the southeastern corner of Uruguay, half of Punta's beaches are in the tranquil Mar de la Plata, and the other half in the turbulent Atlantic Ocean.
Beach surrounds most of the cityscape providing amazing views from all sides. On the Atlantic, massive waves crush into a mix of black-stone and sand. In the river, one can see large stretches of green and yellow coast reminiscent of Corona commercials on TV.
My hostel was cove-side, fifty feet from the playa. Each morning, I braved the topical sun and walked the boardwalk that separated city-Punta from the ocean. This boardwalk was 5500 meters long and a prime location for local fitness gurus. It started on the bay-side, wrapped around the eastern point (Punta del Este) and ended at the large bronze statue of a hand protruding from the Atlantic beach--if you know anything else about Punta besides its nickname, it would be this hand.
Fancying myself a fitness buff, after walking the boardwalk the first morning, I decided to go for a run after the day's heat had subsided. Accordingly, I played in the big waves for a few hours, took a long siesta in a hammock outside my hostel, and then took another siesta in my bed--I'm leading a hard life down here :)
The majority of the day was sunny and blistering--maybe 95 degrees Fahrenheit at peak. Around 7 o'clock pm my waiting paid off... or so I thought. Clouds had filled the sky and the day's heat had vanished. I put on my gym shorts, grabbed my iPod, put on my sneakers and went running shirtless on the boardwalk (I know what you're thinking, but when in Rome).
I had made it roughly 500 meters when it started to drizzle. The ‘harmless’ clouds from before had turned out to be rain clouds. At the time I didn’t think much of the rain and continued to run, marveling in the view and enjoying the tepid weather. As I continued on, the rain slowly increased in strength and fervor. I ran and it rained.
As I reached the eastern point the monsoon struck. I learned that rain in the topics can come on quickly. The clouds had turned black and the wind had picked up considerably. Trees swayed, and I was drenched. At this point a car driving by stopped to ask if I wanted a ride. I graciously said no because I was close to home and waved them off. I struggled to keep running.
About 500 meters past the point I had to turn off my iPod for fear of breaking it in the rain (I later found out that the iPod was fine, but its speakers were indeed broken). I cut into a side street thinking I was close to home. In reality the hostel was 2 km away.
I kept running through in the dark (the clouds masked all light) as people around me fled frantically, and the water level in the streets started to rise. Signs we knocked over and branches broken from trees. Needless to say, I was a bit scared.
I ran through the center of town, the streets deserted as people hid from the rain in shops. My shoes were waterlogged and I was drenched. Finally, after about 8 more minutes of trudging through the rain, I reached my hostel. I walked into the building, shirtless, drenched, with a broken iPod in my hands, and recieived some strange looks. I smiled and commented ‘Pues, por lo menos no necesito ducharme por la lluvia’ (Well, at least I don’t have to take shower because of the rain), and walked to my room.
The rain left as quickly as it started. 30 minutes later the skies were clear and people resumed outdoor life. Order was restored. If you ever get the chance, run through a tropical storm. It’s an interesting experience.
I went for more or less the same run the next day (during the morning, with the locals this time), sin iPod, without any turmoil. It wasn't actually that bad.
