Barrancas de Arachania

The view from our back yard at Barrancas de Arachania


It should be obvious by now that I like middle-of-nowhere places that happen to be relatively close to somewhere. I like being surrounded by greenery, within earshot of crashing waves and with some measure of sea views and wild life. I guess this preference runs in the family, because my elder brother Jorge and family have found a spot that fits all those requirements and then some, in Arachania, department of Rocha. In fact, they got there way ahead of me, about 20 years ago or so, when they purchased the first of several properties there.

"La Rosada," the first one

Arrancopelito and Barrancas de Arachania, the holiday compound they have created over there, are about 100 kilometers apart, but the similarities are manifold, starting with the "never heard of it before" name.

Barrancas de Arachania is a stone's throw away from a beach of similar characteristics to ours, from where you can see both La Pedrera and La Paloma. There is a vast expanse of green area to the East, much like in our place, which in the case of Arachania is an oceanfront ranch that has not yet succumbed to subdivision, extending all the way to La Pedrera. Both places are in fact at the end of a coastal road. Once you reach Barrancas de Arachania coming from La Paloma, the coastal lane turns inland, same as at our place with the road coming from Piriapolis. Which insures, at least for the foreseeable future, that our views of the sea won't include significant vehicular traffic.

Another house in the compound

OK, there are a few differences, mainly that where we have a single house, my brother has eight. But the common, key feature is an intangible, the sense of absolute peace and relaxation provided by these special settings. That, and my brother's and his family and friends' company is why we try to spend at least a weekend every year in whichever house they happen to be camping at. Because they have built quite the successful rental business there, every year we get to stay in a different house available at the time of our visit. We are usually one of 800 houseguests (typically including my nephews' friends, my brother's friends, their friends' children and their friends' childrens' friends).

View of the latest house, from our front porch

This time the gang was staying at the newest house, which, straddling a little brook, surrounded by lush vegetation that made me green with envy, feels more South-East Asia than Southern Atlantic. But we were given our own cabin, a tiny one bedroom we had never stayed in before, the smallest of the compound. The minute sky-blue house is perched on a narrow tongue of land that falls off several meters on both sides, with fantastic views of the fields ending in the ocean on one side, and of the gardens on the other. The deck chair out back was perfect for watching the sun rise over the sea.