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Charles Wiegand

Roaming South America

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There are 491 blog posts for you to enjoy.

Rocha: Nothing to See Here? Look A Little Deeper

September 24, 2026

The city name sign is out on Highway 9 at the south of the city

Rocha, UY

Rocha, Uruguay has a population of around 27,000. It was founded in 1793. There is nothing special here, nothing to draw tourists, so it is a town you would pass through. If nothing else, you might stop for a meal. Rocha is a pleasant town, a few nice parks and decent plazas, a couple of grocery stores, half-a-dozen ATMs. Rocha never became a major industrial city, a huge port, or a fashionable tourist destination. It remains primarily a regional administrative, commercial and service center. It's generally quiet. But does it have anything for tourists to see? No. But it has something much more unusual: an exceptionally intact example of an ordinary Uruguayan provincial city whose historical urban fabric was never completely erased.

Rocha is not interesting because it contains a few old buildings. The town itself is an unusually intact historical urban landscape. Rocha was planned from the beginning.

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Chuy: Shopping. Punta del Diablo: Beaches. That's About It.

September 20, 2026

The city name sign is painted on the side of an old boat alongside the road in front of the bus terminal.

My travels through Rocha Department took me to two towns that couldn't be much more different. Chuy sits directly on the Brazilian border and is primarily a place for shopping and crossing between countries. Punta del Diablo is a small fishing and beach town that becomes a major vacation destination during the summer. Neither one is particularly remarkable in itself, but both were interesting enough to deserve a closer look.

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The Quiet Middle of Uruguay

September 13, 2026

Tacuarembó sign located at the junction of Hwy 5 and Hwy 26

Tacuarembó, UY

Tacuarembó, Uruguay, sits in the center of the country. The town was founded with the name "San Fructuoso", after Saint Fructuosus of Tarragona, in 1832. The town has a population of 60,000+ people (as of 2023). The town changed its name to "Tacuarembó" in 1912 when its status was changed from "town" to "city". The Rio (River) Tacuarembó is about 36 kilometers east of town. Running directly alongside the northern side of town is the Arroyo Tacuarembó Chico, a small stream.
This was my second visit to the city; my first was in 2023.
I wrote a blog about it; you can read it here.

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Four small cities, all average cities

September 6, 2026

La Heroica is the nickname for Paysandú in honor of the heros of their wars

Posadas, AR and Concordia, AR -

Posadas sits alongside the Paraná River, which forms the border between Argentina and Paraguay. Like Encarnación across the river, Posadas has a beautiful riverfront that stretches the width of the city. Posadas has a population of around 325,000, so it's a medium-sized city, unlike Encarnación, which is a large town. I like Encarnación more. I stayed two nights this time and spent much of the full day with my friend from Encarnación. I visited Posadas in May 2023 and wrote a blog about it, you can read it here.

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The WRC Visited Trinidad, Paraguay

September 4, 2026

A picture of the Jesuit ruins in Trinidad, Paraguay Trinidad, Paraguay, is a community, not even a pueblo (town), with a population of around 8000. It is home to Jesuit Ruins, which is a most interesting place to visit. And this past weekend, it was home to 4 stages of the WRC Paraguay Rally. I was at one of the stages and at the finishing area of a second. What a thing to watch! I've watched the rallies on TV for many years, but to see and hear them for real is an incredible experience. Read More
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Chip Wiegand

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Contact me:

chip at wiegand dot org

I used to teach English as a foreign language in Barranquilla, Colombia. Now I'm retired and traveling throughout South America.

I'm from Kennewick, Washington, USA. In my previous life, as I call it, I was an IT guy, systems administrator, computer tech, as well as a shipping/receiving guy and also worked as a merchandising guy in a RV/Camping store.

©2002 - 2026 Charles Wiegand