For example, Uruguay was the first country in the world to fully legalize cannabis and in 2014 passed a law on same-sex marriages. The institutional influence of the Catholic Church is small, and in the so-called corruption index, Uruguay ranks 21st, ahead of Austria.
The largely flat land is mainly benefiting from its 660 km long Atlantic coast and the rural, nostalgic charm of its small towns. A pearl among these is the contemplative Colonia de Sacramento, which is less than two hours away from the metropolis of Buenos Aires.
During the high season, which runs from mid-December to late January, Uruguay’s sometimes swanky seaside resorts such as Punta del Este and José Ignacio attract Argentine and Brazilian money nobility as well as stars and starlets from the Latin American show business.
Their charm is, however, developed outside of this period when the beaches have emptied out and the prices have normalized again.