Uruguayan Social Customs and Political Environment

* Every season guest who join Los Gauchos Outfitters for waterfowl hunting in Uruguay ask us to provide them with more information about the country, and its people.  For this reason, we have provided this page in our website for your reference.  We hope you will find it helpful and informative.

If you are planning your first trip to Uruguay, we commend you.  Known as the “Switzerland of South America”, this little jewel of a country has many great things to offer its visitors—a lot more than simply great Uruguay duck hunting!

Uruguay has spectacular beaches with clear, crystal blue water, and delightful people.  Uruguayans are known for their warm and friendly demeanor, and pleasant manners. 

The government in Uruguay is one of the most politically stable of all nations in South America, and the supporting infrastructure in this country is first-world—from telecommunications to transportation, and even the banking and shipping business, Uruguay is state of the art.

For most of its existence, Uruguay has been a prosperous country—even a welfare state, but beginning in about 1951, the economy experienced stagnation, and poverty began to rear its ugly head.  The hard times gave way to instability, and the takeover of a kangaroo courts and a military government in 1972. 

This was very unfortunate for Uruguay, because it was know as a largely progressive country in South America, and now its future was in jeopardy of descending into the same level of poverty and squalor that much of the other countries on the continent suffered from. 

This was not good for the elite landowners.  Not only were they being taxed to death, they were in danger of having their firearms confiscated, along with many of their other civil rights that were being flushed down the toilet by the fascist military government.  Duck hunting in Uruguay was the last thing on any sportsman’s mind, and even those who traveled the world over in search of sport, Uruguay was not even on the radar screen for the most adventurous of travelers.

The good news is that those days are long past, and there is no indication of any retreat back toward a military government.  This was tested in 2002 when the Argentine economy disintegrated.  Uruguay’s peso also took a huge hit and the country went through a terrible recession that did not recover until late 2006. 

Los Gauchos began operations in Uruguay in 2003, and it was an excellent time to open a Uruguay duck hunting operation, as the dollar was at an all time high against the Uruguayan peso.  Since then, the dollar has diminished in value and the peso has gained against the dollar—only in the last few months of 2008 did the dollar again to gain back its ground against the peso. 

Culinary Delights of Uruguay

Like its big brother next door, Argentina, Uruguayans have a penchant for delicious beef, and consume almost every part of the cow.  The tongue is even considered a delicacy, and is served as an “entrada”, or appetizer.  Other parts include the kidneys, and stomach parts.  Even though this might not sound very good, these cuts are surprisingly delicious, and are a favorite of Los Gauchos’ clients that are duck hunting in Uruguay.

Unlike Argentina however, seafood is also a very popular dish.  It takes all on forms, from delicious sea bass to all varieties of shellfish, including shrimp, mussels, and scallops.  Calamari is also a delicious treat, and it is served at nearly every restaurant in Montevideo. 

Although the wines in Uruguay are not as sumptuous as those grown in Argentina and Chile, part of Uruguay lies on the 33rd parallel, where all of the wines in South America are grown.  Uruguay has one unique grape, the Tannat, which is used to make the wine of the same name.  The most famous wine-growing region in Uruguay is the department (county) of Cannelones, located about an hour outside of the booming metropolis of Montevideo.

The duck hunting in Uruguay is quickly becoming a part of its history. Los Gauchos began it's duck hunting operation over 5 years ago, and has seen the duck hunting getting better and better. The little hunting pressure, the abundance of rice fields and the outstanding ability of Los Gauchos to provide a quality duck hunting trip is what it is all about. History being made with Los Gauchos - experience the Uruguay duck hunting today.

We cannot say enough good things about Uruguay…one must simply experience it to understand.  Traveling to Uruguay is easy, and the country is amazingly safe, and impossibly affordable compared to the South of France or Northern Spain—but with the same look and feel, and friendlier people.  

See for yourself with our videos, all recently shot and aired on the Outdoor Channel and Versus Channel. Contact Los Gauchos about seeing Uruguay for yourself!