The Magic of Estancia Vik - Now on the cover of Virtuoso
If YOU'RE VISITING URUGUAY from the Northern Hemisphere, you'll notice the moon appears upside down. Instead of spotting a "man" on its face, you might see a rabbit. The stars look different too. You won't find the Big Dipper, but you get the Southern Cross and the trio of sunlike orbs known as Alpha Centauri. My wife and I traveled all the way from California to glimpse these celestial wonders. We'd timed our trip to coincide with a full-moon horseback ride where the grassy, wide open pampas of Uruguay's interior meets the fabulously relaxed beach scene at Jose Ignacio. But already, the country was revealing surprises beyond those overhead. Unlike in neighboring Argentina and Brazil, Uruguay's economy and political climate are remarkably stable, with low levels of poverty, corruption, and inequality. South America's second-smallest country is also the continent's most secular and one of the world's most progressive nations. Uruguay was the first country in the Americas to grant women the right to vote, the first anywhere to legalize marijuana, and a pioneer on same-sex marriage and energy independence. It also ranks high in peace and personal contentment, with low crime rates and few natural hazards such as earthquakes or tropical storms. Driving along the pristine high way from the airport that first night, I told Ruth, "I didn't expect Uruguay to be so easy." #vikvibe @vikjoseigacio
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