Yuuum! Taste this cheese!" offered Amy, a young journalist from Toronto, before she nibbled away at another bite of white cheddar. "I don't think I've ever had cheese that tasted salty, sweet, and tangy all at the same time. This is the best I've ever had!"

The cheese was exceptionally good, its intensely buttery and spicy flavor unlike any domesticated brand found on the grocery shelves of America. But perhaps that's because it's locally handmade at Narbona winery on the outskirts of Carmelo, on Uruguay's western river coast.

The second smallest nation on the South American continent, the pint-sized Uruguay, a relatively undiscovered destination for Americans, lies in the central to southern coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. Its neighbor to the north is Brazil, while it bridges with Argentina to the west and south. Uruguay's population, which numbers around four million, thanks to its open-door immigration policy, is steeped with European ancestry, with nearly everyone descended from Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.

The capital of this diminutive country is Montevideo, where most of the residents live, and which is home to Carnaval, a spirited festival of costumed drummers and street entertainers that takes place on the Monday and Tuesday immediately preceding Ash Wednesday.
Any time of the year is great for a visit to Uruguay, as it's never too hot or too cold, although high winds, seasoned with the purest of air, sometimes ride in from the Atlantic and mingle with breezes scented with peppery eucalyptus and pine.

While just a few thousand feet of the ancient waters of the Rio de la Plata separate the western edge of Uruguay from Argentina, the two countries are nothing if not worlds apart. While Argentina is fast, popping, and sizzling with energy, Uruguay offers a quiet, laid back strength that pulses with tranquility and solitude amidst the muffled sounds of the South American forest or the clatter of an old pickup truck, its bed overloaded with fruit, as it winds its way down a dirt road bound for the farmers market or a roadside stand.

Uruguay's natural beauty is quite unexpected, and the tapestry of its coast along the Rio de la Plata - known in English as the "river of silver" - is embroidered with a cache of surprises: tiny villages brimming over with antiques and artwork, bicycle and walking trails that reveal the hushed splendor of the countryside, wineries that produce aromatic and flavorful wines, and even a casino or two complete with the "ka-ching-ka-ching-ka-ching" of slot machines. (CONTINUED...)