La Paloma lighthouse-lane cabin

La Paloma sits on Uruguay's Rocha coast, 240 kilometres east of Montevideo, on a small peninsula ending at the tall red-and-white Cabo Santa Maria lighthouse. Unlike its more famous cousin Punta del Este, La Paloma has stayed low-rise, calm and residential — a town that lives all year round rather than a summer-only resort, with a stable population, good schools and a mature village economy. This two-bedroom, 70 square-metre cabin sits one quiet residential street back from Playa La Balconada, a short bike ride from the town centre and the lighthouse.

The cabin is a comfortable, well-cared-for example of Uruguayan coastal construction — plastered brick under a red concrete-tile roof, wooden ceilings inside, tiled floors, an open-plan kitchen-living-dining room and two double bedrooms sharing a good bathroom. There is a fenced garden of pines and tussock grass front and back, off-street parking and a small covered galpon for bicycles, kayaks and boards. Utilities are all municipal and the house is fully rateable and titled.

Uruguay's foreign-ownership rules are among the friendliest in Latin America. Non-residents can hold freehold title in their own name on identical terms to citizens and there is no restriction on repatriating rental income or sale proceeds. Property taxes are moderate and the local banking system is straightforward. La Paloma has been on the radar of European and Argentine second-home owners for decades, and small residential cabins in the town remain accessible.

Playa La Balconada is a 250 metre walk. It is a gently curved golden beach with a couple of protective rocky outcrops that give it more shelter than the wilder open beaches further east — good for swimming and paddling, adequate for surfing, and a favourite of families. A ten-minute cycle along the coast road takes you past Playa El Cabito (small, popular with local families), Los Botes (the small-boat fishing beach) and onwards to Playa Anaconda, La Aguada and Playa Bahia Grande, each with its own personality. The town has a Devoto supermarket, several bakeries, a couple of banks, a small hospital, and a busy strip of restaurants and cafés on the main street. Buses run daily to Montevideo; Rocha's Laguna de Rocha wetlands and the wild beaches around La Pedrera and Cabo Polonio are all within an easy day trip.