Smokewood is a rural design retreat in the deep countryside of Garzón, on the border with Rocha, less than half an hour from the village and its restaurant scene. The MAPA studio built it as an annex to an existing farmhouse, and the result, published in Dwell magazine, is a piece of contemporary architecture set among rolling grasslands. It runs entirely off-grid, with solar panels, batteries and an automatic backup generator.

Inside there are three bedrooms for up to six people, a fully equipped kitchen, a living and dining room, spaces for yoga and meditation, air conditioning, a laundry room, internet and satellite TV: isolated from everything yet connected at the same time, as its owners put it — the family of Jamie Lisette, who fell in love with Uruguay in 2018. It rents year-round, with rates from around 350 dollars per day. For groups and families who want real countryside with full comfort.