Colonia de Sacramento

Monday 18th April 2011
With an 8:30am ferry to catch, we were up early to head to the port. After an hour ride across the River Plate, we arrived in Uruguay and more specifically a place more commonly known as Colonia. This was to be our 5th and final country of the trip and we were intrigued to spot any differences to Argentina.

 

Nice colours.

We were blessed with perfect blue sky and it really helped us feel we were in a very special place. It's a pretty town, with lots of old buildings, cobbled streets and open spaces. It's surrounded by water on three sides so you have great views of the river.

After lunch we visited a couple of museums. Casa Nacarello is a pretty colonial house preserved in the Portuguese style. It was a small house, so after 5 minutes we were done. Next door the Museo Municipal housed random artefacts from around the town, including a ghastly display of stuffed animals and preserved bugs.

Nice views.



Someone spoiling the nice views.



Alongside the Plaza Mayor is a lighthouse. We climbed to the top and took in the views over the town. As it was a clear day, we were able to see over the water to the skyscrapers in BA.

Old car.

There are loads of old cars here, and we mean old. Around the cobbled streets there are classic motors from the first half of the 20th century in various conditions. We even saw one with a tree growing in it. We also saw a burgundy Austin Maestro. It was like stepping back 20 years.

Yet another sunset, how romantic.

With so much water, we settled in with the locals (and their Mate) to watch the sunset. This was spectacular and reminiscent of those during the first half of our trip.

Currency: whilst Uruguay has its own currency, it's also common for the shops and restaurants to accept others. One place we visited accepted the Argentine peso, the Brazilian real, the US dollar and the euro along with the Uruguayan peso. Staying for five days, we decided to get some local cash to save ourselves any confusion.

Tuesday 19th April 2011

James and the buggy.

There are a few things to see around Colonia, so we decided to hire our first vehicle of the trip-a golf buggy. The only roads we weren't allowed on were route 1 and 26 so we set off about town to have a look around.

After our first buggy didn't start, it wasn't too much of a surprise that our second backfired through the day. The amount of smoke it produced was something close to a Bond car creating a smoke screen! It kept going though, so good news.

Falling down bull ring.

First stop was the Mihanovich project. Back at the turn of the 20th century this Argentine entrepreneur spent $1.5m building a tourist complex. The bullring, 3000 seat fronton and hotel/casino are either gone or falling to pieces. Only the racecourse functions today. It must have been amazing, but today it is all rather sad.
   

The racecourse, still in use.

Anyone for tickets?

We headed to the Ferrando beach to have a little picnic. We were not alone and were joined throughout by a dog. He happily shared our crinkly crisps. We had a nice walk and it was hot enough to sunbathe, although probably not to go into the water.

The happy couple.

After more driving we headed back to the centre for a look at the old city walls, ruins and Uruguay's oldest church.

The oldest church.

After yesterday's spectacular show, we grabbed a beer and sat on the peer watching the sunset. We were entertained by a man sitting on his boat smoking a huge cigar. We imagine he did this a lot.

We could see a storm brewing over in BA and a few hours later the heavens opened on us. Luckily we were tucked up in our room contemplating our penultimate stop the next day, Montevideo.