Day Trip to Uruguay

Tuesday, 23 April, 2013

This is the view from my hotel window in Buenos Aires and today I sailed past here in a giant ferry on my way to Uruguay.   The tour originally had a day trip to Uruguay as an optional excursion, but it was cancelled - something to do with an argument between the operator and the Argentine government over additional taxes. Arlene, from Fort Collins, Colorado, was keen to go and we discovered that we could  book an identical trip from the ferry terminal - so off we went.  Another beautiful day, a fully loaded ferry (the roll-on-roll-off car ferry type) and us sitting in first class because there were no seats left in tourist.  We departed at 9 am and being a "rapido" ferry, we docked at Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay an hour later.   The crossing of the Rio de la Plata (River Plate) was very smooth and there was nothing to see except for the vast, shallow river.  It is not the widest part (140 km) of the river here but it is still like being at sea rather than being on a river.

                                           Arriving at the port of Colonia de Sacramento

 With some relief we watched most of the passengers board buses to Montevideo - for a while it seemed like half of Buenos Aires was on the excursion with us.  Fortunately only a handful of tourist type people got on the bus for downtown Colonia - in other words the historic area of this town of 20,000 people.
Colonia sits on a peninsula which juts out into the river.  Driving along the main central street there are views down tree lined side streets to the water on either side.  The trees are huge (plane trees, I think, but not pollarded as they are in Europe) and just beginning to turn to autumn colours.

       

Here comes the Turistico Bus - typical Colonia street.

 Colonia was originally settled by the Portuguese and I was reminded of Portugal in the houses - white-washed with blue or gold trim around the doors and window frames.  The plaques with street names are also typically Portuguese, although I was informed that they are replicas of the originals.   As we arrived in the centre of the town we saw some quite grand Spanish colonial buildings, some a bit dilapidated, but others well preserved and used as public buildings.  The streets are all cobblestone and all are tree lined. Many locals were out and about and the many cafes with tables outdoors on the pavements were gearing up for the lunch time trade.  There seems to be a trend here to use old cars as decorative items outside cafes and shops - and they are beautifully turned out!

                                                Open for lunch - pretty café in the main square.

We had a very well planned trip, everything included, so our first activity was a guided walk around the oldest part of the historic town.  Our tour party, the English language one, consisted of Arlene and me and two French women, plus our lovely guide who was obviously very proud of her pretty town.
We wandered the streets, stopping here and there to hear snippets of history from Colonia's glory days.  Some of the streets appear to have changed little over the centuries.  In the oldest part of town the little streets, or passageways lead from a central square to the river. There are some  handsome, large and very old trees giving shade to the square. It is a peaceful place with no commercial activity except for a couple of small museums which we didn't have time to visit. The trees are full of twittering birds.
 

                             Oldest street in Colonia - just inside the remains of the old city walls

                                           Typical old Portuguese passageway with the river below

  Looking across the square, past the flowering kapok tree, to the lighthouse

 Houses in the square

 Kapok in bloom.

With just a few streets to explore we soon arrived at the main square which surrounds the site of the former governor's house - now just a few stone foundations.  This seems to be the hub of the old town with restaurants, a couple of shops and the church which was built by the Portuguese in the 1600s.

                                                           First church in Colonia

We had a quick look in side - a simple interior - and then dashed off to catch the tourist bus for our trip up the coast.  English language headphones were very useful for identifying landmarks. We drove through the newer part of the town where most people live - it was unremarkable and looked a bit run down.  Most of the drive was along a coastal road - sandy beaches and a promenade on one side and holiday apartments on the other.   The interesting thing is that there are gum trees along the shoreline  Offshore are a couple of small islands which apparently have a bloody history - various battles between the native population, the Portuguese, the Spanish and even the English.  The river looks pretty clean, but a bit brown at the edges.  Many Uruguayans and Buenos Aires residents have made Colonia a vacation town but the economic woes of the two countries have reduced the investment in holiday facilities and a large number of  "se vende" signs are in evidence on properties along the coast.   The road ends at a golf course and Sheraton hotel.  Here again there are many large summer homes for sale.

                                                           Riverside beach, Colonia

Along the way se saw the ruins of a bullring - it only operated for two years before animal rights activists had it closed and also the ruins of a  huge pelota stadium - also no longer in use.  It did seem rather strange to have facilities for a Basque game this far away from Europe.  Maybe the Spanish who settled here came from the Basque country.

Back in the historic town we had a quick look at a local craft market and then enjoyed a leisurely lunch (included in the ticket price) in the sunshine at the Compando Restaurant.

                                                     Compando Restaurant, Colonia

Time for a quick look at some shops and then on to the bus and back to the port for the ferry journey to Buenos Aires.  The boat was less crowded and Arlene and I both fell asleep on the crossing.  Peak hour traffic was crazy back in BA so we decided that walking to the hotel would be quicker than taking a cab.  I think all 45,000 BA cabs were at the ferry terminal building when we arrived!  Early night needed, although I did stop at the Lobby Bar for a farewell cappuccino with Brenda who sadly is due to return home to Shreveport, Louisiana. It has been a lot of fun running around with her and her southern drawl (she left her hubby back home -"he don't like to fly").  I introduced her to the joys of  cappuccino which much to my amazement she knew nothing about, being a black coffee girl.  Needless to say I have a convert.  Did I mention that the coffee in South America is outstanding! Arlene is also a great travelling companion - she is with her fellow, Joe, but he has limited  mobility and doesn't always come on excursions. 

Sailing in to Buenos Aires Ferry Terminal - Sheraton Hotel on the right.