What's up, Colonia, what's up?

I won't be able to resist a good plaque. What's up, Colonia, what's up?


Have I mentioned that I tend to get overexcited about historical places? That I collect UNESCO sites like souvenir shot glasses? Fortunately, 'Barrio Historico,' is the main attraction in Colonia, so the second we stepped off the bus from Montevideo I made a beeline.


Parry walking the old railroad tracks into the historic district.


Parry and I met Couchsurfing at Alex's house in Montevideo-- he lives in New Delhi, but he'd been on an assignment for work in BsAs since January and was heading back to the city at the same time as me. We decided to use our last day of vacation to explore Colonia together before crossing the Rio de la Plata once again.






Beautiful, car-free cobblestone streets


For a small city, Colonia del Sacramento has been a highly disputed one. Possession ping-ponged back and forth between Portugal and Spain for almost 200 years, and even Brazil had claim for awhile, but it's been part of Uruguay since the early 1800s. While the city has served as a smuggler's port in the past, it's now got everything a quaint tourist town should.



Ruins to climb in




 Hand-painted ceramic signs



 Old school cars




And a giant chess set made from recycled pop bottles. Your move, niño.




And of course, a charming lighthouse




Heading up!







As a short person, you wouldn't think this would be a problem, but in reality I should just start carrying a sign like this around with me.




Back down we go. Yes, I counted the steps... and yes, I have now forgotten how many I counted. A lot.


We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around with no particular agenda, popping in and out of little artisan shops, pausing by the murky waterfront and exchanging stories about our temporary home.



Chivito for dinner- traditional Uruguayan sandwich, with a thin, juicy slice of beef and all the trimmings. I would have gotten a picture of our decadent dessert-- a huge, frozen ball of vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate-- but that would have required putting down my spoon, which was not gonna happen.


Soon it was time to board the Buquebus-- Parry had a ticket for a later boat, so we said goodbye at immigration with promises to find new adventures together in Argentina someday soon.


 Boarding the ferry at sunset

And I thought my boat coming over was big-- this one had multiple floors, with snack areas, a huge duty-free shop and a mini-arcade!



Seriously, you could run laps in this thing.


Before you knew it, I was back at home in BsAs, sorting through handouts for class the next day. Upon leaving a new country, I'm often overwhelmed by the goodbye-- not only to those I've met, but to the place itself.  This time, however, I decided not to exchange my leftover Uruguayan pesos. I'll have to do another visa run one of these days, but even if that wasn't the case, something tells me that Uruguay and I haven't seen the last of each other. So-- ciao for now, Uruguay. Nos vemos.



Love from,


Kerk