Day 7 - Colonia, Uruguay
So now that I've been in Argentina for a week, who am I to pass up on an opportunity to see ANOTHER country (and get more stamps in my passport....lol)?!
Our professors, needing a break from us, kindly suggest a day trip to Colonia, Uruguay for our Free Day. Although my funds are depleting (I will post a lessons learned with some notes about real costs later), I decide to take advantage of the opportunity - it may never come again.
So, for about $50USD i buy a ticket for Colonia, and much stamping and customs/immigration checking ensues. It almost makes me wish I'd actually smuggled something. We end up on a large passenger catamaran traveling from de Puerto de Buenos Aires, and 45 minutes later, we arrive in Uruguay.
More sexxiness below the jump...
That's a sexy beast, isn't it? Well truthfully, it's sexier without than within (click the pic for inside pics). But it's a smooth ride with nice views. aside: for a second or two, the Rio de la Plata resembles the ocean, and you lose sight of both coastlines (damnedeth mine overactive imagination - but scenes of Open Water come to mind).
So, Colonia del Sacramento. It seems to be a sleepy resort town, complete with "ruins" - historical relics of the Portuguese occupation, contrasting with newly built coastal homes, and Spanish influences. We spend most of the day exploring the ruins, checking out the tourist shops, artisan markets and local flavor.
One common thing about the people in the S. American countries we visited: they've got hustle. In all 3, we see examples of the people making positives out of extremely negative circumstances. In Colonia, we find recycled plastic soda bottles, cut into spirals, edges smoothed, and colored vibrantly to make decorative wind catchers. We find scrap aluminum shaped into winged angels, and broken glass turned into smooth necklaces. It seems there's no waste - everything that can be recycled, is recycled.
The coastline provided a beautiful backdrop for romantic walks amongst the rocks, and stolen kisses. Well, no boyfriend (yet) for me, so we keep pushing, to take as much in as possible in our 4 hour excursion. We stumble across a nest of doves, a marching band (below), a lighthouse towering over the whole city, and as the sun bleeds into the water, we head back to Buenos Aires. It was...magical...lol.
There are more pics on Flickr....but we have to hit the hotel and pack. Next stop......
...Laaaaa....la, la, la, la, la, la, la, La....la, la, la, la, la, la, la, La.....la, la, la, la, la, la, la, LA.....Brazil, Brazil.......