Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
Tuesday, January 15th, 2008Yesterday we took a high-speed hydrofoil from Buenos Aires to the sleepy town of Colonia in Uruguay. Originally settled by the Portuguese in the 1600´s this town still retains much of its old world charm. The trip took a little less than an hour and we were able to walk from the boat dock to the old town by foot. It was blistering hot, and coupled with the humidity, made for another sticky day.
After arriving we strolled through the town and had lunch at a nearby restaurant. We then toured the old town weaving our way through the cobble stone streets and stopping frequently for cerveza breaks. We also paid about $.60 to climb to the top of the lone tall structure in town, a lighthouse, to survey our surroundings.
It was great to get out of the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires for a day and just kick back and relax. The only downside of the day was our attempt to get back to Buenos Aires. Apparently, the road from Buenos Aires to Uruguay was closed because of a worker´s strike so everyone who commutes to Uruguay had to take the ferry. We had to wait about 4 hours to catch a return ferry home and didn´t arrive back at our apartment until 11 p.m. Hot, tired, and thirsty we made our way to a local restaurant and had our first sub par meal in Buenos Aires. Overall, though, it was a great day trip and it was nice to visit another place for a day.
Today may be a day to lay low in Buenos Aires. I just dropped off my laundry for cleaning and it´s about 80º with 80% humidity at 10 a.m. They´re predicting temperatures in the mid-90´s and coupled with the humidity could make it a day to stay close to the A/C.
Jason, we´re all doing well and your wife hasn´t met any Javier´s… yet.
Lastly, I´ve received multiple requests for information on the coutries we´ve visited and the locations where we stayed. Today I´ll post and maintain a page with this information so people interested in a similar trip have some good recommendations.
nkurtz