Uruguay in a Day

A day trip to Uruguay from Buenos Aires, it was an opportunity too good to miss. Okay not all of Uruguay and not even the capital Montevideo. Instead a one hour ferry ride to Colonia de Sacramento from BA.

And here's a tip. You can join the throng of tourists at the Buquebus terminal and buy your ticket for your journey: Or you can buy your passage via Seacat Seacat Website . For some reason this is much cheaper and yet still gets you aboard the Buquebus service. I bought directly from the Seacat, saved a lot of money, walked upto the terminal and boarded the service.
From the ferry terminal in Colonia walk to your left and within ten minutes you are entering the old town, a world heritage site. You are greeted by cobbled streets and buildings which date back to the late years of the 19th century or early days of the 20th. To one side of the central square is a lighthouse (faro) which you can ascend for a couple of dollars. Do not worry about getting your money exchanged; everywhere in Colonia will take Argentine Pesos or the ubiquitous US dollar.
One of the other wonders of Colonia is the high number of cars (automobiles) that whist far from vintage, were probably last seen on our roads two decades ago. One example is the Hillman/Talbot/Chrysler Avenger, pictured here. 
Along the tree lined streets Colonia boasts some quite beautiful photogenic buildings in a colonial style. Despite the vastness of the ferry bringing tourists over from Argentina, Colonia never feels overpowered by visitors. There are number of restaurants offering simple tasty dishes around the central plaza.
Before leaving there was time to check out the old railway station. One could only imagine the numbers of people and the freight that was transported from here to Montevideo in its hey-day. Then it was back to BA. Customs and immigration were relatively straight forward coming and going and a memorable sunny day in Uruguay could be reflected upon.

A view from of the old town from the lighthouse.


Finally a bit of fun. You can buy these bottle openers in the town. Football (soccer) fans will know it depicts Uruguay star player Luis Suarez. Luis has been in the trouble with the authorities over the years as he is prone to biting opponents. Here is Uruguay's comedic answer for their hungry striker.

Location: Uruguay

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