Rosie and The Operator are crossing the immense Rio De La Plata River by ferry from Buenos Aires to visit the small town of Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay for the day. We are leaving on the early morning sailing and will return in the evening. Rosie does not know a lot about this town in Uruguay other than it is very old and is an easily achieved popular day trip from Buenos Aires, we will learn as we go.
Bequebus Terminal Waiting for the Ferry – Buenos Aires
We are crossing international borders so, out comes the passport and in goes a multitude of goodbye Argentina stamps on the way out of the country, one shuffle step to the side is the Uruguay desk….they too welcome us into Uruguay (from Argentina) with a multitude of passport stamps. Excellent and easy, it means no mucking around with customs when we get there!
We caught the Bequebus Ferry direct to Colonia del Sacramento. The crossing from Buenos Aires to Colonia took 1hour 15 mins and cost $80US each for return tickets. We Arrived in Colonia at 0945 and caught the ferry back at 1700. It does pay to book online in advance as these tickets can get sold out, especially on weekends and there are limited sailings. The ferry crossing is quick, smooth and the river stretches for as far as the eye can see with barely a ripple on its brown surface.
The arrivals terminal is right on the edge of the town so walking around is easy, heading towards the old town and passing a few of the local business….Rosie and The Operator look sideways at each other, grin, and say why not! We have all day to explore and what better way to get around the outlying areas and beaches….than to hire a golf cart…serious! $30 gave you an all-day hire! A few others were signing up and it looked like a laugh and so much fun.
Most of the other tourists seemed to have opted for the cute newly painted whisper quiet electric carts…Rosie and the Operator ended up with a petrol engine, gear clunking, smoke belching beast that didn’t really want to start until it had whirred and chugged and coughed for so long after pushing the button that you clapped and breathed a sigh of relief when it caught.
We were off, in the fresh morning air following the curve of the waters edge to check out the ‘beaches’, remember there is no sea…this is a river, yet they have sandy beaches and folk were fishing and apparently swim in the murky water in summer. Rosie has heard that you can wade out for miles and the river will only be as deep as your knees. Still, deep enough however for sharks…yes, they have shark nets enclosing the beaches in some areas. The bull sharks swim thousands of kilometers up the rivers from the sea and can be….very hungry.
Yay, Rosie has found the town sign for a photograph….I wont be a minute said Rosie… just leave the cart idling. Flash new houses were being built everywhere there was spare ground and a water view to be had along the beach front.
Out into the suburbs of Colonia we putted. The roads became broken and unsealed but the neighborhood streets and the fenced sections were basic yet pretty tidy. There are always some exceptions though…but it just adds to the quirkiness of a place…unless you live next door.
Oh Rosie, don’t forget the back yard whale skeleton…as you do.
One of the main attractions on the outskirts of the town is the abandoned bull ring. Which reflects the grand Spanish history of this wee town. We could not enter it as it was pretty decrepit…we raced around it at 110 decibels with Rosie hanging on inside the open golf cart cage for dear life.
A beautiful old church sits on the edge of town, this is one of the first churches to be built in the country. Still standing, having been built by the original settlers in 1680. It is so tiny, plain and simple.
Driving around and into town proper, Rosie cannot believe how beautiful the streets are. They are all lined each side by giant trees. Naked in the winter sunshine but in Rosie’s minds eye what a sight when fully clothed in summer!
Founded in 1680, Colonia is the oldest town in Uruguay. It has a beautiful cobblestoned colorful Old Town which reflects its Portuguese and Spanish history and is home today to 21,000 people. The town is built on a peninsula jutting out into the river and is surrounded by the Rio de la Plata on three sides. This made the town a wee stronghold back in the day and Colonia acted as an entry gateway to the mines of Peru and its vast rich agricultural lands.
Rosie and The Operator park up their golf cart and secure it to a post with a large chain link, motorcycle lock and prepare for a wander in the sun. The Old Town is pretty small and compact and the gateway to the historic quarter is a drawbridge called Puerta de la Ciudadela, leading into what used to be the towns fortress and main entrance.
Calle de los Suspiros is lined with houses dating back to that first colonial settlement of 1680 and looks so beautiful. Mind your step on the cobbles Rosie they are totally treacherous!
The most important landmark in Colonia is the Convent of San Francisco, the first to be built when the Spanish came to try and convert the locals. This was reduced to ruins during a fire in the 1700s. There is ironically so little of it left…you can see THE remaining wall attached to the lighthouse, yes, a lot of imagination needed there.
The Colonia del Sacramento lighthouse itself was built in the early 19th century amongst the rubble of the convent. It’s a nifty small area and all of the tourists congregate and take photos, a small trinket market place sits underneath the trees bordering this area.
The town of Colonia passed between warring Portuguese and Spanish rule for decades, and the influence is apparent in the colonial architecture and vibrant streetscapes. So many people were visiting the town and along with the sunny skies the vibe was excellent, everyone was cruising and looking for a seat outside in the wintery warm sun.
Across the square in the grass is the ruins of the Governors house from the 17th cent, it’s just foundations really, another dose of good imagination is needed.
Its also two o’clock, prime lunchtime for this part of the world. Chalkboards announcing the specials of the day are everywhere. Out door, roadside seats are filling up at the restaurants and a questionably talented lady is serenading the crowds near the square. Most of the sightseeing has been done in town and everyone is kicking back and enjoying the renowned slow service, a few bevvies and sunshine before heading back to catch the 5pm ferry.
After lunch we wander again through the cobbly streets where the light is bright and the shadows crisp and dark. Old, broken down, beat up cars are parked on the street and walls are painted brightly.
With one final, obscenely loud, smoke belching lap around town we drop off the golf cart and pay the rental dude two dollars cash for the petrol we used.
Back on the boat, after the obligatory passport stamps farewelling Uruguay and welcoming us back to Argentina from desks steps apart, the smooth sailing quickly puts half the passengers to sleep including Rosie and before you know it, we are back in Buenos Aires.
It was a great day out in this wee town of Colonia del Sacramento. Definitely a side trip to do if you have seen the sights of Buenos Aires and have a day up your sleeve. We visited on a sunny weekend which added to the busyness which wasn’t too busy but had just the right amount of buzz.
Our wonderful two week holiday in Buenos Aires, Argentina is coming to an end as all good things do. Tomorrow Rosie and The Operator will show you around the suburb of San Telmo where we stayed for the duration of our time in the city and tell you why we loved it there.
