Blogs from West, Uruguay, South America - page 22

We had caught a ferry across to Uruguay for a few days but needed to be back in Buenos Aires for a football match. We left the capital, Montevideo by bus in the morning to go back to the port of Colonia & arrived early in the afternoon. Our hostel where we had stayed before was expecting us so we were perplexed by their puzzled looks when we turned up. It was as if we had just knocked on some random persons door & asked to stay. They asked our names & repeated Sam & Luke several times until saying 'Oh Sam & Luke'. All very odd but they had a room for us. Having seen nearly all of Colonia a few days previously we were at a loss for something to do, so we did ... read more

Across the Río de la Plata from Buenos Aires lies Colonia del Sacramento, one of Uruguay's tourist spots. A ferry service links Argentina's capital city with Uruguay's oldest town. Step out of the UNESCO World Heritage Site historical centre and there's not a whole lot going on in Colonia, though this is what seems to appeal to the Porteños who visit the place for a bit of r&r. Beyond the barrio histórico's cobbled streets there's a practically abandoned amusement park featuring, amongst other things, a disused bull-ring. Underestimating the length of the walk there, however, we had to turn back in order not to miss the bus to Montevideo. The idea of a quick paddle was finally rejected given the increasingly chilly temperatures; by the time we got to Montevideo a couple of hours later it ... read more

Well we finally made it to a second country! Take that Chile and your stupid snow... Linda and Ewan were heading downtown Buenos Aires so we even got a lift to our hostel. Not near as nice as Milhouse where we stayed when we first arrived, and the location was the pits. But we went for a long walk right down the waterfront through Puerto Madero past all the swanky restaurants and boats and things. Very nice walk. Got the boat dock and picked up our tickets to Uruguay, then trudged back to the hostel through the Florida shopping strip. It was craziness, people EVERYWHERE, people tangoing, singing, a million little shops. Full of life these Argentines are. The hostel we stayed in wasn´t in the best of neighbourhoods so we ventured across the street for ... read more

I spent Saturday morning through Sunday evening in Colonia, Uruguay, an old town on an island off the coast of Uruguay in the Rio de la Plata. I very much enjoyed my time on this island who's stuck between the tides of colonial history and modern tourism. It is the summer home of many a Porteno and many of the stores and restaurants are even owned by Argentines, not Uruguyans. One of my proffessors, from Uruguay, came with us and his family and in the hotel he was known as "The Uruguayan," in his own country!! Saturday was rather gloomy, lots of clouds, lots of rain. We took a little tour of the island that made me realize just how fabulous our tours in Buenos Aires with a history professor at the University of Buenos Aires ... read more

Colonia is a small, touristy town in Uruguay a 2 hour ferry ride across the river from Buenos Aires. It´s a very old city, and has a well preserved historic district. Its a nice, tranquil day trip, and just as important, I got a new visa.... read more