Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

Just three hours north of Punta del Este on the Uruguayan banks of the Rio del la Plata sits Colonia del Sacramento, one of the oldest established townships in all of South America… It’s fascinating history and prime location directly across the river from Buenos Aires makes it a popular day trip for city dwellers and tourists alike. After our amazing experience at the Di Tella farmstead in Maldonado, we checked into the Don Antonio Posada (www.donantonioposada.com) in Colonia for three nights and found this to be more than enough time to explore the town’s historical center and beach life.

The town itself is very small but crammed with sites of historical interest, tree lined beaches, restaurants, cafes, and tacky gift shops: everything a tourist could possibly need to stay entertained! The Portuguese and the Spanish battled over Colonia for nearly 100 years beginning in the mid 1600’s, trying to firmly establish a base for exports to Europe from the Plata river valley… During this time they managed to build, destroy, and then rebuild the city many times over…. What remains today is quaint and picturesque: ancient-looking cobbled streets winding towards the banks of the river; tree lined squares with crumbling cathedrals and timbered houses; the ruins of fortresses and convents built and abandoned. Although the overall feel of the place is very commercialized, it somehow manages to retain a bit of local Uruguayan flavour, despite the presence of large buses carting hoards of camera wielding tourists at most points of interest. We were once again lucky to be visiting in the off-season; we were told that numbers would really increase just after the new year.

One of the coolest things we did in Colonia was to rent a little golf cart, which became our sole mode of transport around town. Paul did all the driving (providing me with a much needed break from being behind the wheel) and Rachel and I were left to sit back and take in the scenery at a sedate 15 mph. We really enjoyed the beautiful Ferrando beach and state park, which lies just outside the center of town, as well as the early 20th century ruins of a bull ring and hotel build by a Russian entrepreneur (who subsequently went bankrupt and left the project to decay).

It was hard to head back to BA, knowing that we would be facing the struggle of packing up once again and saying goodbye to our new friends in South America… but also looking forward to Australia and new roads ahead! More soon from Oz! xxx Jason