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Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
Jul. 11th, 2019 11:21 pmOn the Thursday before ArFF (27 June), we had decided to take a day trip over the Rio Plata to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay. This was partly so we could see a new country, but largely because it is a UNESCO World Heritage site only an hour's boat ride away from Buenos Aires. Of course, once you added the fact that you had to be there two hours before to go through the customs procedure, it turned out that the journey wasn't too swift, but then it was an adventure so we were happy. Granted, we ended up being too early and had an hour to kill with an average cup of tea and an alfrejor that no-one particularly liked, but it was an adventure nonetheless.
I had arranged the trip in the UK earlier in June, contacting Fox Amoore to enquire whether he was interested. Upon confirming, I booked three tickets on the Buquebus website, navigating a language change halfway through the transaction when it switched back to Spanish again from English. As it turned out, Fox wasn't too keen on the ultra-early start, requesting that I change the tickets to a later departure. This I managed to do the evening before, going for the noon departure as opposed to the 8:15am one. As it turned out, this was a good move as although it meant four fewer hours in Uruguay, Colonia was a small enough place to get around in the reduced time we had. I had opted to go for the walking tour and packed lunch at a little extra charge, but once we had gotten to Uruguay, what we were given was a bus tour and no food whatsoever. In the end though this turned out to be something of a blessing, as the bus took us around the outskirts of the town, enabling us to see the beautiful pristine beaches upon which the 'Cordoba' sign stood. We took pictures here after a party of fifteen schoolchildren had finished with it, but the highlight of the tour for us was the old Real San Carlos Bullring, which was constructed in the Moorish style in 1908. The bullfighting ring only held eight events and closed down in 1912, a mere two years after it had opened. Since then, it has just slowly rotted away, portraying a forlorn beauty in its delapidation. Most of the structure still stands, but with no investor forthcoming and little demand for a 15,000 seater complex in a town whose population is only double that, it looks like it is doomed to collapse. As we were the only three tourists on this bus, our English speaking guide allowed us a special stop here so we could take more pictures and I must admit it was probably the highlight of the day.
Once the bus tour was over, our kind guide gave us a map of the town with a highlighted walking route, along with instructions to meet the bus back to the harbour at 7pm on a specific street corner. This we took on board before enjoying an amiable amble through the old town, which is set back from the bustling non-descript commercial streets that now form the heart of the place. We reached the old town very swiftly, enjoying the old colonial architecture in the warm winter sun, with the naked trees down each boulevard exposing their beauty to us. Put short, Colonia was stunning, and with it being winter, reasonably quiet. This made the walk incredibly enjoyable and enabled us to see most of the sights unharried. We were also able to climb up the lighthouse to get exceptional panoramic views of the city and the Rio Plata, spying the tall skyscrapers of Buenos Aires on the hazy horizon. Wolfie only went halfway up the lighthouse before turning back, his fear of heights kicking in, while Fox and I climbed all the way to the top, taking in the sights on a rather cramped parapet. In summer it must be hell as there were only four other people up there and it was quite tight, coupled with the fact that we kept bumping into people as we went up and down. Interestingly, the lighthouse (called Faro) was built in the nineteenth century in the remains of a seventeenth century church in which a load of young girls had been slaughtered. This was largely done out of architectural laziness, but the juxtaposition is quite unique.
As we were walking around, we tried to search for some geocaches, with the app telling me there were four in the vicinity. Alas, someone must have done a purge on them as we tried the full quartet, only to discover that all of them had been removed. The cheats were pretty clear as to where they should have been, and I must admit I felt a little disappointed that I was unable to get my Uruguay souvenir badge. Still, it didn't dampen the day at all, as the azure sky, views of the river and the gentle pace we were taking the day made me feel incredibly tranquil, a state that I rarely ever get in. It was also great sharing this experience with Fox, with this being our first tourist experience together, and I think he certainly enjoyed it too. The pace was slow, but we did manage to see all of the key sights in Colonia except the museums, which were pretty much closing by the time we had gotten to the old town at 3pm regardless. The highlights for me included the albescent church, the Iglesia Matriz, in whose window was perched a majestic dove and the remains around here of the old governor's house which were meticulously signposted. This was the Plaza de Armas, a mere two blocks back from the busy streets of modern day Colonia, and yet it felt like a world away. Some of the pristine cobbled squares and colourful old buildings of pastel shade had a picture postcard feel to them and it was hard to believe that this place rivalled Buenos Aires as a key trading centre in the years after it was founded by Manuel Lobo in 1680. We liked the fact that it was founded by a man called Lobo too, it being the Spanish word for wolf. Wolfie in particular enjoyed it. Calle de los Suspiros was perhaps the historical highlight regarding colonial architecture, containing as it did the old town gates and walls.
After exchanging $90 for everyone ($30 each) at a bureau de change on the main high street and checking out the quaint wooden harbour that was surrounded by verdent floaty things, it was back on Calle de los Suspiros where we ended up eating as our first choice restaurant was annoyingly closed, partly because it was winter and partly because it was early. South Americans tend to eat late and most places don't open until after 7pm. With our boat being at 8pm and the bus taking us back to the harbour being at 7pm, this meant there were few options, so instead of going to this asado parrilla recommended by both the guide and our guidebook, we ended up eating average lomo in a touristy restaurant in the heart of old town. Initially we were the only ones in there and the waiting staff clearly looked bored, but it was pleasant enough and did enable us to eat very quickly, meaning we could head over for a swift beer at Barbot on the way back to the bus. Fox had spent much of the day pining for a beer, but we kept him on the straight and narrow with the sightseeing malarky. However, Barbot was a place we did want to try as it's the only microbrewery in the town. Opening at 6pm, we thought we might as well sneak an hour in here before heading back to catch our boat, so you can imagine our surprise when we walked past the place at 6:10pm only to find it closed. However, we did notice a crowd of four or five sat outside and Wolfie thought there was something amiss, urging us to stay a while and observe. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, the barkeep of the place opened up for us and soon we were sat at a table surrounded by chairs stacked on the other tables, drinking a couple of high pedigree beers from their own tanks. The people here were really sweet and as we drank, we watched the Copa America and listened to The Red Hot Chili Peppers, both cultural things seemingly a mainstay for some reason of our time in the region. We also reminisced on such a wonderful day, with the waitress giving us some warm salty popcorn at just the point we needed to leave. This was a shame as I would have stayed here all night but alas we needed to get back to the Argentine capital.
At the bus pick-up point, which was only three blocks from Barbot, the bus was already waiting for us so we boarded and soon were whisked back to the harbour. After going through the same custom procedure as earlier, we grabbed a few cans of fizzy beer from the bar in the utilitarian terminal as we waited to board, with a little confusion about which boat we needed to catch as none of the information signs were operational. We did grab the right one though and enjoyed a couple more beers on the Danish-built boat on the way back to Argentina. Once back in Buenos Aires, we yomped half an hour across the city towards the Recoleta District where Poli and a few of his friends were waiting for us in a bar called Temple Craft. Fox had wanted to go back to Poli's to catch up with these guys, who had arrived in Argentina that day, but we managed to pursuade them all to go out to this bar which rounded off the day perfectly. There were about ten of us there in the end, sat on the balcony on the first floor of the pub. Another microbrewery, Temple Craft have a number of branches dotted around the city and their core range of six beers were all good arbiters of their style. Indeed, Temple Craft was probably our favourite brewery in Argentina, but that may have had something to do with the fact their logo is a wolf and they have a lot of lupine themed artwork around the place. Still, it seemed like a perfect place for furries and it was great meeting a few more ahead of the con. We stayed here about an hour and a half, heading back to our hotel shortly after midnight to prepare for the convention ahead. It had been a tremendous day, one of the highlights of the trip, and we headed back to our lodgings incredibly happy (followed by incredibly desperate for a wee as it was a half hour walk).
I had arranged the trip in the UK earlier in June, contacting Fox Amoore to enquire whether he was interested. Upon confirming, I booked three tickets on the Buquebus website, navigating a language change halfway through the transaction when it switched back to Spanish again from English. As it turned out, Fox wasn't too keen on the ultra-early start, requesting that I change the tickets to a later departure. This I managed to do the evening before, going for the noon departure as opposed to the 8:15am one. As it turned out, this was a good move as although it meant four fewer hours in Uruguay, Colonia was a small enough place to get around in the reduced time we had. I had opted to go for the walking tour and packed lunch at a little extra charge, but once we had gotten to Uruguay, what we were given was a bus tour and no food whatsoever. In the end though this turned out to be something of a blessing, as the bus took us around the outskirts of the town, enabling us to see the beautiful pristine beaches upon which the 'Cordoba' sign stood. We took pictures here after a party of fifteen schoolchildren had finished with it, but the highlight of the tour for us was the old Real San Carlos Bullring, which was constructed in the Moorish style in 1908. The bullfighting ring only held eight events and closed down in 1912, a mere two years after it had opened. Since then, it has just slowly rotted away, portraying a forlorn beauty in its delapidation. Most of the structure still stands, but with no investor forthcoming and little demand for a 15,000 seater complex in a town whose population is only double that, it looks like it is doomed to collapse. As we were the only three tourists on this bus, our English speaking guide allowed us a special stop here so we could take more pictures and I must admit it was probably the highlight of the day.
Once the bus tour was over, our kind guide gave us a map of the town with a highlighted walking route, along with instructions to meet the bus back to the harbour at 7pm on a specific street corner. This we took on board before enjoying an amiable amble through the old town, which is set back from the bustling non-descript commercial streets that now form the heart of the place. We reached the old town very swiftly, enjoying the old colonial architecture in the warm winter sun, with the naked trees down each boulevard exposing their beauty to us. Put short, Colonia was stunning, and with it being winter, reasonably quiet. This made the walk incredibly enjoyable and enabled us to see most of the sights unharried. We were also able to climb up the lighthouse to get exceptional panoramic views of the city and the Rio Plata, spying the tall skyscrapers of Buenos Aires on the hazy horizon. Wolfie only went halfway up the lighthouse before turning back, his fear of heights kicking in, while Fox and I climbed all the way to the top, taking in the sights on a rather cramped parapet. In summer it must be hell as there were only four other people up there and it was quite tight, coupled with the fact that we kept bumping into people as we went up and down. Interestingly, the lighthouse (called Faro) was built in the nineteenth century in the remains of a seventeenth century church in which a load of young girls had been slaughtered. This was largely done out of architectural laziness, but the juxtaposition is quite unique.
As we were walking around, we tried to search for some geocaches, with the app telling me there were four in the vicinity. Alas, someone must have done a purge on them as we tried the full quartet, only to discover that all of them had been removed. The cheats were pretty clear as to where they should have been, and I must admit I felt a little disappointed that I was unable to get my Uruguay souvenir badge. Still, it didn't dampen the day at all, as the azure sky, views of the river and the gentle pace we were taking the day made me feel incredibly tranquil, a state that I rarely ever get in. It was also great sharing this experience with Fox, with this being our first tourist experience together, and I think he certainly enjoyed it too. The pace was slow, but we did manage to see all of the key sights in Colonia except the museums, which were pretty much closing by the time we had gotten to the old town at 3pm regardless. The highlights for me included the albescent church, the Iglesia Matriz, in whose window was perched a majestic dove and the remains around here of the old governor's house which were meticulously signposted. This was the Plaza de Armas, a mere two blocks back from the busy streets of modern day Colonia, and yet it felt like a world away. Some of the pristine cobbled squares and colourful old buildings of pastel shade had a picture postcard feel to them and it was hard to believe that this place rivalled Buenos Aires as a key trading centre in the years after it was founded by Manuel Lobo in 1680. We liked the fact that it was founded by a man called Lobo too, it being the Spanish word for wolf. Wolfie in particular enjoyed it. Calle de los Suspiros was perhaps the historical highlight regarding colonial architecture, containing as it did the old town gates and walls.
After exchanging $90 for everyone ($30 each) at a bureau de change on the main high street and checking out the quaint wooden harbour that was surrounded by verdent floaty things, it was back on Calle de los Suspiros where we ended up eating as our first choice restaurant was annoyingly closed, partly because it was winter and partly because it was early. South Americans tend to eat late and most places don't open until after 7pm. With our boat being at 8pm and the bus taking us back to the harbour being at 7pm, this meant there were few options, so instead of going to this asado parrilla recommended by both the guide and our guidebook, we ended up eating average lomo in a touristy restaurant in the heart of old town. Initially we were the only ones in there and the waiting staff clearly looked bored, but it was pleasant enough and did enable us to eat very quickly, meaning we could head over for a swift beer at Barbot on the way back to the bus. Fox had spent much of the day pining for a beer, but we kept him on the straight and narrow with the sightseeing malarky. However, Barbot was a place we did want to try as it's the only microbrewery in the town. Opening at 6pm, we thought we might as well sneak an hour in here before heading back to catch our boat, so you can imagine our surprise when we walked past the place at 6:10pm only to find it closed. However, we did notice a crowd of four or five sat outside and Wolfie thought there was something amiss, urging us to stay a while and observe. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, the barkeep of the place opened up for us and soon we were sat at a table surrounded by chairs stacked on the other tables, drinking a couple of high pedigree beers from their own tanks. The people here were really sweet and as we drank, we watched the Copa America and listened to The Red Hot Chili Peppers, both cultural things seemingly a mainstay for some reason of our time in the region. We also reminisced on such a wonderful day, with the waitress giving us some warm salty popcorn at just the point we needed to leave. This was a shame as I would have stayed here all night but alas we needed to get back to the Argentine capital.
At the bus pick-up point, which was only three blocks from Barbot, the bus was already waiting for us so we boarded and soon were whisked back to the harbour. After going through the same custom procedure as earlier, we grabbed a few cans of fizzy beer from the bar in the utilitarian terminal as we waited to board, with a little confusion about which boat we needed to catch as none of the information signs were operational. We did grab the right one though and enjoyed a couple more beers on the Danish-built boat on the way back to Argentina. Once back in Buenos Aires, we yomped half an hour across the city towards the Recoleta District where Poli and a few of his friends were waiting for us in a bar called Temple Craft. Fox had wanted to go back to Poli's to catch up with these guys, who had arrived in Argentina that day, but we managed to pursuade them all to go out to this bar which rounded off the day perfectly. There were about ten of us there in the end, sat on the balcony on the first floor of the pub. Another microbrewery, Temple Craft have a number of branches dotted around the city and their core range of six beers were all good arbiters of their style. Indeed, Temple Craft was probably our favourite brewery in Argentina, but that may have had something to do with the fact their logo is a wolf and they have a lot of lupine themed artwork around the place. Still, it seemed like a perfect place for furries and it was great meeting a few more ahead of the con. We stayed here about an hour and a half, heading back to our hotel shortly after midnight to prepare for the convention ahead. It had been a tremendous day, one of the highlights of the trip, and we headed back to our lodgings incredibly happy (followed by incredibly desperate for a wee as it was a half hour walk).
