EFT II: Colonia
Because you can never have too much education, or field trips, this past Thursday, we all headed off to Colonia, Uruguay. We hopped on a ferry and cruised fora little over an hour before we arrived. This EFT was only a day trip, but served the purpose of getting us out of the country and back in so that those who hadn’t already done so could get their visas approved for another 90 days upon reentry.
The settlement of Colonia del Sacramento, founded in 1680 was the first settlement in Uruguay. It’s historic quarter is still mostly intact and is preserved as a UNESCO world heritage site. (My third so far in South America) While it was founded by the Portuguese, control changed back and forth with the Spanish 8 times plus twice more between Brazil and Argentina before Uruguayan independence in 1828.
Down on the waterfront, sectioned off by the still standing original walls, the historic quarter is still filled with mostly original colonial buildings.
Everyone who lives here is contractually obligated to maintain the original structure as best as possible. From place to place you can tell what timeframe things were built in based on the roads. Portuguese roads have more sporadic and jagged stone placement and look different than the well-ordered Spanish ones.
The Portuguese sucked at road building
It’s also a functioning sea port, that was the main entryway to the Rio de la Plata basin before Buenos Aires.
My mother would appreciate the presence of a historic lighthouse
Being the oldest settlement in the country, virtually everything is “the oldest.” That lighthouse: the oldest, this church: the oldest…
You’ll see many bikes and mopeds zooming around, but full-sized cars aren’t allowed into the old town. (Except this one.)
We got a good dose of Uruguayan cuisine at “The Colonia Rock” restaurant, where we all got a “Chivito,” a giant sandwich piled high with steak, ham, bacon, cheese, fried egg, mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomato. It was the best thing I’d eaten in days. I virtually inhaled it. We then got a couple hours to just soak in the city. I loved the atmosphere. The whole place was just chill and easy going. All the people were incredibly nice, and friendly. They all wanted to practice their English on us, and we all wanted to practice our Spanish on them. Somehow, we met halfway. The crime rate is virtually non-existent, and and everyone smiles and greets you. All the quaint cobblestone streets lead to either a serene park or boardwalk looking out to sea. As the day wound down, we all supported the local economy and bought as much stuff as we could carry. (Uruguayan pesos go 20 for a dollar, and 5 for an Argentine peso.) We said goodbye to Uruguay and hit the open seas back home to B.A.
Once again, I found myself marveling in the laid-back and easy-going atmosphere, and wishing it was here that we could live instead of the big city. This was the kind of place where your soul could breathe. Definitely a return trip.
November 6, 2009 at 11:03 pm
I’m finding your love of the laid back easy-going towns more to your liking than the big cities. People naturally migrate to those large cities to say they’ve been, but I’ve always enjoyed the people in more intimate villages or towns. They’re so happy to see out-of-towners that they are almost always warm and welcoming.