Post 107: Colonia del Sacramento

Fellow adventurers,

The trip across the Rio de la Plata was quick and forgetful. We did not even realize the boat had left until we saw the huge walls of ships parked in Beunos Aires port passing by us. Our Argentine pesos were traded upon arrival for Uruguayan ones when we crossed the river. Yet another set of numbers to exchange in my head for the next few weeks to come.

We eventually found a tourist office and inquired about camping. The only site to do so was 2.5 km out of town, and a good half hours walk away. I would become very familiar with this route over the next few days. It was located down a highway from the old port town of Colonia on the road to Montevideo. All roads in Uruguay, South America's second smallest nation behind Suriname, seem to lead to its capital city.

As has been done many times in the past few weeks, we set up camp and made plans to explore the area over the next few days that followed. Our site was located under a palm tree, within view of a practice sized football pitch. The campsite is on the training ground of one of Uruguay's many local football teams. The trees above had many screeching green parrots. We decided to go to the market and buy our food for dinner, but instead ended up spending the rest of the afternoon there to escape the intense heat. We enjoyed a movie (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and much needed air conditioning until near dusk.

The next day we explored Colonia del Sacramento. The small city was one of the earliest European settlements in Uruguay, founded by the Portuguese in 1680. In its history it switched between Spanish and Portuguese control many times before the foundation of the Uruguayan nation.

We walked along the old city walls and streets, and through the many squares of this a-typical colonial town, who's grid and layout very similar to the many towns we had seen in the past few months. Of highlight was a lighthouse, built in the mid 1800s which we had the chance to climb for a modest $1.50 (30 UYUpesos). After a while, the heat and soaring humidity made us call it quits early. The search for shade was much more than we could handle after the very little sleep we had in the days prior.

My first impression of Uruguay is that it reminds me a lot of where I grew up. The intense heat and humidity, semi-tropical trees, and flat grassy terrain all made me think of my childhood years back home in Central Florida.

Next stop: Montevideo.

Gavin y June