I've been doing a pretty good job navigating Buenos Aires by bus, but if I was late for my ferry, I simply wouldn't be able to go to Uruguay, and that wasn't an option. Therefore, I ordered an Uber, who arrived a few minutes early. When I bought my ticket, the lady said for me to be there 90 minutes before time to leave, and Google maps said it would take between 30 and 45 minutes to get to the terminal from my AirBNB by car. So, 6:00 a.m. for Uber pickup it was. I got there at 6:30 for an 8:30 ferry. I can't reconcile why I had to be there 90 minutes early. They didn't allow check in until 7:30, and we weren't allowed to start immigration and boarding until almost 8:00. But, it is what it is, and I was happy to be there. The interior of the ferry looked comfortable, but if you know me, you know where I headed. Yup. Straight to the deck, up against the rail. There was a little metal bench in front of the windows, but nope. I spent the whole ride over standing against the rail.
Pulling out of the harbor, the Buenos Aires skyline was lovely fading to the distance.
You could easily tell when we passed La Boca!
Finally, we made it to open water. I put the camera away and considered going to the bench to sit when the captain picked up speed, and I was stuck. I wasn't going anywhere! The wind was blowing into my face, my hair whipping around behind me wildly even in its ponytail, and if I had tried to turn around, I felt like I would have fallen flat on my face. So, there I was - old and weak and riding Against the Wind! It was exhilerating, though.
As we neared Uruguay, the captain slowed the boat. I guess I could have sat down, but pictures needed to be taken! I just loved that one tree towering above almost everthing else on the island! I never saw it on land, though. I stayed in the historic district of Colonia del Sacramento, the side of the island with the old lighthouse.
We got off the ferry and went through Uruguay - who actually stamped my passport!! Yay!! Two for Four! Four countries, two stamps! I made a bee line for the information desk and armed myself with a tourist map. Then I set out for my self-guided, self-paced walking tour. I was glad I chose to do the self tour. I saw the pace the guided walking tour was taking! And you know how it's difficult to walk well on cobblestone roads even when the stones are uniform in size and well leveled? Well...
They're not so uniform and level here!
The first thing on the map was the City Gate. The walls around the city were necessary because of the continual attempts to overtake the city, being at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, the widest river in the world, formed by the confluence of the Rio Parana and Rio Uruguay. Uruguay, itself, is bordered by Brazil to the north, Argentina to the west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south. It is, in fact, prime real estate. All of those various influences can be found in Colonia del Sacramento, and there are museums displaying influences from various lands. Hence, the city walls and the City Gate.
Just a little past the gate, beside a Portuguese museum, is a little side street called the Street of Sighs, or Calle de los Suspiros. Nobody seems to know for sure how it got its name, but the prevailing thought is that it housed the town brothels back in the day, and when sailors and soldiers came home, many sighs were heard from this street. It still boasts the original paving and drainage from the first colonial period by the Portuguese.
About a block past that is the ruins of the Convent of San Francisco, which was destroyed by fire in 1704. Instead of rebuilding or finishing tearing the convent down, Juan Manuel de Rosas decided to build a lighthouse smack dab in the middle of those ruins! Lighthouse construction began in 1845 and was finished in 1857, after being interrupted by war.
The next group of buildings are a Spanish building, housing many different artifacts from different periods, set next to the ruins of the Viceroy's House of Portuguese construction.
In front of these buildings and by the plaza, I spotted a lady selling magnets and cards that she had painted. I would always prefer to buy my souvenirs from a local artisan than to just purchase mass produced items when I have the opportunity. The problem was that I had intended to use my credit card in Uruguay and didn't exchange any money. She said she would take Brazilian reals or US dollars. She cautioned against trying to pay for anything in Uruguay with Argentinian pesos, though, because the exchange rate is very bad. So, I bought my hand painted magnet for $2 US. A lady from Ecuador was making a purchase at the same time, and she wanted to pay with a Sacagawea dollar coin. I had to vouch for her that the coin was, indeed, a dollar and is valid as US money. I did offer to exchange a bill for the coin if she preferred, but she chose to keep the coin. I think my offer to exchange the bill for the coin was what convinced her that it was real.
Then, the waterfront caught my eye, and I strayed a hair from the map. Such beautiful beaches. All of them only accessible by staircase!
I walked past the yacht club
And an abandoned old building with some really nice graffiti on it. As I was approaching it, an agent was showing this gem of a location to a potential buyer.
As I was walking back up the hill toward the church, I stumbled upon this old car, up on wooden blocks and driven by a fish with his family in tow!
And finally, the Basillica of the Holy Sacrament. They asked that photographs not be taken inside and that you only enter for prayer, and then only if you are Catholic. I didn't take pictures. It was not the ornate churches you usually see. It was very spartan, almost like the old country churches, with nothing but rows of bare pews inside, except this one did have one ornate carving of Jesus on the cross in the front and a confessional over to the side. The front door was broken and had a panel missing.
By this time, my legs and feet decided they had had enough. My legs didn't always want to move as I was telling them to do, and my feet were getting floppy. It's not good when a foot wants to slide instead of step, but it's even worse on uneven cobbles. It was about lunch time anyway, and I was getting hungry. So, I ducked into a little parilla and got some steak and fries. It was about a normal sized meal for asadas that I had gotten in Argentina. The meat covered most of the plate, usually with the except of a small section with a little bit of vegetable, salad, or garnish. Then, there is a great big bowl of fries (maybe about a half pound or so). And a big bowl of bread choices. Don't let anybody tell you the US serves the biggest portions. That simply has not been my experience in most countries unless you're eating in a fancy, expensive "tiny food" establishment. The food is, however, exquisite!
After killing a couple of hours here (and still not being able to eat everything on my plate), my lower extremeties were feeling a little more cooperative, so I decided that would be a good time to head back to the ferry terminal. It would be early, but I had seen about everything the historical section of Colonia had to offer, and I wasn't going to see anything else unless I rented a car. So, I headed back to the terminal. I did have to stop and get a picture of this guy. I felt kind of sorry for him in his blanket. It was HOT out, even in the shade!
When I got to the ferry terminal, I asked if I could change my ticket to an earlier return, but since I had bought a promotional fare, it couldn't be changed. That was okay. I got an orange juice and sat in the chairs in the terminal waiting for my time to check in. Apparently, I was not unique. Lots of people came up asking to change to an earlier return. Some were able to. A couple of guys with English accents got a bit huffy with the girl at the ticket window, and she did offer to sell them new tickets for an earlier return, but those tickets cost more than the round trip promo fare tickets did! They bought them!
When I finally boarded my ferry back to Buenos Aires, I decided to just sit in a window seat this time. It was comfortable, and I think I took a bit of a nap. Before we docked, I picked up a couple of Reese Cups from the duty free shop, and then I caught a bus back to my AirBNB. About half way home, a woman was boarding the bus when a thief reached in, grabbed her purse that was just slung over her shoulder, and ran. A couple of people in line ran after him, but they weren't able to catch him. At home, I usually wear my purse like that. However, when traveling or when carrying something important in a potentially high risk area, always wear your bag cross body, please. I made it home just fine, though, so please don't be concerned. Just be aware that a cross body bag is much more difficult to snatch that a shoulder slung bag, and a backpack worn on the front is much more difficult to access than one on the back. These are just tips for high risk areas, whether at home or abroad. Even if you don't follow these tips, though, any thefts you may be victim to are the thief's fault, not yours.
When I got safely back to my AirBNB, I took an extra of my neuro meds (doctor's orders to do it that way) and went to bed. Planned for just hanging at some parks and running a couple of errands the following day. With that Antarctic cruise coming up, I have to keep my legs and feet happy!
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