Very early morning wake-up to catch a ferry to Colonia, Uruguay. We’re all a little groggy still so Melany has her work cut out for her shepherding us through immigration before boarding the ferry. I’ve never experienced a “shared” customs before and I’m glad I had Melany to explain it as I may have missed having my passport stamped by the Uruguay official. The Argentine and Uruguay officials are sitting beside each other in the same glass-enclosed room, so you approach the Argentine official and he does his business, then you move ahead a half a foot and the Uruguay official enters your information by hand before stamping your passport.
The ferry is packed. It’s a Saturday morning and locals are escaping the city and Uruguayans are taking advantage of their strong dollar and returning home from vacation.
Colonia is a UNESCO World Heritage site with cobbled streets and a mix of Portuguese and Spanish. Large trees line the narrow Main Street and little shops are starting to open for business.
I want to check out Plaza de Toros de San Carlos, a restored bull fighting coliseum that’s 5km away. Pritesh asks if he can join me and we head off on foot to the promenade beside the beach. Along the way we meet an elderly couple and their son sitting on lawn chairs on the sidewalk out front of their home. The old man is ninety-six and oozes character so I ask if I may take a photo of him. He sets his pose and when I show him the photo he shakes his head and gestures for me to take another. His pose is serious and noble. He seems to like this one better and then gestures for me to take a photo of his wife. She gives a giggle and shakes her head when I show her the picture. We thank them for their time and continue on.
We spot locals lined up at a truck selling sandwiches and we decide to fill our bellies before our long walk. The hamburger bun is dwarfed by the giant piece of breaded chicken cutlet larger than the size of my head. I select lettuce, corn kernels and tomato as my condiments and with two hands work my way through it. The food baby that appears in my stomach afterward is testament to how good a $5 sandwich from the back of a truck can be.
Melany had mentioned Colonia had amazing sunsets so I’m on the lookout for the ideal spot despite her assurance she would take me to one. We find a perfectly symmetrical palm tree on the beach and Pritesh and I agree this is it. The only problem is how do we get back here for sunset? It’s 2.5km from the town and I don’t have the energy to walk back. The town rents golf carts to get around instead of cars so I text Melany to see if that’s an option.
After an hour of walking we reach the coliseum and my legs and feet are telling me we should hitchhike back. The weather is distinctly warmer here, despite it just being a two hour ferry ride from Buenos Aires, and I’m beat. But, enough whining about my self-inflicted trials and tribulations. Carrying on, we find a sprawling antique shop containing everything from an early 1900’s carriage, mismatched dishes, old round spectacles, records covered in dust, gramophones, Uruguayan licence plates from a long ago era and kitchen utensils covered in rust.
We slowly make our way back towards the old town of Colonia and see Dave sitting on a patio with a 1L bottle of beer. He tells us he’s had quite the adventure this afternoon and needed a beer to revive himself. Him and Helen went to an outdoor patio in the old square for lunch and chose a table that was set up on the uneven cobblestones. The chairs were fabric director-style and when Dave sat down, leaning slightly back he continued going backwards. He struck the table behind him, table settings went flying and water glasses smashed against the cobblestones. And there’s poor Dave laying on his back with legs in the air wondering what the hell just happened. Luckily the incident leave him worse for wear but he did opt to sit inside the restaurant after.
Pritesh and I swing by the hotel to pick up Melany before visiting the historic lighthouse and stop at the golf cart rental along the way. No carts available☹️. Another option is to take a taxi to the perfect palm tree, but Melany is gamely attempting to convince me that we can get just a good of shot at places along the water in old town. I’m extremely skeptical and have my heart set on the palm tree. After much back and forth I give in and we find a spot with a beautiful big tree on the water. I set up my tripod and camera and start shooting. There’s a couple sitting on the rocks with a bottle of wine and their silhouette is beautiful so I ask if they would mind if I took their photo. They acquiesce and when I show them the picture they ask if I can send it to them. I spot a young couple attempting to take selfies with the sunset in the background and offer to take their photo to which they eagerly agree. I should start charging! More of our group arrives and I snap some shots of them as well.
It’s time for dinner and I share a rack of lamb with Audrey. It’s been seasoned to perfection and slowly cooked on the bbq. Perfect sustenance after a long day on my feet.
