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| Welcome to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay |
International day trips aren’t part of my life style in
northern Virginia, where crossing a border generally means driving over one of
the bridges that spans the Potomac. In
fact, like many of my fellow northern Virginians, I rarely make a day trip to
the neighboring state of Maryland. We even
joke that you need a passport to go there.
The thought of visiting another country for a day never crossed my
mind.
All my thinking changed once I moved down to Buenos Aires
for a month. From the Argentine capital,
located on the Rio de la Plata, an international day trip is not only feasible,
it’s also extremely popular. All that’s
required is a short ferry ride across the river. About an hour later, you’ll disembark in the
neighboring country of Uruguay.
Once again, the expert team of Elisa and Christian came up
with our travel plan. Early one morning,
the four of us presented our passports at the Buquebus (pronounced boo-kay-boos)
ferry terminal in the Puerto Madero section of Buenos Aires. To streamline the border crossing, all
passport controls and customs checks are done prior to boarding the
vessel.
There’s nothing glamorous about the ferry crossing. It is roughly equivalent to traveling in the
coach section of a wide-body airliner. When
I glanced out the window, all I could see was a seemingly endless expanse of
gray, due to the presence of iron in the waters of the Rio de la Plata. We killed a little time in the duty free shop
on board. Actually, the adults took
turns chasing Sylvie around the duty free shop.
It featured the usual collection of perfumes, cigarettes, and liquor,
plus toys, electronics, and candy – all priced significantly higher than in the
U.S. The prices didn’t discourage the Porteños
on board, however, who were loading their baskets with goods made in other
countries. This tells you something
about the exorbitant tax the Argentine government places on imports.
When we disembarked on the opposite bank of the river, we
set out to explore the town of Colonia del Sacramento. Colonia, as it’s usually called, is a UNESCO
world heritage site. It dates back to
the 1600s, and the history of the town is a microcosm of the centuries-long
rivalry between Spain and Portugal. Colonia
was important to both countries because of its strategic position on the Rio de
la Plata. Whoever controlled the town could
control incoming ships to the Uruguay and Parana Rivers and their
tributaries.
As far back as 1516, ships from Spain, England and
Netherlands visited the site. However,
the Portuguese were the first to establish a permanent settlement there. In 1680, a Portuguese naval commander built a
fortress and gave the colony its name. Later
that year, Spain seized the colony. For
nearly 100 years, control of Colonia went back and forth between the two
countries, as the town developed into a valuable commercial center as well as a
military base. Finally, in 1778, the
last change of power took place when Colonia once again came under Spanish rule.
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| The entrance to the old town |
After a short walk from the port, we found ourselves at the
gateway to the old town. If you’re picturing
Colonial Williamsburg, with its beautifully restored houses and tree-lined
streets, think again. Colonia del Sacramento remains relatively untouched by
clean up efforts aimed at increasing tourism.
However, the somewhat ruined condition of the old town gives it an aura
of times past. Walking past the
weather-worn façades of buildings, I could easily imagine horses’ hooves and the
boots of Spanish and Portuguese colonists striking the cobblestones. And those
cobblestones were some of the roughest I’ve ever seen. I had to pay close attention to each step I
took so that I didn’t stumble and twist an ankle. And notice how the street slopes towards the
center, forming a drainage channel.
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| A typical street in old Colonia |
Aside from the cobblestones, walking the streets of Colonia
was a delightful way to spend a few hours.
We came across one photo-worthy scene after another. The plazas, the church, the lighthouse, the
ruins of a convent, the blue and white tiles, even the crumbling buildings –
all were picturesque.
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| Street art, Colonia style |
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| It wasn't easy walking on those cobblestones. |
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| Unrestored buildings facing the Plaza de las Armas |
Sylvie enjoyed her
time, too, splashing in puddles and making friends with a cat.
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| Sylvie's new friend |
Since Colonia attracts a large number of tourists, we had no
trouble finding a restaurant for lunch.
The menu at Le Drugstore looked very similar to what we would see in
Buenos Aires, and the prices were comparable.
After we ate, we wandered around a nearby plaza and made a few purchases
at shops selling interesting crafts and clothing. I wouldn’t have minded another hour or so in
the old town, just to sit on the plaza with a cup of coffee, but we wanted to
catch the 4 pm ferry back to Buenos Aires.
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| The site of the original fort |
Avoiding the rough cobblestone lanes, we made our way back toward the
port along the rocky beach, hopping from one boulder to another. When we reached the ruins of the fortress, I
looked out across the water, half expecting to see a Spanish or Portuguese galleon
on the horizon. Colonia had worked its
magic on me.
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| Facing the Rio de la Plata |
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