Colonia del Sacramento
There is easy and then there is so ridiculously easy that slowest child in class, the one that can usually be spotted eating his own boogers, can do it easy. I can safely report that doing a day trip from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento falls squarely into the latter category. There are two competing companies in BA that sell packages for under $100 which will get you there and back, get you oriented and even get you fed.
The transport options include either a fast (1 hour) or slow ferry (2 ½ hours) across the Rio Plata. Once there, a guide is waiting to hand out maps and brochures, lead an hour long walking tour and do her very best to sell visitors on the charms of this UNESCO world heritage site. And it is indeed charming, with its cobble stone streets and picturesque colonial architecture which speaks of the back and forth battle for possession between the Spanish and the Portuguese (Colonia changed hands multiple times between the two serial colonizers), but the itty bitty size of the historical district, the only part of interest to the day tripping tourist, really warrants much less than a full hour.
This is especially troubling when the tour is over and you realize that you still have eight hours to burn before the ferry departs for Buenos Aires. Our guide gave us a lunch voucher and suggested we visit the town’s five museums, most of which she assured us would take less than 5 minutes to see in their entirety. This turned out to be a pretty accurate time assessment. For less than $2, I bought a museum pass, which entitled me to entry into all 5 of the city-run museums. I strolled leisurely from one to the other, taking care to see everything on display in each glass case, stopping along the way for a mid-museum walk beer and yet, I was done in less than an hour’s time. With my remaining 6 hours, I climbed up the old lighthouse for a lovely scenic view.
I wandered into each and every souvenir shop and at a particularly interesting one, bought my nephew a really cool quartz crystal. I visited an aquarium featuring a collection of endemic fish. I sat in various cafes, reading my book. At one point, I even sat under a shady tree and attempted to take a nap. It all resulted in a contented, lethargic kind of day and it was this extended lethargy that stuck with me and led me to put off the writing of this blog entry. There was just not that much to say, but recently, as I was looking through the photos, I was once again struck by the prettiness of this place and I was reminded that, like getting there, taking a good photo in Colonia was so easy even a snot-eating kid could do it.
The entrance into the city.
The transport options include either a fast (1 hour) or slow ferry (2 ½ hours) across the Rio Plata. Once there, a guide is waiting to hand out maps and brochures, lead an hour long walking tour and do her very best to sell visitors on the charms of this UNESCO world heritage site. And it is indeed charming, with its cobble stone streets and picturesque colonial architecture which speaks of the back and forth battle for possession between the Spanish and the Portuguese (Colonia changed hands multiple times between the two serial colonizers), but the itty bitty size of the historical district, the only part of interest to the day tripping tourist, really warrants much less than a full hour.
This is especially troubling when the tour is over and you realize that you still have eight hours to burn before the ferry departs for Buenos Aires. Our guide gave us a lunch voucher and suggested we visit the town’s five museums, most of which she assured us would take less than 5 minutes to see in their entirety. This turned out to be a pretty accurate time assessment. For less than $2, I bought a museum pass, which entitled me to entry into all 5 of the city-run museums. I strolled leisurely from one to the other, taking care to see everything on display in each glass case, stopping along the way for a mid-museum walk beer and yet, I was done in less than an hour’s time. With my remaining 6 hours, I climbed up the old lighthouse for a lovely scenic view.
I wandered into each and every souvenir shop and at a particularly interesting one, bought my nephew a really cool quartz crystal. I visited an aquarium featuring a collection of endemic fish. I sat in various cafes, reading my book. At one point, I even sat under a shady tree and attempted to take a nap. It all resulted in a contented, lethargic kind of day and it was this extended lethargy that stuck with me and led me to put off the writing of this blog entry. There was just not that much to say, but recently, as I was looking through the photos, I was once again struck by the prettiness of this place and I was reminded that, like getting there, taking a good photo in Colonia was so easy even a snot-eating kid could do it.
The entrance into the city.
I uploaded these photos back in January, but only just now (02/22/09) got around to writing the entry. Now, that I posted it, I noticed that the posting date reflects a much earlier date, but am going to leave it that way, since chronologically speaking, it makes more sense to have Colonia before the inauguration.
ReplyDeleteOMG, is that a tree growing out of that vintage car at #174? How cool is that. That's the beauty of travels, you get a chance to capture the unusual. If this is the same Colonia as in Uruguay, I got a chance to visit it a few years back, but chose instead to visit the wine producers at Canelones.
ReplyDeleteThis is the very same Uruguayan Colonia, which as you can see, is very pretty, but I think you made the right call with the wine tasting. One thing I would have liked to have seen was the sunset in Colonia. Since Buenos Aires and all its pollution is immediately to the west, the sunsets are said to be out of this world, but during December, it doesn't happen until around 9pm, so my stay managed to be both too long and too short.
ReplyDelete