Our final destination in Uruguay was the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Colonia del Sacramento, one of only two UNESCO sites in Uruguay, the other being the Fray Bentos Industrial Landscape.  Colonia as it is more commonly know is essentially an old Portuguese port which was established in 1680 when Portugal was the prominent power in the area.  Essentially it exchanged hands a number of times between the powers until in 1830 as part of Uruguay, it gained its independence from Brazil, the successor to Portugal.

The old town of Colonia consists of a number of simple two storied buildings of varying styles, many of which are neatly painted in a series of tree lined avenues.  Not all the buildings have been renovated so the town doesn’t completely feel like a museum.  However it almost totally survives on tourism, Colonia being a well established day trip from either Buenos Aires or Montevideo.  It also is the principal ferry terminal for the cross river trips from Buenos Aires.

Most of the town is given over to restaurants and shops after the tourist dollar.  In amongst these shops were a number of specialist shops selling all the paraphernalia associated with mate, including all sorts of designer mate gear.  Mate is a very big thing in Uruguay and the surrounding countries and most of the visitors walk around clutching their thermos flask of water, mate cup and mate straw.  They share the drink between couples and friends and it is a very social thing too.

One of the other striking things about Colonia is the number of old vintage cars just parked randomly in the street.  Many are in some state of disrepair, some deliberately so.  For example outside the Drugstore Restaurant there is an old 1950s Citroen with a tree growing out of it and an even older Ford with its side cut away and a table for two set up.

We left Colonia after just over a week in Uruguay via the Colonia Express ferry to Buenos Aires, which you could just make out the Manhattan like skyscrapers on the horizon.  Uruguay has been a delightful country to visit and a great example of how a small progressive and enlightened country can make its way in the world.  Furthermore, it felt very safe and everything worked very efficiently.

Further Information on Uruguay

Dates: 25/02/2018 to 27/02/2018