Uruguay for a Day

written by osheagt January 29, 2018

Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
34.4607°S, 57.8339°W

While Argentina shares its entire western border with only Chile, its northern and eastern boundaries are shared with four countries: Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Uruguay.

See, I wasn’t lying.

From Buenos Aires, Uruguay is only a short ferry trip across the Rio de la Plata (Silver River). Its capital, Montevideo, can be reached by boat in less than three hours. The city of Colonia del Sacramento is only about an hour ride across the river. With our time in South America running out, Sarah and I decided we didn’t want to leave without taking advantage of being in such close proximity to Uruguay. We decided on a day trip to Colonia del Sacramento.

A Little History on a Little Country

Like many other parts of South America, not much is known about the pre-colonization history of the indigenous people in Uruguay. Colonization began in the early 16th century with the arrival of the Portuguese, followed shortly thereafter by the Spanish. After bouncing back and forth between Spanish and Portuguese colonial rule in the 17th and 18th centuries, Uruguay’s independence was recognized in 1828. Not long after that, they created one of the best looking country flags around.

Simple, great color scheme, welcoming image…the trifecta for a great country flag.

Colonia was founded by the Portuguese in 1680. The city is one of Uruguay’s most historically significant places and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. Museums in the city offer up collections of Spanish, French and Portuguese artifacts, paintings, and historical documents. The city’s first museum, the Museo Municipal, provides a lot of information about the city’s colonial and indigenous histories. Unfortunately, it closed after we arrived, so we only got to read about it from the brochures outside.

Views of Colonia’s lighthouse and ruins of the San Francisco Convent, which was destroyed by fire in 1704

You can climb to the top of the lighthouse for views of most of Colonia.

The stairs were just a little narrow….

Creepy

Colonia’s City Gate

Colonia has lots to offer beyond its historic points of interest, especially for such a small city (population 25,000). There is an abundance of restaurants plenty of shops selling typical tourist tchotchkes and other more unique handicrafts. The cobblestone streets in the Barrio Histórico (historic neighborhood) are brightened with colorful flowers, and many of them are shaded by huge sycamore trees.

An abandoned car parked overlooking the river

An abandoned “pre-car” in Barrio Historico

Lots of pretty flowers and trees throughout Colonia…

Colonia’s “Street of Sighs.” No one knows exactly how the street got its name, but two theories are 1) it was the street where criminals were once hung and 2) it was where the cities brothels were located during colonial times.

Sarah on the Street of Sighs

Gerry and Dog

Another view of the lighthouse

One of the narrow streets in Barrio Historico

Many of Colonia’s cafes are covered in flowers

A sidewalk along the Plaza Mayor del 25 de Mayo, the main square. It was once used for army training but now is full of gardens and little shops and restaurants.

Sarah and I rented bikes to explore the town but ended up mostly walking everywhere. North of the Barrio Historico there are a number of beaches and public parks along the river. Because of our limited time, we didn’t get to see as much of the waterfront areas as we would have liked, but fortunately, there were good views from the Bastion de San Pedro lighthouse (see picture above) and the piers in town.

Santa Rita pier

Biking along the City Gate’s walls

Enjoying the views of the Rio de la Plata

Back to BA

Our day trip to Uruguay didn’t disappoint, and as expected we wished we had more than just one day to explore Colonia. We took an evening ferry back to Buenos Aires, where we would be for a few days before heading off on our next (and final!) trip in Argentina.