A two hour flight on Aerolineas Argentinas last Thursday morning took us south from Puerto Iguazu to Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires. But we didn’t stop there. At the airport we hired a taxi to take us to the ferry dock in the city centre, then a 70 minute crossing of Rio de la Plata had us in the small Uruguayan town of Colonia del Sacramento by 1.30pm.
Colonia started out as a 1600s’ smugglers’ haunt for Portuguese traders spotting a business opportunity when Spanish-administered Buenos Aires across the water restricted imports. Decades later the Spanish attacked and took over Colonia themselves. The result today is a quaint atmospheric village with cobblestone streets and old colonial buildings. On steroids. For these days Colonia receives thousands of daytrippers from Buenos Aires and Montevideo. It certainly would be a pleasant laid-back weekend getaway for workers from the larger more modern cities in the vicinity, once the daytrippers board the ferries at 4pm and leave.
Our guidebook was effusive about Colonia, but we thought this was a bit over the top. It’s certainly a pleasant place, but not earth shattering. Uruguayans don’t have dinner until 9 or 10pm; a local was incredulous when we said we usually have dinner at 6.30. So one night we were stifling yawns and ready for bed by the time our Uruguayan BBQ arrived on our plate at 10.30. The chunky beef ribs and sausages slow-cooked over coals were delicious, and were sent on their way with copious amounts of good red wine. It was a big, big dinner that seemed to alter my centre of gravity, keeping me not unwillingly pinned to the cool sheets until noon the following day. Of course Sun and its fellow thug Humidity were up early as usual in these parts, daring anyone to go out before late afternoon. Fortunately in Colonia del Sacramento there’s no need to.
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