Uruguary, Part Uno & Buenos Aires, Part Dos
The abundant sunshine became partly cloudy on Wednesday and nearly 100% cloudy today (Thursday). Fortunately, the rain has held off for the evening – but what a spectacular lightning show we had last night! Being on the top floor of a building with two story glass windows provides us with roof top view of the north and western half of the city so we got to see a fascinating display.
But before the storm we headed to Uruguay. It was quite the production getting out of the country. You had to wait in line to check-in, then go to another line to pay, then go back to the check-in line to pick up the ticket, then go through immigration/customs, then go through another line to board the boat.
And what a boat it was. This was simply a high-speed ferry – but it was NOTHING like the ones I’ve seen going to Nantucket. You enter on an upper level and into a large lobby with a curved stair case leading up to first class. There was literally a duty-free shopping mall in the middle of the boat. The room to the right (after boarding) had airplane style seating (10 aisles with 3 seats off each aisle). In front of everything was a cafeteria. Oddly enough, there were no outdoor decks or even windows in the front of the ferry. They did provide TV screens to show the harbor as we approached, but we were over open waters, they showed cable television.
We arrived in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay (which is in a different time zone) and walked to the historic part of town. Colonia is the first colony in Uruguay and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The old part is pretty cool with old stone colonial buildings in various states of disrepair. It’s chock full of cobble stone streets and old cars. We ate lunch at an outdoor café called “Drugstore.” (Ironically, when we returned to Buenos Aires that night we ate dinner at a restaurant called “La Farmacia”)
Anyway, it reminded both Randy and me of Mendocino, California, in that it was small, deserted, and a day trip from a major city. Randy may have liked Mendocino better, but I much preferred Colonia. Mendocino was way too small (1,000) people and the buildings were few and far between. Colonia was filled with old buildings (many decaying or in ruins) and the main road into town was filled with shops and restaurants. Mendocino had no history, this place was filled with it.
Anyway, after more stupid lines for immigration/customs, we returned to Buenos Aires and took a sunset walk along Puerto Madero (an island just outside of the downtown). One of the guidebooks called this the most European of Buenos Aires’ neighborhoods, yet I found it to be the most Americanized. It’s an old wharf district that has been transformed into a living/eating/bar mecca for the city. There are modern high rises sprouting up all over the place and the area offers a decent view of the Buenos Aires (mainland) skyline. After a long walk, we took the subway home just before the heavy rains (and lightning) began.
Today (Thursday) we walked through Palermo’s Botanical Garden, Japanese Garden, and explored MALBA (their modern art museum.) I got in free as a student, Randy had to pay $12 pesos…a whopping $4 US.
Tomorrow is also supposed to be cloudy, but with a 50% chance of showers. We’re thinking we’ll do some “indoor” stuff. Then explore the Recoleta and La Boca neighborhoods on Saturday and/or Sunday. I’m beginning to think we’ll never make it up to Tigre (a river delta area 20 or so miles west of the city with small towns and plantations). But we’ll see.
Oh, and we dropped off some laundry to be cleaned this morning. Two people’s worth of clothing for 5 days came to $3: washed AND folded. I should send my clothes down here to be laundered!
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Hola, Karlitos–
It sounds like you two are having a great time, which is good to hear.
Evita was a little bit of a thing, very fashion-crazed once she and Peron were in power. Many of the people had little to live on but she decked herself out in haute couture and they loved her for it because she was one of them who had “made it” rather than some rich bitch who took it all for granted.
I did a lot of research on her when I designed the musical Evita. She may have been controversial but the biographies make her out to be surprisingly sympathetic–and a tragic early death always does wonders for the reputation!
Heya guys – sounds like a GREAT trip! The architect-type here wants to see some pix of this cool two-storey loft you’re staying in – inside and out, if you can!! (Digital memory bein’ cheap and all…) – Uruguay sounds like a fun trip indeed…
Safe and happy travels!