Today, for a change of pace, I went on a day trip to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay, which is right across the Río de la Plata, and accessible by high speed ferry. Unfortunately, the Port of Buenos Aires closed right before my ferry was supposed to leave due to heavy fog, so I was delayed for a couple of hours while the officials waited for the fog to disperse.
Calle de suspiros, with Portuguese-style cobblestone street
View from faro (lighthouse), Colonia
Fall foliage, Colonia del Sacramento
Nevertheless, I arrived in Colonia about 1pm, which left plenty of time for exploring the Historic District, which was named a UNESCO world heritage site due to its Spanish and Portuguese colonial architecture.
Calle de suspiros, with Portuguese-style cobblestone streetColonia was founded by the Portuguese in 1680, however it was later captured by Spanish forces, and subsequently changed hands between the Spanish and Portuguese numerous times until Spanish rule was established at the end of the 18th century.
I spent pretty much all of my time wandering the streets of the historic district, and also walked to the top of the lighthouse:
View from faro (lighthouse), ColoniaAside from the very cool colonial architecture, the city itself had a great vibe -- very laid back and friendly for what is, during the summer, a resort town overrun by tourists. Additionally, aside from the occasional moped, the streets were very quiet and I could hear the waves of the Río de la Plata against the shore, which was a nice change from the hustle of Buenos Aires.
Fall foliage, Colonia del Sacramento
2 comments:
Which month is that picture of autumn foliage in Colonia taken? I'm going there on early May 2008
Hi,
The picture was taken during the first week of June. From some other pictures I took (not published), it looks like the birch trees in the photo were pretty much the only things left by then -- everything else was brown. HTH
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