He's a Guay, I'm a Guay...Uruguay

Sunset over Colonia

After the boat trip across the Rio Plate, Anne, Mark and the HBomb disembarked in the town of Colonia in Uruguay.  Colonia is a sleepy little town featuring colonial ruins, a series of immobile old cars randomly placed on the streets, fantastic views and nice little restaurants.

For orientation purposes

As far as a colonial town, it has all the key ingredients: cobblestone streets built by the Portuguese, city walls and a drawbridge that were manned by the Spanish and the old church overlooking the town square.

Go ahead, make my day.

Cobblestone craftsmanship.

After the reviews were in, HBomb approved of the city walls and looked surprisingly comfortable preparing the man the cannons.  On the other hand, he did not approve of the cobblestone.  Those 16th century Portuguese didn't put together a very smooth road and HBomb did not appreciate having to walk over the odd stone here and there, especially with his rather abbreviated legs.

Anne shows off the Basilica

Daddy, I can see through the bridge.

Of particular interest, however, was the drawbridge.  HBomb liked being able to see between the slats of the bridge to the moat below (the moat in this case is actually more like a ditch, but just go with it).  The old church in the town square, la Basilica del Santisimo Sacramento, is the modern representation of one of the oldest churches in Uruguay, and the new world, for that matter.  It was originally founded in the 1600s, but the current building was built in the 1800s, with some of the older artifacts maintained.

I do not remember this bible story.  Yikes!

In addition to the ruins, the attraction of Colonia is the atmosphere.  It is a calm, quaint little city away from the noise and crowds of Buenos Aires.  In what appears to have been an organized effort, the city also has several old cars placed through out the town (usually in front of or near restaurants or tourist attractions).  This adds to the unique nature of the town.

HBomb, riding on Mark's shoulders, check out a couple of old cars, one of which actually had a tree growing through it.

Another old car marking a restaurant location over Mark's left shoulder.

The last aspect of Colonia that you really can't miss is the lighthouse.  The newest lighthouse is open for unguided tours for adults (sorry, HBomb) and provided a decent view of the city.

The not-too-tall tower in the distance is actually a restaurant from which the sunset photo at the top of this post was taken.

 So after a couple of days of sight-seeing and history-appreciating, it was time to relax.  The trio selected a restaurant called "El Drugstore" (roughly translated as "The Drugstore").  Like all businesses in Colonia, this place accepted dollars, ARG pesos, and URU pesos.  It probably would have taken Euros if we had asked.  They also had live music and a mascot who lives under the tables set up outside, a black dog named, appropriately enough, "Black."

In their neverending quest to find "local flavor," Mark and Anne noted that Uruguay did have a few local dishes, but they also noted these dishes were pretty similar to the local dishes in Argentina (steak with an egg and ham on top).  It was more difficult to find a drink that really said "Colonia."  But they did have Sangria, which is more associated with Spain and Portugal, but this was a colony of each of them for awhile, so .... close enough -> "local flavor."  Anne and Mark ordered a pitcher, which at first seemed like a lot, but after a little bit, really didn't.  All a matter of perspective I guess.

That looks like a lot of Sangria.

Nevermind, it's not that much....