Mar 14, 2013 - Uruguay

Early morning ferry to Uruguay. Lots of waiting and lining up. Ferry full of young soccer supporters heading to game in Uruguay...lots of singing and chanting. Finally free time to wander the streets of this old town a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish architecture from the 1600's. There seems to be little overall reaction in BA about the new Pope. He is well liked though and described as a humble man. Lunch again proves to be a cultural experience what with Pimento sauces and oodles of meat...Degustation de parilla might sound interesting...

Jan 8, 2013 - Espanish

With angst we made our way from the Monarca Hotel to our home stay on Sunday, Jan. 6th. We trundled our wheeled backpacks up Avenida Cordoba, one of the main streets in Buenas Aires to the bus stop at Florida. We boarded the 140 bus and spent the next 1/2 hour watching the block numbers roll by. We got off a stop too early but easily found Uriarte Calle and picked the middle of 3 addresses (yes 3--Gord had 1585, I had 1588 and the phone book showed 1594) and rang the bell. A nervous little lady opened the door, took one look and smiled. We...

Jan 3, 2013 - Colonia, Uruguay

Hola. Yesterday was a moving day. We booked, checked in and paid for the slow ferry from Buenas Aires to Colonia. What a relaxing day! We had a 3 hour boat ride, waited till most had disembarked, and were able to catch a taxi to our hostel--a stone´s throw from the terminal had we known. What´s 5 USD anyway. The meter had not even registered! We walked around the old part of the city in the evening. The hustle and bustle of the larger city is gone and much appreciated. We bought day bus tickets to Montevideo for Friday, found city maps of...

Jan 2, 2013 - Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

Today we finally ended up going to Uruguay. We took a ferry across the ocean and docked (No, this is not a pun, John) in Colonia del Sacramento, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This town was VERY cool and the historic neighborhood was extremely well preserved. We walked to the beach and observed locals fishing for their dinner and absorbed the local tea (Mate). In addition to the atmosphere, the weather was absolutely perfect!! We returned to Buenos Aires this evening and are planning to go out for a traditional Argentinian steak...

Oct 6, 2012 - Day 2 Colonia

After a good nights sleep I finally got moving around 9am which is late for me. I wanted to go to the burial site for Ava Paron. For a cemetery the Moslems where quite interesting. I didn't have much time there but I got to see what I wanted to. The one task I needed to complete today was getting my SIM card activated and getting touch with my guide in Mendoza. I am usually technically savvy but it is not so easy to get everything setup when all the instructions are in Spanish. I can't believe the hoops I had to jump through to get my card...

Jun 18, 2012 - Colonia

Nous sommes maintenant en Uruguay à Colonia. C'est une jolie petite ville de style colonial fondée par les Portuguais en 1680 puis réclamée par les immigrants espagnols de Buenos Aires, avec de jolies maisons colorées et plages au bord du Rio de la Plata. Son centre historique est inscrit au patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO. C'est dommage que nous sommes pas en été car nous ne pouvons pas vraiment profiter des plages et des terrasses situées un peu partout dans le centre. Et oui, alors que dans 3 jours c'est le début de l'été pour vous, cela...

Mar 22, 2012 - Uruguay

Our computer finally broke completely so I am writing from our hotel computer and need to be brief. We took an overnight bus from Mendoza to Buenos Aires, caught a man pickpocketing Lia´s backpack at the bus station, Jim chased him down and made him empty his pockets, then caught a cab to the ferry building in Buenos Aires, then a ferry to Colonia Uruguay, then a cab to our hotel in Uruguay. We slept well that night and spent a beautiful day in Colonia. We then spent the weekend with the family of a friend at their farm about an hour...

Feb 4, 2012 - Colonia, Uruguay

4th Feb Off to Uruguay on the fast ferry – takes about an hour. Very cool way to pass from one country to the next as you pass through immigration – one little glass cubicle but two different immigration officers. Your passport is stamped out of Argentina by one and into Uruguay by the other, simple and very sensible. There are posh seats but we are in with the poor people and it's mobbed. However, comfy chair by the window and it's a lovely day. David is feeling a little under the weather today and decides that it's time for a sleep and...

Nov 13, 2011 - Urugary CJ Day 8

At dinner last night we met the Classic Journeys country manager, Alberto who has had his hands full of rescheduling and creative innovation with the airline work slowdown. However, we were told that a substitute activity (most likely a trip to Uruguay) would be offered for our last day and we should be ready to board the bus at 7:30. Uruguay is a short 35 mile ferry boat ride across the estuary of the Rio de La Plata river. We traveled on the high speed ferry and the trip is only an hour to the city of Colonia. The Buenos Aires ferry...

Oct 29, 2011 - Colonia del Sacramento

After an early start and a dash to the ferry, we caught the 'Buquebus' to Colonia del Sacramento at 0845. The trip across the River Platte, which is huge, took about an hour, and gave me an opportunity to complete the previous entry.  When we got to Colonia in Uruguay, we relied on my iPhone map to get us to the hotel. The map proved to be generally, if not specifically reliable. By the time we got to the Posada Don Antonio, which was quite early, we had trudged along cobblestone streets dragging our suit cases for about a kilometre. My flu...

Mar 14, 2011 - Colonia del Sacramento

Flew from Iguazu to BA, and immediately upon exiting the airport felt the cool air of autumn and sighed with welcome relief from the heat and/or humidity of the previous two weeks. City bus to Buquebus (ferry) terminal, and one hour high speed ride across the Rio Plata to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. The Rio Plata is a WIDE river. You can not see land in any direction while crossing it. And it is about twice as wide at Motevideo as it is at Colonia. The water is a uniform milk chocolate brown that looks like an endless stream of hot...

Jan 26, 2011 - Colonia

We woke to rain, thunderstorm outside. Easy morning since bus doesn't leave til 10:30am, but the rain never really stopped so we had to go to the bus terminal by taxi (only 8-10 blocks but rain not cooperating). A lot cooler today, skies overcast. Again, countryside all agriculture, cows (90% Hosteins or Herfords), horses, sheep...also we pass quite a few 'For Sale' signs for homes and land. Haven't seen this many (very few in Chile, Arg, or Brazil) since in the N. of Americas. Uruguay looks very prosperous, very WASPish (tho Catholic, ha)...