While spending one month in Buenos Aires, I started to feel oppress by the big city. Thus I was looking for an escape to get nature and peace. I tried two journeys. One to Tigre a classical destination of Porteños (the nickname given to inhabitants of Buenos Aires) and a second to another country Uruguay. Here the one about Uruguay.
The journey
I went to Uruguay for a 3 days trip to two cities close to Buenos Aires: Colonia del Sacramento and Montevideo. For this trip, I went with two french friends.
In order to reach Uruguay from Buenos Aires, we took a ferry with the company Sea Cat Colonia. It is one of the 3 companies that provides ferry to Uruguay. In almost any case, the ferry stops at Colonia. The last part until Montevideo is done with a bus. The trip Buenos Aires – Montevideo and Colonia – Buenos Aires cost around 80€.
About Uruguay
If Uruguay has its own charm, the part I discovered close to Argentina reminded me a lot… Argentina. Reasons are simple. Uruguayans drink Mate everywhere as Argentineans. When I asked for a drink typical in a bar, received a Fernet Cola. And last but not least I should say “Cho me chamo Eric” (Real pronunciation: Yo me llamo Eric), a Spanish I learned in Argentina! I also tried the typical food, the chivito. More or less, it is like the lomito in Argentina: fat, fat and fat. But it is cheap and typical.
Montevideo
Bicycle in the Ramblas
Our first stop in Uruguay was the capital, Montevideo. A city definitely more peace than Buenos Aires. In the center, the street is not as busy and you feel more secure. Since we can let our bags in the hostel, we decided to start with a bicycle tour on the Rambla. The Rambla is the Spanish name for the sea front. More than 20 kms of cycle lane where we enjoy the city coast and the sea. We rent our bike at a shop called Orange Bike where of course the bikes are… Orange 🙂
Walking in the city
The second day we had our bus to Colonia at 7 pm. That let us the whole day to visit the city of Montevideo. We discovered the main places. Firstly, the Plaza Independencia with the mausolé to Jose Artigas and the Palacio Salvo that is an exact copy of a building in Buenos Aires. Secondly, the Fuente de los Cadados and the Columna de la Paz. More or less everything is close to the avenue of 18 de Julio.
Learning time in museums
As we got a lot of time before we had our bus and the city is visited quickly, we decided to visit museums. The good point is that they are almost all free. The first one was the Museo de Artes Decorativas “Palacio Taranco”. A french style house built last century but with an older french design. After, we spent time in the Casa de Fructuoso Rivera. In the old house of the first president of Uruguay, we learned about the independence of the country and evolution of the people’s rights. Really an interesting museum about history.
Unfortunately, the Museo del Gaucho was closed but our guidebook told that it was a really good one. Next time for sure!
Colonia del Sacramento
After our 7 pm bus, we arrived late in Colonia. Just the time to settle in our hostel El Espanol and eat a … chivito.
Walking in the city
Next day we woke up and started a walking tour of the city. My friend, Aurore, took us to the main places and gave us information. Let see what I remember. We left our hostel around 10 am and went directly to the Porton de Campo, a UNESCO heritage site. Next, we continued to the Bastion San Miguel, the lighthouse and the Plaza Mayor. The second part was the visit of the barrio Historico (old town) with the Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento. From this area, we took a look at the port where we chilled at the point quay Puerto de Yates. A quiet place where we met a local that give us some advice. He recommended us an Italian restaurant Viejo Barrio with homemade pasta in the old town. Of course, we ate there and undoubtedly it was the best pasta I have eaten from a long time.
Reach the beach
After a good refreshment, we took a digest break in the park close to the Teatro Bastión del Carmen. Next, we walk along the coast until the beach El Álamo. From which, we looked the sunset. Finally, we went back to the harbor, loaded with empanadas and beer, for taking our boat to Buenos Aires at 9 pm. The boat was quite late, we could have taken easily one earlier while visiting enough the city.
