On Monday we left Buenos Aires and took the ferry to Uruguay, arriving in the town of Colonia Del Sacromento. The jouney took 3 hours although you can take a more expensive fery and get there in 1 hour. But we wanted to enjoy being on the water on a beautiful day and we are grateful for the extra time as we befriended this lovely Argentinian couple Marte and Michael. They are in their 50s, speak English and own a resturant called Captain Cook funnily enough (they offered Jeb a job!). We discussed Argentinian politics, trade and industry, culture, history etc and left ferry after 3 hours feeling so much wiser. I tried my first mate which is a national drink like tea and is everywhere in Argentina and Uruguay. The leaf is called yerba and it is kinda like a green tea but much stronger and you drink it with a metal or wooden straw. The mate cup is traditionally made out of pumpkin, but modern varities are made other materials too. People walk aound eveywhere carrying their thermos under their arm to refill their mate.
So we arrived in Colonia and explored this picturesque port town which was founded by the Portguese in 1680 to smuggle goods across the Rio de la Plata river to Buenos Aires. There are cobblestone streets and old world charm. Its beautifully restored and as a result, quite touristy but not in a bad way. Definitely worth checking out and our timing couldnt have been better as it was the annual Carnavale in Colonia on this Monday night. In South America, eveything starts kicking off really late so even for a Monday in this small town, the festivities beagn about 10.30pm. A parade rolled though the main streets with latino dancing and an afro rhythm beat supplied by a drumming procession of about 20 guys. Leading the procession were dancers of all ages, young girls, beautiful women and old grannies mostly wearing very little and showing their finest backside assets. The parade finished in a street where their was more dancing and bands and beer stalls and meat bbq stalls. Great entertainment for a Monday night, and a chance to experience some authencti street culture.
But not much else to do in Colonia so we took the bus the next day to the capital city Montevideo and spent 2 nights there. Travelling with a expat Brit Aussie guy and a Brit lady, we wandered down to the Mercado del Puetro which is basically a big market of parillas (steakhouses) where you can enjoy the hugest steaks and red wine. So we indulged again.
Whilst in Montevideo we went to the beach for a swim. The water is brown- looking due to the rocks and silt so not quite the beautiful blue waters of Sydeny but lovely soft sand and the water was warmer than Sydney has been of late so very refreshing in this summer heat. Checked out a few bars with people but Montevideo is not a huge city so 2 nights was enough and we headed back to Argentina.
Generally speaking though, i found Uruguay to be really pleasant, very green with lots of pastures and trees, and well kept building of European architecture and clean streets. The people we met were also really friendly and we enjoyed our stay.
Left Montevideo by bus to a sleepy town called Carmelo to get a different ferry back to Argentina and a city called Tigre which is about an hour north of BA. Tigre is on the Rio Del Plata and the lifestyle is centred around the river with rowing and boating. Tigre has money and is weekend getaway destination for portenos (people of Agentina), but its beautiful and leafy and relaxing. I had got the flu a little so it was a nice place to recover. Asking for flu medication in Spanish was a challenge i had to face but it was successful and im feeling much better now! Went to the mate musuem whilst we were there and had a guide who spoke no english but we got the gist of things and have now bought ouselves a mate cup and some yerba!
We went to Tigre because the Argentinian couple we met on the fery to Uruguay have their restuarnt there, so we went for lunch (was a mission and we got lost as not really somewhere western tourists go!) The restarant was on the marina and it was awesome. Marte likes Asian cooking and had told us about her Thai influenced dishes, so we enjoyed one of the best Thai green curies ever, plus an adaption of san choy boy. Was awesome food and we got a special tour of the marina and the very expensive boats moared there. Our new friends would not let us pay, so we were very lucky and left totally satisified to catch the train back to Buenos Aiers.
Which is where we are now. And its Jebs birthday today so we are going to head out tonight i think. Will keep you posted....
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