Weekend Getaways - Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

As mentioned in previous posts one of the weekend getaways in Buenos Aires is to visit Colonia del Sacramento in neighbouring Uruguay.

The quickest way is to grab the Ferry in Downtown BA and do the hour trip, you have several ferry lines but the best one in Buquebus that has modern and spacious boats.

I went there recently for a weekend in early fall and it was great

Besides visiting the city there are nearby beaches to go for a dip and of course good food.

Actually the Argentine peso is depreciated towards the Uruguayan peso so there are much less people visiting an therefore it is less crowded.

The trip to Carmelo, Uruguay - The Road to Nueva Palmira

We biked from carmelo to Nueva palmira, which is the nearest city heading North-East on Road 21. The ride is quite nice with a one lane two way road, in decent condition.

There are some uphills that are a bit steep, but can be handled if you´re in good shape, there are several place of interest along the way like beaches and wineries to stop and relax.

The trip to Carmelo, Uruguay - The Beaches

Well one of the ideas of going over to Uruguay from Buenos Aries is that you can access riverside beaches in one or two hours (depending on which route you take).

Most of the beaches from Carmelo to Colonia are nice and clean and not crowded most of the time.
Another plus is taking your bike along and being able to hit the road and stop at the different  beach resorts along the way.

Colonia del Sacramento

 
Colonia del Sacramento is located roughly 200 clicks southwest of Montevideo, by the River Plate facing Buenos Aires, and also closer to it than Montevideo. Being one of the oldest towns in Uruguay, I was surprised by the small size of the original Portuguese settlement, since according to the tordecillas treaty, signed by Portugal and Spain, this town was founded by the Portuguese and later handed over to the Spanish.

The cobblestone streets are adorned by stategically placed old cars like this 48´Studebaker champion coupe, that reminds me of a composition I made in grade school that was titled " the Little red Broom Broom car.
Be advised that this is probably the most photographed car in the town, Ive seen it even in a bill board in Buenos Aires.
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