Friday, January 7, 2011 – Monday, January 10, 2011
Feeling very relaxed here in Colonia del Sacramento. I booked for three nights knowing that the town was small and figuring that it would give me time to relax. It certainly has.
Upon arriving in Colonia on Friday, I headed straight to the tourist information desk to find out the way to my hostel. I knew I’d need to pay on check-in, but it was so hot out that I needed to put my backpack down before venturing to find an ATM. Lucky I did that as getting cash turned out to be a bit of a project. The hostel allowed me to drop my luggage in my room and I told them I’d be back quickly to pay.
The first ATM I tried wasn’t working and seemed to be asking me to put in a lower amount, although when it did this the language had switched back to Spanish and I couldn’t understand what it wanted. So I walked to another ATM. While waiting in line, a woman came down from the machine looking frustrated. I asked “effectivo?” (meaning cash) and she replied “Si” and then quickly said something else in Spanish which I didn’t understand. Eventually I asked “hablas ingles?” and in perfect English she replied “Yes, I’m an English teacher and translator in Buenos Aires.” Score! She was in Colonia for the day to get money but was having trouble with the ATMs as well, so we went on a mission together to find a cash point that would dispense dollars or pesos.
Ultimately we walked into a bank to find out the maximum limit for withdrawal, which turned out to be $100 or 5,000 pesos (approximately $250). With that information, I finally got cash out of the machine about 45 minutes after my first attempt. Back at the hostel I settled the bill then wandered out to fill my belly. On a small square I took a seat at a restaurant, El Drugstore that I’d read about in my guidebooks and ordered the fresh fish. Relaxing in the shade I read more about The Lost Girls adventures in Peru. When the food arrived, I had an enormous plate of fish with vegetables – so much food.
After lunch at which point it was already 5pm, I strolled the cobble-stone streets in the old town, a UNESCO city which was founded in 1680 by the Portuguese. Old cars were dotted along every street and each building was adorned with an old-fashioned lantern. Very picturesque. An hour and a bit later I was feeling exhausted and returned to my top bunk for an hour nap that turned into an hour and a half. I awoke to Manuela, my Swiss roommate, coming back to the room. She tried her best to convince me to come out, but after my enormous late lunch, I decided to stay at the hostel and partake in the free salsa lesson.
The salsa lesson, solo en español, started at 9pm with seven girls and one guy. The teacher showed us the steps, and even though I couldn’t understand most of what she was describing, I watched her feet closely. Eventually we were paired up, and I danced with the guy, speaking a bit of Spanish and learning he was from Santiago before switching to ingles. Thirty minutes later I was fatigued from the front to back side to side movement, said gracias and went to my dorm to write.
Saturday I woke at 9am for breakfast before heading to the tourist information office, where they spoke Spanish and I could only get some much info. Bus station was next to purchase my ticket to Montevideo – broken Spanish got me a ticket for the correct date and time. I also spoke to the tourist desk there with hopes of gleaning bus route times. A basically fruitless pursuit, but the woman was extremely friendly. Then I wandered some different streets in the old town and sat down for lunch, a pasta dish that wasn’t what I expected.
By the time I’d done all this it was only 1:15pm and I wasn’t meeting Sarah (from my Tucan trip who was taking a day trip to Colonia from Buenos Aires) until 2:30. Not accustomed to the hot weather after three weeks in Patagonia, the heat seemed to be getting to me and I took a short nap before going out to the road to wait for Sarah. Apparently she overshot the location as she came from the wrong direction and was 20 minutes later than I expected. So nice to be reunited once more!
Since she was just in Colonia for the afternoon, we strolled through most of the old city, most of which I’d seen, taking pictures and chatting. We stopped for cold fruit drinks and papas fritas at a restaurant facing the water. After a bit more sightseeing I asked Sarah for the time. It was only 5pm, but it didn’t really make sense as I was sure we had spent more time sitting. A few minutes later she looked at her watch again and exclaimed “my watch stopped”. In actuality it was 6:30pm and she needed to be heading to the port to catch the ferry. Close call. I walked her to the ferry for our farewell until London.
Back at the hostel I ran into a Dutch girl (Hester) from my dorm in Buenos Aires. We sat around discussing her three months of travel (two more to go) as she’d basically done the route I was planning to take. At 10:30pm, pasta dinner (which I’d signed up for earlier in the day) at the hostel was prepared and five women sat down together to dine. Five solo female travellers from all over the world – Brazil (Renata), Argentina (Carolina), Australia (Nicole), Holland (Hester) and US (me) –spending various amounts of time traveling. Pretty incredible. After dinner a couple of other girls, Carissa (US, working in Santiago) and Rielle (Holland) joined the conversation and we stayed up past midnight talking.
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| Nicole, Hester, me, Carolina and Renata |
Sunday was my day of rest, something I rarely allow time for while travelling. I’d booked three nights in Colonia knowing that the town was small and that I’d have time to relax. But the idea of not doing much sightseeing was foreign to me. I woke up at 9:15am for breakfast then came back to the room to spend some time on Excel (now that I’ve got full access, thanks dad) analyzing my budget (something I actually enjoy doing). At noon I went with Nicole and Rielle to the local market before sharing a parrilla lunch (lots of meat, including items like intestine and liver which I declined to taste).
A couple hours in the intense sun (covered in 50+ spf of course) I was ready to get inside. Back at the hostel, I chilled in the common area watching the latest episode of Grey’s (so good!) and reading. When I was ready to retreat to my room, the door was locked and the key nowhere to be found. In the end, I stood on a chair and climbed in through the window. Figuring I’d be on my own for a bit, I took a shower and relaxed some more (so much relaxing for one day). At 8:30pm, I realized I’d wanted to see the sunset. I popped down to the water just after the sun passed under the horizon, multi-colored layers lining the sky.
I was about to walk down Gran. Flores (the main street I’d taken on the way in) when I changed my direction and headed down one of the cobblestone streets, eventually turning into the main square. As I passed a restaurant, a woman offered me (in Spanish) a free small glass of champagne and some local cheese. I could tell it was free and accepted, knowing full well that I would be eating dinner back at the hostel. As I stood there sipping my champagne attempting to communicate, I watched as numerous passersby rejected the friendly women hostesses, and felt satisfied with my choice.
Returning to the hostel, cheery from the unexpected bubbly, I bumped into a mini street parade. About twenty men were beating drums while women danced in the street. It was totally random. A young woman Antonieta, who works at the hostel, told me it was a longstanding tradition. Thank goodness I’d gone to watch the sunset and walked back through town. One never knows what is around the corner.
Pizza night started at 10pm, and once again consisted of solely women. A few Colombian men came into the common area later, but we continued chatting with each other until bed. A very relaxing day.
Today I had the morning free before my 2.5 hour bus ride to the capital of Uruguay – Montevideo. Another late breakfast followed by chilling in the common room. Antonieta and I spoke a couple days ago about where I should travel in Uruguay and she suggested her hometown, Durazno, somewhere in the middle of Uruguay. When I asked about hostels, she replied that hotels were the only option, but maybe I could come home with her. She has a day off on Thursday, but I planned on being at the beach in La Paloma. After unsuccessfully trying to switch her day off, I chose to cancel my reservation and join her at home instead. I’m so excited to have the opportunity to spend a couple nights in a local house in a town not even mentioned in the guidebooks. We agreed to meet at the bus station in Durazno on Wednesday evening.
With that awesome news, I set off for the bus station in Colonia and say adios to Rielle and the fabulous staff at El Viajero.
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