We needed a rest, plan ahead & catch up day. Got it. We were able to talk to Solei in Buenos Aires & lined up some volunteer work there when we get back from our cruise. Solei and I had connected just days before we left for this trip. She was an exchange student in US several years ago so speaks English. She coordinates volunteer opportunities with Mensajeros de la Paz (Messengers of Peace). I was glad to make those arrangements. We also went to the airport & got tickets for tomorrow a.m. to Buenos Aires. There's a point over looking the river near here where you can be standing in Argentina & see both Brazil & Paraguay…so we checked that out too.
It's Friday…so we must be in Uruguay! Our flight this am left at 8:45, landed in Buenos Aires where we went to the ferry station & boarded one headed for Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. It's a very ancient & quaint town that must of decided years ago to just keep the old buildings & stone walkways…which turned out to be a good idea. Our hotel & several other businesses are now in the old buildings. The city was crowded with people snapping photos of the old buildings many with flowering vines crawling up them. Such vibrant shades of purple, yellow & red. The town boasts 8 museums so on Saturday, we wandered through 5 of them filled with indigenous tools & clay pottery; Spaniard soldier gear & furnishings; birds, butterfly & extinct animal bones; and modern art. The weather was much cooler with a nice breeze. We found a grocery store with sandwiches, empanadas & Coke Light so we had a nice picnic in a quiet part around 3. From there we grabbed our luggage & headed to our booked room further from the center of the city for the night. We were in for a surprise! The man who answered the door told us (via translator) that his family had rented it for the weekend…and we were not the first to show up with confirmed reservations. So now what?? The man spent the next 45 minutes calling around (because he was Uruguayan & very kind) and somehow he found us a room…even though our searches showed everything full for miles around. Then he called a taxi for us. He couldn't have been more helpful! He was here in Colonia del Sacramento celebrating his 70th birthday….we were celebrating his kindness!! So back to town we went & found the hotel…a very nice one. By 6, we were ready to go to the city park where 2 musicians were putting on silly skits. We couldn't understand the jokes but could sure understand how much the laid back crowd enjoyed the show! We especially loved watching the happy toddler & kids freely roam and interact with the crowd sprawled out on the grassy hillside. And…since it was Valentine's Day, we found a place serving chocolate cake with layers of duche de leche (like Carmel) and flan too. MMMMmmm. Slept well in our nice accommodations.
Next morning it was raining. First big rain since we left home. It gave us time to research later stays. Our bus to Montevideo ( the capital) left at 2 and for 3 hours we had window views of the country side: corn hay & soybean fields, dairy cows, and housing similar to Argentina. Road was smooth & bus comfortable.
