Depuis le port de Buenos Aires, il est facile d´organiser des voyages d´une journée vers la cote d´en face, qui s´avère appartenir à l´Uruguay (preuve qu´on est dans un nouveau pays sur la plaque d´immatriculation d´une mob, photo 1). On a choisi de visiter la petite ville de Coloña, qui est un site protégé par l´Unesco et donc vaut le coup d´etre vu. Le centre touristique est vraiment joli et agréable (photo 2 par exemple): que des anciennes rues pavées, des mini musées qui se visitent en 3 minutes, des cafés et des maisons historiques (comme des bordels - photo 3) qui appartenaient tour à tour à l´ancien empire colognal espagnol ou portugais. En temps qu´endroit stratégique, Coloña fut longtemps un lieu de dispute entre les deux puissances et changea de "nationalité" au moins 6 ou 7 fois. Les fortifications furent aussi détruites mais quelques restes sont d´origine et d´autres ont été reconstruits (photos 4 et 5). On a donc visité des maisons (reconverties en galleries de peinture ou autres cafés internet/restos) typiquement espagnoles ou typiquement portugaises. Coloña est quand-meme un endroit ou on "attend" les touristes, donc forcément rien n´est donné et le service et la qualité de la nourriture ne sont pas au top. Mais bon l´essentiel, c´est d´avoir coché un pays de plus sur la carte du globe terrestre!
It will probably be a while before I have the opportunity to take a day-trip to Uruguay again, so I felt I had no choice but to go. It is simple to catch a ferry across the mighty River Plate from BA and voila, you´re in Coloña. Apart from getting out of bed at 6:30am of course, which was horrendous; Argentinians stay up very late and we had adjusted our bodies accordingly i.e. rising at about 11.30. Coloña is a really pretty and interesting town, with a history (and some remaining buildings) stretching back to the 17th century. The town switched between Spanish and Portuguese hands about six times before Uruguay was invented, as such has been influenced by two (quite similar in my eyes) styles of architecture. We spent half a day exploring, which was fun - then had four hours or so to kill before our ferry left, with hindsight a half day trip would have sufficed. Glad that I went to Uruguay but, I think only time will tell whether I really appreciated it, or whether my journey was superficially motivated simply by the chance to have been to another country.
Pictures:
1. Reading the last sentence above, I suspect the latter explanation to be true.
2. Like I said, pretty place.
3. 17th century Portuguese house (you can tell from the roof tiles) in the former whore street - never fails to amaze me, no matter how small a place is, it always has a whore street.
4. Lighthouse.
5. Fulton has found a cannon, armyyyy, guns, bang bang BOOOOM.
6. Man fishing in the River Plate, stretch of water separating Uruguay and Argentina.
