Uruguay photos > Cute, Quaint Colonia #1
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The view of Buenos Aires as we depart from the ferry pier.
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The nasty, sooty exhaust from the ferry made for a very telling photo -- many of Buenos Aires' mass transportation vehicles seem to emit a huge amount of exhaust. The city seems pretty sooty at times.
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Sitting pretty on the ferry. A one-hour ride in a boat so large that it fits dozens of cars, has a duty-free shop (it crosses country borders!), and a first class upper deck.
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Dozens of little sidewalk cafes line the streets of oldtown Colonia. Very idyllic.
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Old vintage cars populate Colonia's historic district...
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...Some are more intact than others....
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One of the many historic points of interest in Colonia's historic district, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This area, we think, was the meeting place for a major battle agreement between Spanish and Portuguese settlers.
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John in front of the Colonia's lighthouse and and convent ruins of the 17th century Convent of San Francisco. When the Portuguese settled here, many holy orders arrived with them.
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For 15 Uruguayan pesos (about 72 cents, U.S.) we gained access to the top of the lighthouse, which provided this view of the ferry terminal.
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That was our ship!
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From the first platform of the lighthouse, we see the colorful patchwork of oldtown Colonia.
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At the top of the Colonia lighthouse, we catch an unwanted view of Uruguayan coin slot.
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The clouds looked quite heavy, but it rained only a smidgen during our Day 1 jaunt around Colonia
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Whit takes the ladder up to the tippity-top level of the lighthouse, where things were a little crowded
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Things look good from the top, even though someone needs to slap on some concealer.
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The Beattyso Overseas, atop a lighthouse in Uruguay
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Back on sea-level, things are bustling. Yes, I said bustling. By Colonia standards, this is a crowded street.
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Walking along the main street of Colonia, we saw a little opening to this community swiming pool.
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It was a happening place to be on this hot, humid Friday afternoon.
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Kids were jumping off the roof, with full permission of the adult man (in blue), who had the game down to a controlled science.
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A little later, we stopped for a coffee and noticed that the city buses had curtains. How retro!
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Colonia has a real resort town feel, and the many vehicle rental compies in town offer more of these than automobiles. Golf carts and dune buggies are offered...
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Rent me! Rent me! They practically scream from their kickstands.
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John on our rental vehicle, waving to a family on a cart with pony; the method of transportation favored by locals - it certainly provides better gas mileage.
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We peeked into a private yard in downtown and saw an eclectic display of animals. There's the prehistoric skeleton...
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The plater & paint big cats
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And the PVC turtle. Interesting!
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You can get a room fit for 6 people...
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Others sleep 2....
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And our room... No. 9...
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Sleeps three! but, we used the third bed as a sofa/setee. haha - how chic.
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We leave the B&B, and head out for an early dinner. This is the view along the river shore, heading from the B&B to town.
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John on our rental moto.
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We find a very friendly BBQ place for dinner. In Uruguay and Argentina, these joints are called paradilladas, where almost everything is thrown onto the firery hot grill.
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If you wave an American flag at your Uruguayan restaurant, you're bound to get some American tourists who will eat your food.
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HOT stuff over at the paradilla
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This out-of-focus shot of Colonia's streetlights turned out to be pretty artsy, eh?
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In focus, we see that the restaurant's kitty wants to be in the shot
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