As of yesterday, after my visit to Colonia, Uruguay, I feel that I have now completed basically everything that one can do here tourist wise. I have no doubt that there are myriad things to do in a big city like this, but in terms of the big cahunas, I'm pretty sure those are done.
First let me vent about my day yesterday... After oversleeping for reasons that are partially my fault, and partially my phone's fault, I missed my boat that was supposed to take me to Colonia. Being that this is literally the first time that has ever happened to me, I was really pissed, sad, and nervous, because yesterday was basically my only day that I could really go. I hauled my butt down to the docks, and managed to change my ticket to one in a couple of hours for only about 10$ more. Waiting at the port, I was hungry, exhausted, and obviously angry at myself. What made it worse though, was that somehow my Sube card (metro card), that I had just used, vanished. Literally walked out of my pocket. Being that you need a passport to get one, I was naturally pretty worried about how I would get home, and how I would get a new one, but also worried that my Argentine phone, that was also not with me hadn't decided to leave me permanently as well. [Yes it all worked out fine, got a new card today, and my phone was waiting for me at home when I got back, via an accidental free bus ride home :) ].
Luckily I made it to Colonia eventually, and was somewhat soothed by the free champagne offered to me on the way. The city, if you can really call it that, is really tiny, but at the same time incredibly beautiful. It reminded me a ton about what I think Cuba would be like, except no dancing in the street, and no communism. Although most food places were closed sadly, I did manage to get some awesome ice cream to soothe my angst of the day's events. I only had an hour to walk around, but that turned out to be enough more or less to see the town, and to quickly walk up the lighthouse, which still functions, for a great panoramic view. I quickly walked back to the dock, only to find out that my phone had not automatically changed to Uruguayan time (one hour ahead), and that I had missed my second boat. Luckily, the people took pity on me, and gave me a ticket for a later boat and consequentially an extra hour in Uruguay. I treated myself to an alfajor (dulce de leche cookie sandwich) for consolation.
Yes that was a crappy day you might say. However, I still have my passport, and my boat did not sink, although if it had, I probably wouldn't have been surprised. In spite of all these mishaps, something that I am really not used to when I travel, Colonia was beautiful enough that I still appreciated it and really enjoyed my short time there. Although I have a general proclivity (because of my father I think!) to do rapid speed lightning tours of places, it may be worth it to stay a night or two in Uruguay, to see Montevideo, but also to see Punta del Este, a really cool beach on the other side of the coast. I would definitely recommend some sort of trip to this place it if you come visit the area!
In terms of other touristy things, the museums here are meh. The Evita Museum by my house, and the Bicentennial Museum behind the Casa Rosada (free) were probably my favorites so far. The big ones, despite promising Frida Khalo and Diego Rivera, didn't really have much or any of that.
In all I'd say the markets are definitely where it's at, and the fact that they only happen on Saturdays or Sundays make them that much more special. One cool day trip, or half day trip, is El Tigre, 45ish minutes north of town. It's basically a water world type place. Everything water compliant, including boats instead of cars, water gas stations, grocery store boats, etc. A very special place. Another thing that I've grown to appreciate is the graffiti here. There's a lot, and although it's not always interesting, sometimes there's really cool drawings or intriguing cultural and historically important messages.
If you come down here, walking is your best bet. Don't do the big tour bus, but remember to wear some sunblock because that ozone hole they keep talking about is apparently just a bit south of us here!
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