20221123_102728Calle de los Suspiros, Colonia del Sacramento (November 2022)

Colonia del Sacramento was my first and only place I visited in Uruguay. While traveling around Argentina last fall, I spent a day visiting this small city in a small country. It was my last stop on the trip before concluding the two-and-a-half week journey, and I wanted to explore a country I hadn’t been in order to see what it was all about.

Colonia del Sacramento (or “Colonia,” for short) is located in southwest Uruguay, just across from the Argentine capital Buenos Aires about 62 kilometers (38 miles) away. Founded by the Portuguese in 1680, its territory flip-flopped between Portugal and Spain throughout the 17th and 18th centuries before becoming its own independent country in 1828. Today, it’s a predominantly Spanish-speaking nation, although it’s known that about 15% of Uruguayans speak some Portuguese.

This Uruguayan city is small, size-wise and with a mere population of 26,000. However, it’s a popular day trip for Argentines and international tourists alike, most whom take the one-hour ferry over from Buenos Aires. The city grows exponentially as soon as the first ferries dock, and by early afternoon, Colonia is packed with people.

I had an early-morning start: having arrived back in Buenos Aires the night before, I woke up early to catch a taxi to the port. I had to be at the port at least an hour prior to boarding, as I had to go through immigration between Argentina and Uruguay– while I got my passport stamped for Uruguay, I didn’t for Argentina, as it’s one of the few countries in the world which doesn’t stamp passports (just an electronic confirmation). Thankfully, getting through immigration wasn’t too bad early in the morning, as I was taking an early ferry out.

20221123_162803Taking the ferry…

The ferry left at 7h30, and it was a quick ride over. We arrived an hour later, and my tour guide picked me up from the port. We headed over to the Barrio Histórico, a UNESCO World Heritage, for a two-hour tour. This is the Old Town of Colonia, and it comprises of a mere two or three plazas– it doesn’t take a long time to cover all of them, and you could see them within an hour or two.

20221123_162727Welcome!

20221123_150644Portón de Campo, entrance to the Barrio Histórico

Regardless, the streets were all cobblestone and teeming with bougainvillea, which added a huge pop of color to the rustic colors of the city. There were even some small homes painted red and shades of pink– my tour guide informed me they were representative of the Portuguese influence, and although the colors were a bit worn out, they still made for a beautiful contrast.

20221123_113925So much bougainvillea!

My tour guide, who was native Uruguayan, gave a crash course in the country’s history as we wandered around: besides the Spanish and Portuguese influences that dominated Uruguay in the past, the country also had a small, but notable indigenous population, the Charrúas, who were deliberately (and tragically) decimated by European rule in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, almost no descendants survive, and the vast majority of Uruguayans are of direct European descent, whether Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, or French. Not the country’s proudest moment, that’s for sure…

I also got to learn about Uruguay’s economy, which is significantly stronger than its neighbor’s, Argentina. Although Uruguay also uses the peso, it’s different from Argentina’s. My tour guide, while boasting of his home country’s economy, lamented Argentina’s unstable one– he said that even though it’s so rich in resources to make it one of the wealthiest countries in the world, it’s due to government corruption that causes it to fall short of being truly prosperous. He made it clear his biases against Argentina, considering the two countries are rivals.

Real estate has especially burgeoned in Uruguay in the last couple of decades, as international investors have been buying up property, and plenty of expats (especially the British and nearby Argentinians) come to retire here. As my tour guide said it, Uruguay is the “Switzerland of South America,” being small (3.5 million people), having uncomplicated banking and tax systems, and being relatively-free from any conflict– some joke that it’s so peaceful in Uruguay, it’s almost boring. But I beg to differ!

Any case, my tour concluded a few hours later, and I had the rest of the day to explore Colonia on my own. I retraced my steps back to the plazas we’d wandered through, and I popped into a few museums housed inside the historic Portuguese homes, including the Museo Portugués (on Portuguese history) and the Museo de Azulejos (on Spanish and French tiles, my personal favorite). The museums were extremely small, with some having only one or two exhibition rooms, and they could be done within 15 minutes.

It was lunchtime, and I headed to one of the restaurants my tour guide had recommended to try chivito, the Uruguayan national dish. Essentially, it’s a beef sandwich with salad and a fried egg– unfortunately, the one I ordered was not good at all: the beef was impossibly dry and tough, and it made for a very disappointing meal.

20221123_121555Chivito

I continued to wander the Old Town, and I stopped by a few souvenir shops to purchase some handmade trinkets for friends, family, and loved ones back home. I also passed by the imposing, 17th century Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento and the Faro de Colonia del Sacramento, the latter in which you can pay a small fee to climb to the top of its lighthouse– unfortunately, the lighthouse was closed on the exact day I visited, so I didn’t get to go in. Any case, the views of the water in the distance were lovely– on a clear day, you could actually see Buenos Aires from there!

20221123_131649The basilica

20221123_113314The lighthouse (with a traditional Portuguese home)

Just before leaving, I headed to a café where I decided to try mate– interestingly, I never got the chance to have it in Argentina, but as Uruguay also participates in mate culture, I opted to have it before it was too late. The barista prepared it for me and was very kind in instructing me on how to consume it: only pour a small bit of hot water at the edge of the vessel, drink slowly and, no matter what, do NOT stir with the metal straw! The mate tasted very strong, like intense herbal tea, and I enjoyed it while sitting outside and reveling in the warm, spring afternoon.

20221123_134057Maté

It was time to return to the port to watch my ferry back to Buenos Aires: I headed back and caught the 16h00 ride over; I returned to the Buenos Aires port, and immigration was absolutely packed with workers and visitors coming back at the end of the day; it took almost an hour to get through, but finally(!), I made it out and returned to my hotel. A long and exhausting day, but well worth it exploring a country I hadn’t been to; I’d say it was a success!

…and that’s it from my trip to Argentina (and Brazil and Uruguay) from last fall! It had been a dream three years in the making, especially after the worst of the pandemic. Argentina had been on my list for so long, and I’m so glad I finally got to go. Going with a local, packaged tour was perfect, as my hotels, transport, and domestic flights were all taken cared of– I got great accommodations and convenience of travel. I went with the company Say Hueque (based in Buenos Aires), and I highly recommend them to anyone who wants to go to Argentina!

Thank you so much for following me on this whirlwind of a journey throughout this corner of South America, and I guarantee more adventures are coming soon! 🙂

— Rebecca

Published by Rebecca

Blogger, world traveler, poet, foodie, part-time penguin. Welcome!

50 thoughts on “Destination: Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay”

  5. I’d love to live somewhere so peaceful that it’s almost boring, ha! Your day trip to Uruguay looks lovely– filled with history, learning new things, trying new foods and a short encounter with immigration. Definitely making the trip whenever I visit Argentina, especially seeing that both countries are visa free for me 🙂

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    1. Yes, it’s a whole ritual with mate. It’s not just preparing it for consumption, but it’s also a communal thing, in which the drink is passed from person to person in a group to share. Truly is a unique part of Argentinian culture!

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  10. What a picturesque place! I love the old houses, the cobbles and the splash of colour from the bougainvillea! I do wish we’d had time to visit during our short stay in Buenos Aires, it would have been great to add another country to my list 😉

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    1. I knew I had to make it to Colonia while still in Buenos Aires, before I went home. Besides adding a country to my list, I genuinely wanted to visit Colonia, especially after viewing gorgeous photos of its Old Town online! Hope you can head to Uruguay some day and see it for yourself. 🙂

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    1. I’ve had tour guides with biased opinions during my travels (including a local Estonian guide who expressed her hatred of Russians), but I think it’s insightful and adds perspective on countries and their people, as well as their relationship to other nations they’ve interacted with. I was happy to have made it over during springtime for the bougainvillea to bloom, and mate was a novel drink to try!

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  12. What a nice day trip to Colonia! How was the view from the ferry? I love the charming lighthouse and the pop of color from the bougainvillea. It was interesting to learn about Uruguay’s Portuguese and Spanish history – thank you for sharing!

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    1. My guide took me around for about 2 hours and I had the rest of the day to explore Colonia on my own. I don’t know exactly how many countries I’ve been to, but probably close to or at 50 so far!

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  18. When I traveled to southern China back in 2012, I met an Uruguayan who thought I was a Maori from New Zealand. He was the one who told me about Colonia for the first time. That’s why now every time I hear or read about it, including this post, I always remember him. I’ve been intrigued by Uruguay for quite some time. It’s just so fascinating to read about how this small country seems to manage to remain stable despite the upheavals its two large neighbors often experience.

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    1. Uruguayans are a small population (3 million), but they’re certainly mighty! It’s coincidental (and cool!) you met one abroad. I think due to its strong export economy, low corruption (at least, compared to its neighbors), and large middle class, Uruguay has managed to stay stable and it’s one of the most liberal countries in South America. Very admirable, and well-worth a visit! 🇺🇾

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    1. I admit, I knew little about Uruguay before visiting, so I learned a lot during my brief time there! The bougainvillea were so vibrant and definitely added a pop of color to the already-colorful town!

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