After Montevideo we were very excited about our next Uruguay stop, Colonia. Colonia del Sacramento is a little port town and was established so the Portuguese could smuggle goods into Buenos Aries. The lonely planet states that Colonia simply had “it” and we agree that this place certainly does. It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what “it” is but it’s a combination of an old port wall, cobbled streets, very cool stone buildings, old cars parked in front of said old buildings, old gnarly trees, quaint little restaurants, little cove like beaches and amazing sunsets over the bay with the tall buildings of Buenos Aries adding to the backdrop.
We have spent our time just wandering around the coast line and old port town. Something that piqued our curiosity was a drink called Mate, not just here but in Montevideo and Argentina as well, though it was definitely more prevalent here. Everyone was walking around with a thermos under one arm and a leather bound cup which had a straw that looked like a spoon in it. So we asked around and found out that it is a tea. You fill the cup with a load of loose leaves and then fill the cup up with hot water and drink the tea through the straw. The tea leaves are reused throughout the day. So we went out and bought our kit and Tim has been furiously making Mate ever since! S
A few images of the old town of Colonia, a truely quaint place.
The classic mate pose, looking like a local
That is Buenos Aires on the horizon, not a bad place to watch a sunset !
