Colonia de Sacremento & Montevideo (Uruguay)

I took the ferry from Buenos Aires over to Uruguay for a quick visit and stopped at Colonia de Sacremento - the oldest town in Uruguay having been founded in 1680 by the Portugese - this town kept passing back and forward between the Portugese and Spanish rule then onto Brazil before becoming part of the independent Uruguay in late 1820`s. The old centre of the town which is full of old colonial buildings is now a World Heritage site.

This old lighthouse was built in the 17th century as part of the Convent San Francisco - some beautiful views from the top and you could actually see the skyline of Buenos Aires as well in the distance.

Some of the old buildings have been turned into musuems to show what they would have looked like a few centuries ago.

The gentle people of the colonies introduced the ceramic gourds into South America for drinking their Mate - though pretty they were both too expensive and impractical to catch on with the locals.

I went for a nice walk around the waterfront where the ferries from Beunos Aires pass by.

Parrots nesting in the palm tree.

The original city gate and wall still stands around parts of the old town.

The pier where the locals hang out and go fishing.

I liked this painting outside the local library.

Just a short walk away you come to the newer residential area of town.

The Town Hall.

There was a pretty sunset on the bus ride over to Montevideo.

Montevideo the capital city of Urugay and the only city in the country with a population over 1 million people. I only spent a couple of days here but the old town was a nice place to walk around with lots of interesting old buildings and just around the corner from the more modern commerical area. The sun might have been shining but it was chilly.

The open fires in a few of the resteraunts.

The Carnaval Museum with displays of puppets used in the local festivals.

Colourful fruit stalls.

The local workmen take a break and have a game of football.

The Museo de Arte Decorativo (and some others) - display the furntiture, art and ceramics that would have been found in the houses of the wealthy and aristocrats in the early years of the city.

The history museum had some huge paintings telling the stories of Uruguays past wars.

And from what I understood this book seemed to be the signatures for some treaty or union agreement.

Now they say that fashion always comes back around so gents maybe you should look for some shoes like this!!

The River bank and old port.

Some old ladies tryig to make some money outside the Cathedral.

This lady had her hands full trying to keep all these kids together.....

The old City Gate still stands in the middle of the city centre.

The Solis Theatre is Uruguays oldest theatre opening in 1856 - it was built by a co-operative of wealthy locals who thought decided for pretigous reasons the city required a theatre though it took longer than expected when there was a 10 year delay in building due to a war and lack of supplies!!

Like other countries in South America it is not unusual to see vans and cars driving about with huge loud speakers blasting out advertisments!!

A board game in the middle of one of the main shopping streets!

There were a lot of craft markets with some unusual items for sale like the handbags made from reycled paper.

The tomb of General Jose Gervasio Artigas who is often called the ´Father of Uruguayan Independence'.

A military band and procession through Plaza.

Though a modern city there were still signs of the older ways of life like the horse and cart drivers.

I thought the people in Paraguay and Argentina liked their Mate - in Montevideo about every third person I passed on the street had their flask and mate mug with them.

This old church was under renovations but there was still a section open down in the crypts - the walls of which seemed to be covered in graffiti!!

The history of art museum had paintings and exhibits going back to the romans and Egyptians as well as the south american inca periods - not quite sure where the guy playing the bagpipes came into it though!!



I had debated whether to go over to Urugauy for a few days as I didn`t have enough time to stay longer but I was glad I did. Though I can`t say I saw much of Uruguayan life I liked the two cities I visited and the people I met were friendly and laid back. I was told there are some nice coastal towns and beaches here but even if I had more time it it was not the best time to head to the beach!! So I will just have to come back another time!!