Day 4-Buenos Aires to Colonia Uruguay

We had to wake up very early this morning.  I was up and in the shower by 6:15  We are making our way to Colonia, Uruguay.  It is 3 hours by slow ferry and about 1 hour and 10 minutes by fast ferry, however, we are on the slow ferry.

The Buquebus was our form of transportation. It is a very wide commuter boat with 3 or 4 levels.  They have a first class as well on the lowest level with really plush seats and better amenities.  You feel like you are on a mini cruise ship.  On the main floor, where you board, there is a small shopping space, much like that of a duty free airport shop.  There was a cafe and lots of open space, games, pinball machines, air hockey and a nice atrium with sunlight shining through.

On the second level there are tons of seats that recline so that people can sleep, as most of them did for the entire trip.  There was also a cafeteria at the front of the ship to purchase snacks and drinks.  There were some cool bar stool seats and tables at the front of the cafeteria, with an open view to the seas that lie ahead.

The third deck was open air with bench seats and another bar/cafe in the front.  There was also a helipad on board in case of medical emergencies.  On this day it is chilly, but the sun is shining, mild winds and very clear skies.  The water was extremely murky.  I am trying to indulge my picture monkey with hopes of deleting the bad ones upon return home.

I am living in the moment and enjoying things as they come.  I had a strange vision the other day of being with my ex on this trip, possibly because I had seen so many couples the day before as well as a few on this trip in our group.  Many times you feel that is where you need to be, however, I feel I am exactly where i need to be at this moment in time.

The group we (Noah and I) are traveling with are very unique.  Most are from the UK, Australia and even one New Zealander (kiwi).  They are all on extended holiday, 3 months, 6 months etc.  We also have an older retired couple from Hawaii with us.  It is a good group.  Our guide, Martin (pronounced Mar-tine), is very laid back.  He advised us on day one that his job was to get us from Point A to Point B.  He seems to be more of a facilitator than a tour guide.  I would love to learn Spanish and Portuguese and do his job, or one similar.

Colonia is beautiful.  Cobblestone streets and breathtaking trees line the Avenues.  It seems to be a small community which can be explored in an hour or two.  Upon our arrival, we walked the area.  We also walked along the coast and took photos.  I saw a really cool lighthouse that I photographed.

                              

                                           

After finding a great place to eat lunch, we decided to make our way to the beach and play soccer (futbol as they say here).  It was a fun 3 on 3 game that really showed just how out of shape we all were.  Of course my team won.  We had the most skills to pay the bills.

After soccer on the beach, we walked back to our hotel and rinsed the sand off our bodies, and went  up the hill to a bar and watched the finals between Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro (An argentinian long shot).  It was entertaining to say the least and our tour guide was chomping at the bit with every play.

We stopped watching at 8pm because we had reservations at a restaurant that our guide recommended called, Patrimonio.  The food was excellent.  I had the peppered steak and mashed potatoes as well as a mastral negro, which is a local dark beer.  Very delicious.  We headed back, after the group had fun on the foosball table, which Noah dominated on, by 10:30 and by 11pm I was semi asleep.  I forgot that large amounts of protein for dinner are never a good mix for sleeping.  I finally took a melatonin at 1am.

                          

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Until next time...