Monday, November 14, 2022
South America Trip - Day 18
Adventure in Uruguay! Before leaving on this trip, I’d discovered that day trips were possible from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, by means of a fast catamaran (Buquebus) that daily crosses the large bay of the Rio de La Plata delta. However, I was hesitant to buy tickets or build plans around such an excursion, mostly because of a concern I didn’t really have enough time while in Buenos Aires. After getting a huge amount of walking yesterday, though, I figured I would give the ferry a chance. First challenge: the Buquebus website was tough to use with an iPhone and gave conflicting information about ticket availability. My friend from the Patagonia trip, Tony, texted that he and Shelly had been unable to get any tickets themselves so were not planning on going to Colonia. I didn’t give up so easily - instead, I went down to the lobby and asked the clerk (Mateo) for help. He was able to find me a round trip ticket that left Buenos Aires at 1215 and returned at 2030. But then I hit the second challenge: when we tried to make the payment online, it didn’t work. At the time, I suspected that it was the website. Mateo suggested that I walk down to the ferry terminal (only six blocks away) and ask for assistance. Before leaving, I got breakfast (cereal, pastries, fruit) in the hotel dining room. Then (0715), I got on my way! The morning weather was completely different than the previous day: it was cool (50s), overcast and breezy. Almost everyone else but me was bundled up for the nasty (for here) weather. After cutting south to Cordoba, I walked straight east to the Buquebus Terminal on the north end of Puerto Madero. When I arrived, the 0830 ferry was loading and it was crazy busy. I asked for some help but no one spoke English. Fortunately, one of the nice ladies working there knew about a large, English-speaking tour group nearby with a bilingual leader. Through their their combined help, I ended up in the correct line. It took a little while to reach the Sales counter so I checked my phone for messages - it was only then that I realized that the earlier charge had been blocked by my bank. Fortunately (again), I was able to validate the vendor and (after one clerk set up my ticket and sent me to the payment center) was ultimately able to get my round trip tickets (0800). The itinerary was called something like a “Tourist” fare (one day, out and back). Relieved that I’d actually been able to complete the process, I next had to kill about two hours. Since walking is usually my thing, I just headed east as far as the road would allow and found a street that abutted the city port (route blocked by security) and a wildlife sanctuary. I followed this street to the south and got to see a lot of interesting birds that were resting in the marshy areas along the Rio de La Plata (the river itself was not visible). After a little while, I turned back to the west and explored the canals and shopping areas of Puerto Madero. Highlights: got photos of the Puente de Las Mujeres (being repaired) and an old sailing ship; looked around inside a McDonalds (they have some different food and “all day” options). By 1000, I’d made it back to the ferry terminal and settled in for what I thought would be a long wait. I picked up some food, in case I couldn’t get lunch later (1025), and charged my phone. Just a little while later, I saw a crowd of people moving towards the Embarkation area and decided to follow. After I snaked through a long queue, a lady scanned my ticket and then handed me a boarding pass and something called a Control Manga. From this area, I had to go to the second floor of the terminal, where I cleared both Argentinian (photo, fingerprint) and Uruguayan (loud stamp in my passport) customs. During this time, I saw the first of several instances during the day when security gave great deference to older persons and mothers - both got to go straight to the head of the line and no one (at all) objected. I also started noticing some fellow Americans - they were easily distinguishable because of their face masks and COVID-19 vaccine cards… After I got through with Immigration, I got to wait in a big room for about an hour. At around 1130, someone must have noticed the Buquebus ferry (“Atlantic III”) coming into the harbor because a wild stampede began to queue into three lines. Of course, I followed the leaders and then got to stand around for another 30 minutes while the catamaran docked. At around 1205, the lines started moving and we all handed one of our slips of paper (Control Manga) to the agents near the entrance of the boarding gate. From there, it was organized chaos through a LONG maze of gangways. When I finally got onboard, I found a store, restaurant and dining area (and bathrooms). The seats looked comfortable but the windows were frosted. Since I already knew we couldn’t stroll around on the deck, I gave up any illusions of taking photos and just tried to find a seat. Most of the good ones were already taken so I sat down in a cushioned seat near a group of families with small children. The ferry departed a bit late (1230) and I settled into my chair to listen to an audiobook. About ten minutes later, a little girl (2 years old) started paying a lot of attention to me. Her mother kept apologizing to me, in Spanish, so I tried to tell her that it was ok because I have three daughters of my own. The few sentences we spoke could have ended the interaction (I apologized for not knowing a lot of Spanish) but the “Dad” of the family arrived shortly afterwards and (after his wife told him I was a dad of three girls) began talking to me in English. It turned out that Marco and Tatiana were financial advisers who split time between Uruguay (Montevideo) and Argentina (each has family in both countries). They often visit the US, mostly to ski, and asked me a lot of questions about my travels. They loved that I had seen so much of Patagonia and insisted that I should consider retiring in Uruguay (“just like all the other people from the US”). The conversion lasted so long that we were docking in Colonia before I knew it (almost an hour and a half had passed since I got on the boat). We debarked quickly (no customs needed) and I soon (1345) found myself in Uruguay! Almost no one spoke English in the terminal but I was able to get a map and instructions about how to find a restaurant that Tatiana had recommended to me (they go there every time they are in Colonia). I walked west from the ferry landing and entered the Barrio Viejo. This town, a Seventeenth Century colony of the Portuguese, was juggled between powers until the Spanish finally got the upper hand in 1777. There are actually homes and other types of buildings from the time of the earliest settlement and parts of the old city walls have been restored to their former greatness. As I started my informal walking tour, it was still cool, breezy and overcast but I was comfortable in my shorts and t-shirt. The ocean looked angry, though… I got a little more information about the town at the Cultural Center and then checked out the old lighthouse (Faro). After that, I proceeded to the El Charco Bistro. On the way, I passed SO many tour huge Brazilian your busses! Once I got inside, I was able to find a young waitress who understood English and settled into my seat at a bar counter that faced the ocean. It was a great view and my mood improved even more when I learned that there was a local craft brewery (Maltik) with some beers on tap. I ended up ordering a Belgian Ale and an Irish Red. For my late lunch (I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast), I tried the house rolls with a tangy olive oil called Coratina - it was good. For my entree, I had the Poke Bowl with salmon, over rice, and lots of veggies. It was amazing and I scarfed it down with chopsticks. To top off the meal, I ate a dessert called “Volcano de Dulce” (melted chocolate and caramel with a side of ice cream). Outstanding meal, overall! When it was time to pay, I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to add a tip to my credit card bill (1525). Near the end of the meal, I noticed that a guy my age was sitting nearby and politely smiling whenever I tried to use my Spanish with the waitress. We struck up a conversation and he (Julian) told me he was a contractor with the US CDC (epidemic research) and was always looking for ways to practice his English to improve his job skills. For a little while, we took turns describing our travels in alternating languages. Julian’s English was much better than my Spanish but he thanked me for making the effort. As I was leaving, I asked the waitress where I could go for a good walk along the shore and she pointed me towards a route called Rambla Cristobal Colon. It took a bit of walking to reach it but I used my paper map (I didn’t initially have cell service) as I navigated through streets with large trees over them. The houses of the town were all very colorful and I saw lots of old cars and “community dogs.” I passed a school with kids playing all kinds of outdoor sports and then continued west towards the far end of the cove/harbor - there was supposed to be an old bullfighting ring there and I wanted to see it. Along the way, I noticed (in the distance) the skyline of Buenos Aires. Unfortunately, after only a kilometer of walking, it started to rain. Not wanting to be wet and miserable, I turned around and then walked back to the port. The precipitation must have only been concentrated to the west of me because I never felt any more rain for the rest of the day. I walked through a busy shopping district on the main street and changed some of my Argentinian Pesos into Uruguayan Pesos. Back in the old part of town, I spent a little time near a pretty church and the ruins of the governor’s palace. By about 1730, I felt like I’d seen almost everything of interest (it then made sense that the guy at the Cultural Center had said “Monday, everything is closed”). Backtracking to the old city walls, I used all of the Uruguayan pesos I had (and some Argentinian) to treat myself at a Heladera that claimed to be the best in Colonia (1745). As with most ice cream, I really can’t argue… While I was sitting outside the Heladera, the sun came out and warmed up the town considerably. I watched whole families (of four!) riding around on the cobbled streets in their Vespas and golf carts. It was getting late by the time I finished eating and then the “fun” began again. With a bit of apprehension (that I might not have correctly understood all the procedures for returning to Buenos Aires), I returned to the ferry terminal at 1830. I’d noticed before that there were several companies with ferries coming/going and I wasn’t completely sure which people to emulate! As soon as I saw movement towards the security line, I checked in for my return ride on the Buquebus and proceeded through the immigration checkpoint. Unlike the departure process, there was only one group of officials - my heart sank to realize that I’d probably have a delay for customs when I reached Buenos Aires… In the waiting area, I sat quietly for around an hour until everyone seemed to spring out of their seats and queue up for departure. An older lady nearby was talking in English to some people and I heard her say “that is for the Colonia Express, 2015 Departure, and the Buquebus is behind that - you can relax!” I took her counsel to heart and felt like I was in good hands for making it back to my hotel. Actually, I ended up talking to the lady myself when (after I tried to speak Spanish to her) she determined I was from the US. Like everyone else I’ve met on this trip, she (and others around me) were quite helpful and gave me lots of suggestions for places to see/go in Argentina and Uruguay. I also talked to another English-speaking couple nearby - one of them was on a 10 Week (!!!) vacation. At 2030, my actual departure time, I got into a queue and started towards the loading ramp. Fortunately (yet again), one of the agents verified that I was on Buquebus just before I boarded the wrong ferry. He pointed to another line (not quite as long, luckily) and I sheepishly went to stand in it. At 2045, boarding began for Buquebus (“Atlantic III” again) and I made my way down the gangway to the correct boat. We departed just before 2100 and I relaxed/read as we re-crossed the River. As before, I really didn’t have any chance to take photos out the window (it was dark anyway). However, it was possible to see the bright skyline of Buenos Aires as we approached the city. The ride seemed to go more quickly and we were tied at the pier by around 2150. Only 10 minutes later, I was walking west on Cordoba - the immigration line went quite quickly (thanks to my Spanish!). I reached my hotel quickly (2215) and set up a shuttle to the airport for the following day. Spent another 30 minutes packing and then went to bed (2245). Over 10 miles of walking again - really glad I made the journey across the River Plate today!