After flying from London to Houston and then on to Buenos Aires. I had a morning to recover before the ICSB conference started. To be honest it was a long morning, as the opening event did not start until 8pm, following a late dinner Latin culture.
This gave me the opportunity to use most of the day to explore. I was keen to get across to Uruguay being so close. So I decided to use the day to take the express Buquebus ferry in the morning to Colonia and return in the afternoon. Being outside of peak season it was possible to get tickets in the morning at the terminal. The crossing was easy enough, the ferry terminals are like mini airports with check in desks, where big bags are checked in the hold and returned on belts at the other end. Plus hand luggage is screened and you have to pass through a mental detector, before getting your passport checked and stamped for the country you are going to arrive at before boarding the ferry. The Argentinian side is more organised so was a breeze, whilst the Uruguayan side took a little longer to clear.
Colonia’s old town is an UNESCO world heritage site. However, due to its size (and my walking pace) 5 hours was enough time to explore it. The old city is only a short walk from the ferry terminal. At which point you can pass through the old gate and follow the tree lined streets to the main old square and church. The old town is full of cobbled streets and is surrounded by the sea on three sides. The city swung between being a Portuguese and Spanish colony, so contains features of both Portuguese and Spanish architecture and design. The city layout within the old city walls follows a Portuguese layout and the city outside of the walls follows a Spanish grid layout.
Robin Bell 