The beach at last!

The past 4 days passed quietly and idly in Colonia Del Sacramento.

This is the first European (Portuguese) settlement in what became Uruguay. On the north bank of Rio De La Plata, literally across the river from Buenos Aires, this new port  was founded  as a raiding settlement. Raiding and disrupting the Spanish trade from B.A. that is. Basically it was a base for piracy, and I liked that idea. Eventually the Spanish took that over as well, after founding Montevideo first, and the rest is history.

The foundations, gates and lighthouse, church and port of the ancient city still remain. The old part of the town was included in the UNESCO World Heritage program as well. It's a nice, sleepy town. You're more likely to encounter tourists running amok on rented mopeds and golf buggies (!) than locals most of the time. And it has some nice beaches too. Nothing like the north Uruguayan or Brazilian Atlantic coastline, but still very enjoyable.

So it went. Some aimless wandering around, endless hours on the beach, local delicacies and a mild sunburn. The only downside to all this was the loss of my shades. Someone nicked them in the hostel. Oh well, it was meant to happen at some point.

Back to the frenzy of Buenos Airs now, some unfinished business to be taken care of and then: Samba de Janeiro!

And since I'll be at the Rio Carnaval in a couple of weeks, a little taste of what's to come from the (relatively small) Carnaval of Colonia:

 

Hasta luego!