Colonia

On Tuesday I went to Colonia, Uruguay. It's just a short trip away, sort of like Mexico. So I figured I had to go. You can go and come back in the same day(like Mexico), border security is a joke (like Mexico), and it's substantially cheaper when you cross the border (like Mexico). Granted, I've never actually been to Mexico. All the more reason to carpe diem and cross the border. I'm trying to get to as many different places as possible, and here was my chance. I had planned on going with an American friend of mine, whose 60 day visa in the country had expired. (See, he needed to cross the border, and then re-enter the country to get a new visa. Pretty easy to do here. Not so much like Mexico). But turned out he miscalculated the dates, and had to go last week. In a hurry. So grandma Perla tagged along instead. She's up for anything I tell ya!

Colonia is a city in the southwest of Uruguay, and it's the oldest city in the country. It was founded as a Portuguese colony, and it still retains so much of its historical charm almost 150 years later. It's beautiful. We bought a package that included the boat ride over there on Buquebus, (a company that does daily ferries to Colonia), lunch at a restaurant there, a city tour, and the ride back.

Here's us on the bus once we got to Colonia. Part of the city tour was on the bus, and the other part was on foot.
And yes, the man behind us did work for the Mafia.

By the time we got off the boat, through customs, and into the busload of tourists, it was 12:30. So our first stop was lunch. Here's the restaurant we went to. Even the restaurants all have that colonial quality of the whole town. It's so picturesque!
After lunch we officially started the tour of the city. While still on the bus, we saw a structure that was once used for "la Corrida de los Toros," the running of the bulls.

Once the walking tour started, all bets were off. It was so beautiful, so peaceful, so serene. I took 164 pictures. In one day. Mostly of this area. Here's a few:
A drawbridge that still stands. It's no longer used, but it's stunning.

One of the cobble-stoned streets that line Colonia.

A light tower still used at the port. Look closely, that's me waving at the top in triumph! Actually, I made it all the way to the very top. But that picture didn't come out...

The ruins of an old building. The tour guide said what kind of building it had been, but I don't remember. I could lie to you, but we'd both know it.
Grandma, in front of a bayou.