My Colonia Has A First Claim, It's...

Soon after the explorations of Columbus, the empires of Europe began competing for possession of the "New World". Fortunately, a Line of Demarcation was created to virtually settle disputes over the colonial claims of Portugal and Spain. Unfortunately, being bisected by this imaginary border, Uruguay’s history is riddled with remnants of the actual battles for control. As its name implies, Colonia is one of the oldest settlements in South America....


Colonia del Sacramento began as a Portugese port in 1680. Over the next 150 years, Portugal, Spain, and, later, Brazil, vied for control via silent teaties and violent trauma. Today, as an UNESCO World Heritage site, it is Uruguay’s other main attraction for its well preserved historical architecture—especially since ferries carry tourists to and from Buenos Aires…including our friends from Portland, Dar and MaryEllen!

With luck, we arrived by bus just before they disembarked the boat, and shot Dar's Duck hat while MaryEllen explained where they were...


So, we set off together for a walking tour of the town. Come with us!
Imagine Spanish soldiers storming this portcullis of Portugal’s fortress and smoting the inner stronghold to a smoldering bouldery foundation…who’s remains remain protected today in Colonia’s central plaza.


Envision monks in the mission voicing songs of religion as viceroys force submission of cobblestone laying natives or prisoners of war, where, today, curious tourists collect curios for coffe tables and digital photos for laptop scrapbooks.


Changing hats with every trip to the kitchen (cocina), a fabulous lunch passes laughing at the tip hunting waiter (moso). Later, Dar and I peruse the main boulevard with a brew.


Colonia is filled with antedated antiquities: structures, machines, fixtures, and mixtures of all of man’s dabblings in architecture, art and antoagonism. Scope these photos for signs of times gone by…














MaryEllen and Dar departed on the early ferry, while ours would leave later at eight. Being afternoon,we kept seeing what we could find,. Soon, a voice crept up from behind saying, “How do you like your camera?” Noticing we had matching hardware, we met Jon and Roberta from Canada. We’d spent the next two hours telling them the “must sees” in Uruguay, and we spent the next two weeks trading emails and tales attempting to reconnect along our equal but opposite itineraries. Several near misses later, we still stay in touch...


After three wee hours of bus, twelve humid hours touring on foot, we left as we came past the arch…

…hoofing it back to our baggage, dreaming of an airconditioned hour-long sunset cruise to Buenos Aires…but not the nightmare of customs: an hour sweating in line to find we failed to check in our luggage! Despite our disgust as we backtracked, we met Sebastian—a bilingual samaritan from Buenos Aires who lives in Montevideo—two blocks from us!--who helped us through customs, joined us onboard, told us all about Buenos Aires and his father gave us a ride to our hotel! More proof of the truly wonderful people…


As for the sunset over Rio de Plata, during our hour long hydrofoil to Argentina...me and this little boy enjoy the view from the bow.