A WEEKEND IN COLONIA
June 2016 | By Fernanda Aguiar
It was Saturday morning when we started our journey from Canelones to Colonia along Route 11. Although the weather was not very nice we hit the road and travelled to the oldest city in our country which was stablished in 1680.
We passed by two cities -Santa Lucía and San José-, two tolls and a girl hitchhiking. Her name was Marianela and she lived in the countryside. Although we didn't know anything more about her, she was our trip mate for the last 30 kilometres.
After dropping her off at the city center we went directly to our booked hostel. As it was still early for the check-in time we decided to go first for a walk at the historic quarter and have lunch.
Our first stop was at the ruins that once were the Governor's house. Wooden paths and some little bridges allow the visitors to walk through the already dissapeared building. There are also some signs which shows the explanation of the archaeological finds but they're only in Spanish. Since we left the hostel the cobblestone streets and the antique lampposts create the atmosphere of the colonial city.
On the right two domes caught our attention, it was the church called Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento or Iglesia Matriz, the oldest in Uruguay. In that moment we just saw it from outside but in the afternoon we got into the church and to our surprise there was a mass. Our visit last just two minutes since we were only interested in the arquitecture and the antique font from the 18th century.
We kept walking across the old streets among the colors of modern restaurants and cafes. Although the paella man was that lovely we had lunch at a new restaurant which offered parilla and salads buffet, a drink and a dessert for a non expensive price. Not only the food was really good but also the place was awesome. In order not to wait for a 2 person table, we shared a big one with another local young couple. Meeting new people is one of my favourite things in a trip!
A few blocks walked and we arrived at a wharf, also known as Puerto de Yates (Yacht pier) because of the yachts moored there. The view was spectacular and the wharf was well maintained, its floor was made of wooden planks and there were some benchs, lampposts and plants decorating the area. When the weather is warmer it is a lovely and quiet place to read a book and listen to the sound of the river.
Between the pier and the historic quarter you can find the city center where a lot of shops, banks and souvenir stores are located. The prices over there tend to be cheaper, however this place is not as beautiful as the historic quarter. It looks like another ordinary city center of the country.
Saying goodbye to the cold wind at the pier we came back to the historic quarter. The best was yet to come, the lighthouse, the Gate of the Citadel and Calle de los Suspiros (Whisper’s street).
The lighthouse entry cost less than USD 1 and it was opened in the morning and after 2:30 pm. The surrounding stone walls were incredibly wide and beautiful.
The Puerta de la Ciudadela (Gate of the Citadel) is one of the main city icons. Taking a picture without turists might be a difficult task but anyway you can see the fort walls, the old big chains hanging from the gate and even an antique battle cannon.
The Calle de los Suspiros (Whisper's Street) is such a charming place that it is difficult to describe it with words. It is just one block long but every visitor fall in love with it.
The old houses' facades in pastel tones and the steep cobbled street are the main reason behind its beauty. The colours, the stains and the textures in the wall are a real masterpiece.
In the afternoon we came back to some places at the historic quarter to see the street lamps on. We walked across the Whisper's Street again and this time we enjoyed the lights in the night. We also visited again the lighthouse with its red light and the Yacht Pier.
But the most entertaining experience of our night was finding a geocache at one of the outside pebble walls of the local museum where a huge whale skeleton lies at the garden.
Both at the city center main street and the coastal paths you can find some restaurants, fast food shops and pubs.
After the trip through this astonishing town we came back to the hostel to drink some hot camomile tea cause we still were feeling full from lunch. Meanwhile we watched the Copa America semifinal match with a cute dog called Elvira.
On Sunday morning, before leaving the city, we wandered around the farmers market. It was small but with plenty of things to buy, cheese, seeds and dry fruit, vegetables, crochet items and antiques.
Our last visit was to Bastión del Carmen (Carmen Bastion), actually we had already seen it from the Yacht Pier but we didn't get into the place. An old iron gate welcomes the visitors and a map sign shows where the fort and the bastion were located. It was built in 1880 as a artillery fort but it ended up being a soap and glue factory.
Besides the chimney that stands out from the rest of the building, the main attraction is to go down the stairs to a kind of cellar connected to the river. We think boats must have escaped hidden from there.
We left Colonia and travelled along Route 1 to come back to Canelones. We stopped three times.
The first stop was in Juan Lacaze, a small and quiet town on the way. As we were very hungry and there were no restauants there we kept going to our next destination.
Willing to find a good restaurant to eat some pasta we travelled to Nueva Helvecia, also known as Colonia Suiza, a town founded by european immigrants, mostly Swiss. We visited the main square, Plaza de los Fundadores, where a huge sculpture of two farm workers catchs everyone's attention. In front of it there is a Church with an interesting architecture.
After having a great meal - I ate some Swiss gnocchi and Nacho ate sorrentinos- we kept traveling until our third stop, Kiyú. We drove 15 kilometres off the beaten track. After the dirt streets a difficult to find treasure was waiting for us in the forest. We were looking for another geocache but it wasn't at the correct coordinates. We were about to give up when a dark rusty can appeared in front of us. Just there, in the grass. We happily signed the small notebook inside the cache and registered our goal online. That was the end of our weekend trip.
