Uruguay

We finally arrived in Colonia, Uruguay around 11AM.  It's a really small town, so no taxis were necessary. We walked a short distance over to the bus station where we bought our tickets for the afternoon and stored our bags. We then walked into town. It's really beautiful - even people who live in Montevideo agree that it's a really nice little town. There are lots of old buildings and everything seems to look like it was meant to be photographed. We visited the market, of course, and found some cool treasures there. There isn't a ton to do here unless you're staying for a couple of nights and want to do day trips in the area. We just don't have the time, unfortunately, to spend more than a few hours in Colonia.

We caught a bus at 430 to Montevideo, the big city. Saturday night was not so bustling. We went to eat on all but empty streets in a restaurant with only 2 other people in it. And on Sunday everything is closed in the city. So really, we just saw plazas and the beach and a couple little restaurants that were open and a market. The market was more like a flea market for locals. People set up their own tables or blankets and set out their antiques or whatever they want to sell, like an enormous collective garage sale. There wasn't a ton there for us. On Sunday night we did go to the beach to see the sunset. Our hostel lady said it is a popular place, and she was right. All the people who were not at work because everything was closed were there to watch the sunset over, in her words, "the river or ocean, nobody knows." One of the coolest things we saw in Uruguay was wild parakeets. Tons of them. And they were really loud and in large groups. And they hate eagles.

Monday we headed back to the bus station, back to Colonia, then back on a ferry, and back to Argentina.  Were we to do Uruguay again, we'd probably skip Montevideo, or go on a week day, and spend more time in the smaller towns like Colonia. It is a beautiful country, though. Very green, a good place for a farm. We were there in the winter, and it was warm, though humid, but not super hot. Summers are probably really hot, though.