Colonia, Uruguay

Hi everyone!

Maria and I chatted until 1.30am after she returned from the tango show, so my alarm at 6am today was not welcomed with open arms!! Very tired!! Haha oh well. 

We got a bus about 7am to the ferry terminal where we caught a ferry to Colonia, Uruguay. The ferry took about an hour and we were there! We got taxis to our hotel. The town is so cute, I really like it except the sweltering heat and mosquitoes!

Daryl (our new guide) then took us on a walking tour. He's originally from Melbourne and I had a bit of a laugh because I wore my Collingwood hat on the tour and he said "OI! Take that off!" (He goes for Carlton!). The walking tour was good. The Portuguese colonised this town in 1680, and from then until 1777 Spain and Portugal fought over it and it changed hands numerous times due to it being a great place to smuggle goods to Buenos Aires from, until in 1777 tax reforms permitted goods to go directly into BA. 

We walked around as a group and saw the old port area, cobblestoned streets, arty shops, old fort walls and the old part of town. Then we went to get money out and split up. Maria and I got an ice cream each and then had a look in some shops. I did something very unusual for this holiday and bought myself some things! Got a pair of a earrings and a necklace. Maria bought seven pairs of earrings!! Haha. 

Next we went up the lighthouse. The wind up there was a lovely relief from the heat. Oh my god, I'm having a great time, but bring on London weather. I am definitely a cold weather person and always will be! Rio is going to be 40, I think I'm going to cry! There was a creepy worker up there who insisted on getting a photo with us and held onto my waist VERY tightly! We could see Buenos Aires because the weather was so clear, so I waved and said hello to Courtney!!

Then we walked around similar streets to earlier and had another ice cream (don't judge me - it was hot and I counted them as my lunch!) and then sat down for a drink. We keep running into Kimberley and Sarah from our first part of the tour. Today was the fourth time, so we had a drink with them. Meeting up again in Rio!

Now we are chilling in our room, which we have discovered has no air con. We do have a fan though. As a group we are going to sit on the beach and watch the sunset a little later and then go out for dinner. So far I'm really liking Uruguay, but food seems to be a lot more expensive than previously. So we have bought some bread, cheese and crackers and are going to fill up a little before dinner so we don't need too much. 

We head off to Montevideo tomorrow which is a two hour bus ride away. 

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox