hoppin’ the río

Hola dear friends/family!

It’s a rainy day in Buenos Aires, but I’m in a great mood.  Why? I think it’s the combination of just returning from an awesome trip to Uruguay, eating dulce de leche with banana for breakfast (an amazing combination), and almost, ALMOST, having my class/internship schedule finally figured out.  Not to mention that my mom arrives in Buenos Aires one week from today, and Uruguay just legalized same-sex marriage!  So many good things going on.  Here are some deets on my trip to Uruguay:

This past Saturday, I went to Uruguay via a trip organized by IFSA and part of my program costs.  I was expecting your typical student-travel experience; a fun time, but nothing super nice (hostels, meh food, etc.).  Boy was I surprised when the food was far from MEH, we stayed in cute hotels, not hostels, and the activities were ah-mazing. That Saturday morning we boarded the Buquebus (pronounced “bookie-boos.”  Say it and you’ll LOL) ferry for the trip across the river to the neighboring town of Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. Considering that my only prior ferry trips were the Staten Island ferry and tourist ferries to Alcatraz, the Buquebus blew my mind.  In fact, I’d say that “ferry” is not the right word to describe the Buquebus.  The Buquebus is more like a luxurious floating mini-mall, the center of which is a huge duty-free shop where one can buy all the Planters Peanuts and Hershey products their heart desires.  Not to mention the on-board entertainment, a show that lasted a good 30 minutes, the highlight of which was a female soloist singing some not-too-shabby versions of Sinatra hits.

After a fabulous three-hour Buquebus trip (there are also one-hour “rápido” ferries, but we took the slower one to save some $$$), we arrived in Colonia and were quickly whisked off to Mario’s (director of IFSA) house.  In addition to being IFSA director-extraordinaire, Mario and his partner Sergio own a BEAUTIFUL B&B called La Casa de los Limoneros (Or House of the Lemon Groves) located 10 km outside of the town among gorgeous lemon groves and palm trees.  Here’s a picture of his crib:

Our day at Mario’s house was filled with time at the beach, an absolutely incredible asado, in which I ate my weight in meat, potatoes, salad, and desserts, and beautiful views. If anyone ever heads to Colonia and is looking for a place to stay, check this place out. Link to the B&B’s website: http://www.lacasadeloslimoneros.com/lacasadeloslimoneros_eng.html 

We then headed back to Colonia for a walking tour of the town and checked into our hotels (I stayed at Posada Manuel de Lobo, a quaint inn near the historic part of town with a delicious breakfast).

Day two in Uruguay was more food and the most delicious wine.  After breakfast in our hotels, we boarded a bus to Carmelo, Uruguay (home of the Four Seasons, among other things!), and arrived at Granja Narbona, another beautiful B&B and vineyard.  After a brief tour of the vineyard, we were presented with the most amazing spread of breads, cheese, empanadas, and postres that I have EVER laid eyes upon. Check out this table:

NOM does not even come close to describing it.  Not to mention the wine tasting that lasted all afternoon.  My favorite was Medio-Medio, a mix of Sauvignon Blanc and sparkling wine.  According to the folks at Narbona, this is essentially Uruguay’s Malbec.  Quite refreshing.  We then boarded the bus and headed back towards Colonia, stopping at the port at the Four Seasons to take in the beautiful views and have a café:

That night a bunch of us went down to the beach (Colonia has multiple beach fronts on the Río de la Plata), built a bonfire, and chatted into the wee hours of the morning.  Sounds cliché, but a really fun time.

On our final day, a few friends and myself got up early and paid $14 US to bop around town in a golf cart, which was undoubtedly the best $14 ever spent.  We then took some time to walk around historic Colonia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the cutest colonial towns I’ve ever seen.  Colonia was colonized by both the Portuguese and the Spanish (the Spanish won out in the end), making the town’s history a cool mixture.  The buildings also have a slight difference in architecture based on who built them. Take a look below:

After some more beach chilling, I left our group early to head back to BsAs on the rápido Buquebus, just in time to make my night class at la UBA.

All in all, a fabulous trip and a great time with friends.

Here’s to new places!