International day-tripper

I took a day trip to Uruguay the other day. I get a kick out of typing that sentence. Growing up in Indiana, the only feasible day trip to another country is Kentucky - and that really isn't worth the gas money.

Uruguay is my fourth South American country to have visited for those of you keeping track at home. Barring any dramatic turn of events, my country-counter will be at four when I return to the United States.

To get to Colonia del Sacramento, a small Uruguayan historical town, I took a ferry from a nearby port across Rio de la Plata, the largest estuary in the world. An estuary is a place where one or more rivers meet before hitting the ocean. Looking out across Rio de la Plata, you'd think it was the ocean. The ferry that I took was really nice inside with a cushiony seats, TV, concessions - even a small store. It took 45 minutes of comfortable water-churning to make it to Colonia from Buenos Aires.

Colonia used to be a major point of contention between the Spanish and the Portuguese, strategically located outside the joining of the Parana and Uruguay River. It was conquered and re-conquered several times in its history. Seeing that the common language in Uruguay is Spanish, I guess it's not hard to guess who won in the end.

It's the dead of winter here, so the tourists aren't exactly flocking to the port city these days. It was pretty much me and a few American tourists wondering why they were wearing sweaters and jackets in July. The historical section reminded me a lot of Paraty, the other historical Portuguese port I had visited in Brazil last January. I guess if you have seen one colonial port, you´ve seen them all. We can now add old Portuguese ports to a list that includes Wal-Marts, wax museums and civil war battle fields.

I am traveling solo these days, so the highlights of Colonia del Sacramento were marveling at the breadth of Rio de la Plata atop the lighthouse and serenading a stray cat and a sea dog at the end of the pier. They were a very attentive audience.

It was a grey and blustery day, so I took the ferry back in the afternoon.

Uruguay seems like a much more relaxed place than Brazil or Argentina, although its currency makes me uneasy. The Uruguayan peso is something like 22 to the dollar and most things cost in the hundreds of pesos. It's hard to decide what to order for lunch when you see that it is going to cost you in the hundreds. With all the large numbers floating aroung in that country, I wished I would have brought a calculator.

One of the things about taking an international ferry is that you have to go through customs before and after the trip. Customs is always an adventure for me - especially since my passport was accidently washed in the washing machine. It looks like an historical document with its worn cover, smudged ink and creased pages. I like to say that it has character.

Customs officials do not seem to appreciate my colorful passport, and with all the random slips of paper they hand you during these trips (boarding passes, receipts, entry/exit cards, etc.), it can get a little confusing. It seems like I spent half my day figuring out paperwork.

In the end though, I'm glad I made the trip. Not even Kentucky has a lighthouse.