Colonia and Buenos Aires
Yesterday Mindy and I went to the ferry station to buy tickets for the ferry to Colonia, Uruguay, but were very disappointed to discover that our options were limited. We'd heard it was a really cute town, so we eventually settled for a short trip and bought tickets on the early morning ferry there, and the early afternoon ferry back. Our hopes of a late morning ruined, we got up before the sun today to catch the ferry to Uruguay. The ferry station itself is amazing: clean, organized and very modern in appearance.
Buquebus Ferry Station
We quickly passed through customs and security, and then found good window seats for our short one hour ferry ride. We entertained ourselves with talk of all the places we wanted to visit, while Heidi encouraged mine and Mindy's dreams of taking an extended time off from work to travel someday.
Our guidebooks and the signs at the Uruguay station were incredibly vague, so we wandered the streets of Colonia until we found a visitor's center with helpful staff who provided us with maps and information on where we should go. Since it was so early in the morning all the museums and shops were closed, but we found plenty of culture to take in anyway.
Cool Old Car in Colonia
Colonia, Uruguay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Mindy and Heidi at the City Gates
Spider
Convent Ruins
Flowers of Colonia
After a few hours of strolling the cobblestoned streets of old town Colonia, we decided we wanted lunch before getting back on the ferry, so we started looking for somewhere to eat. On the way to food we came across some women knitting on their front porch and selling their finished products. Their sweaters were lovely and we had a great time trying on their handicrafts.
Heidi and Mindy Shopping
Shopping completed, we finally decided on pizza place for lunch. We found a seat by the road, and read the menu.
I was trying to decide between the Cuatro Quesos pizza and the Muzzarella, Chocolate y Banana Pizza, when we realized that the wait service was going to be really slow, and we didn't have much time until our ferry left. We made the tough decision to skip the Pizzas Dulces and instead tried to find a market where we could by some snacks instead. There were a few markets, but their choices were sketchy, so we'd resigned ourselves to cold sandwiches on the ferry instead of a yummy lunch from Uruguay. Seconds after Mindy said, "I wish we could find an empanada place" we found it, an empanada shop! It took us awhile, but we managed to order a variety of empanadas to go. The woman at the shop warmed them up for us, but by the time we'd boarded the ferry they were cold again. But they were good!
Back in Buenos Aires, we decided that our next stop would be Recoleta Cemetery. Recoleta is one of the wealthier areas in Buenos Aires, with expensive shopping and even more expensive residential neighborhoods. The Cemetery itself covers 4 city blocks and is a maze of tombs and statues. Some of the tombs were ornate and lavish, while others simple; some had windows where you could see straight in to the coffins (in various states of repair) while others were covered with stained glass or no windows at all. I've never been so fascinated by a cemetery before, and never had such fun in one, either. MIndy, Heidi and I shared our own wishes for cremation after we die, and then created an extensive list of what we would and would not want on our tombs. Heidi's summarized our list very well in her entry here, so I'm just going to share some of my favorite pictures from our visit.
By this time we were hot and sweaty, so we indulged in some ice cream before heading back to the hotel. Showered and refreshed (and in the fanciest clothes we've worn all vacation) we met up with the rest of our group in the lobby, where we had this not so great picture taken.
Our last night with GAP was spent at a tango studio, learning the rudimentary basics of Argentine tango, which is much different from traditional tango, and when done well can be incredibly sexy and romantic. We didn't do it well (and there wasn't much sexy or romantic about me dancing with Valerie), but we had a lot of fun, anyway!
Lesson over, we went next door to watch the real thing. A group of incredibly talented dancers entertained us with Argentine tango for almost 2 hours, while we ate dinner and drank too much wine. The coolest part for me was recognizing a few of the dance steps my instructor at home taught me before I came here.
Tango Dancers
February 7 - Buenos Aires
February 8 - Buenos Aires to Ushuaia
February 9 - Ushuaia to the Beagle Channel
February 10 - The Drake Passage
February 11 - The Drake Passage to Aitcho Island
February 12 - Half Moon Island and Deception Island
February 13 - The (First) Best Day Ever
February 14 - The (Second) Best Day Ever
February 15 - Blown Out of Penguin Island
February 16 - The Drake Shake
February 17 - The Drake Passage
February 18 - Ushuaia to Buenos Aires
February 20 - Iguazu Falls
February 21 - Iguazu Falls
February 22 - Buenos Aires
February 23 - Buenos Aires to Home
Buquebus Ferry Station
We quickly passed through customs and security, and then found good window seats for our short one hour ferry ride. We entertained ourselves with talk of all the places we wanted to visit, while Heidi encouraged mine and Mindy's dreams of taking an extended time off from work to travel someday.
Our guidebooks and the signs at the Uruguay station were incredibly vague, so we wandered the streets of Colonia until we found a visitor's center with helpful staff who provided us with maps and information on where we should go. Since it was so early in the morning all the museums and shops were closed, but we found plenty of culture to take in anyway.
Cool Old Car in Colonia
Colonia, Uruguay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Mindy and Heidi at the City Gates
Spider
Convent Ruins
Flowers of Colonia
After a few hours of strolling the cobblestoned streets of old town Colonia, we decided we wanted lunch before getting back on the ferry, so we started looking for somewhere to eat. On the way to food we came across some women knitting on their front porch and selling their finished products. Their sweaters were lovely and we had a great time trying on their handicrafts.
Heidi and Mindy Shopping
Shopping completed, we finally decided on pizza place for lunch. We found a seat by the road, and read the menu.
I was trying to decide between the Cuatro Quesos pizza and the Muzzarella, Chocolate y Banana Pizza, when we realized that the wait service was going to be really slow, and we didn't have much time until our ferry left. We made the tough decision to skip the Pizzas Dulces and instead tried to find a market where we could by some snacks instead. There were a few markets, but their choices were sketchy, so we'd resigned ourselves to cold sandwiches on the ferry instead of a yummy lunch from Uruguay. Seconds after Mindy said, "I wish we could find an empanada place" we found it, an empanada shop! It took us awhile, but we managed to order a variety of empanadas to go. The woman at the shop warmed them up for us, but by the time we'd boarded the ferry they were cold again. But they were good!
Back in Buenos Aires, we decided that our next stop would be Recoleta Cemetery. Recoleta is one of the wealthier areas in Buenos Aires, with expensive shopping and even more expensive residential neighborhoods. The Cemetery itself covers 4 city blocks and is a maze of tombs and statues. Some of the tombs were ornate and lavish, while others simple; some had windows where you could see straight in to the coffins (in various states of repair) while others were covered with stained glass or no windows at all. I've never been so fascinated by a cemetery before, and never had such fun in one, either. MIndy, Heidi and I shared our own wishes for cremation after we die, and then created an extensive list of what we would and would not want on our tombs. Heidi's summarized our list very well in her entry here, so I'm just going to share some of my favorite pictures from our visit.
By this time we were hot and sweaty, so we indulged in some ice cream before heading back to the hotel. Showered and refreshed (and in the fanciest clothes we've worn all vacation) we met up with the rest of our group in the lobby, where we had this not so great picture taken.
Our last night with GAP was spent at a tango studio, learning the rudimentary basics of Argentine tango, which is much different from traditional tango, and when done well can be incredibly sexy and romantic. We didn't do it well (and there wasn't much sexy or romantic about me dancing with Valerie), but we had a lot of fun, anyway!
Lesson over, we went next door to watch the real thing. A group of incredibly talented dancers entertained us with Argentine tango for almost 2 hours, while we ate dinner and drank too much wine. The coolest part for me was recognizing a few of the dance steps my instructor at home taught me before I came here.
Tango Dancers
February 7 - Buenos Aires
February 8 - Buenos Aires to Ushuaia
February 9 - Ushuaia to the Beagle Channel
February 10 - The Drake Passage
February 11 - The Drake Passage to Aitcho Island
February 12 - Half Moon Island and Deception Island
February 13 - The (First) Best Day Ever
February 14 - The (Second) Best Day Ever
February 15 - Blown Out of Penguin Island
February 16 - The Drake Shake
February 17 - The Drake Passage
February 18 - Ushuaia to Buenos Aires
February 20 - Iguazu Falls
February 21 - Iguazu Falls
February 22 - Buenos Aires
February 23 - Buenos Aires to Home