Sheridan, Carla, Sam and I boarded our Buquebus ferry at around 9:30. I took a bus to Sheridan's place then we all shared a cab to the ferry terminal.
The ferry was awesome! It had cafeterias, gift shops, casinos, a great deck view, arcade, etc. Plus we were on the slow ferry so we had over 3 hours to kill before arriving in Colonia, Uruguay!
We walked around, napped, and chatted about Spring break. How does this sound for our 10-day Spring break in September/October: Machu Picchu and Rio de Janiero!
Gotta work out the details but I'm SO excited to get started! We decided 10 days is a long time and we want to see as much as possible.
We also found other IES kids on our Ferry which was fun but they were going to Montevideo later that day.
We finally found our hostel (El Viajero) in Colonia, through our stuff under our beds, withdrew USD and Uruguayan pesos, bought locks for the suitcase storage under our beds, then found the other group to have a pasta-filled lunch. Unfortunately they had to run to catch their bus. We were supposed to stay in the same hostel in Montevideo the next couple nights anyway so we got to hang out some.
We met a girl from Canada named Vimi and invited her to lunch with us. She's been traveling around South America for 8 months now!! She was in the north (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, etc). She's planning on spending another two months here!! She's 33 and by herself! I'm so envious of her bravery!
So after lunch Sheridan, Vimi, Sam, Carla and I walked down to the water. No matter where you stand in Colonia--and Montevideo for that matter-- you can see the water. It's so beautiful. We walked around the fortress area and historical Colonia and watched the sunset by the lighthouse. It was absolutely beautiful!!
After sunset we walked around Colonia a bit more-- it's honestly the smallest town ever. And we barely saw any people! We felt so safe--which is quite different then we're used to in BA. It started getting chilly so we went back to the hostel and sat by the fire, split a bottle of champagne we bought at the duty-free store on the ferry and just enjoyed each other's company. It was so nice and relaxing. A dog that was hanging out with us at the sunset followed us home and kept us company by the fire as well.
The other half of our group (Chloe, Mindee, Jessie, Scott, and Matt) showed up about an hour later. They had class on Friday so they needed to take a later ferry. Right when they came, though, Carla went in our room to check something and realized that her iPhone and Vimi's iTouch that were charging on the side table were both missing.
Apparently the other group saw a guy walk out the door when they were walking in so it was probably him because the man at the front desk (Fredrico) said he didn't recognize him as a guest. We tried to call the phone, GPS track it, everything. No use :/ Poor Carla!
Fredrico called the police and they came but really how much could they do in that situation?
THEN I realized Matt and I booked the wrong hostel in Montevideo. It was the same El Viajero chain but a different hostel. So we had to get Fredrico to cancel our Downtown hostel booking and we got the last two spots at the Ciudad Vieja hostel location. Fredirco was a lifesaver!!!
HELL YEAH!!
But after that we went out to dinner a close restaurant called Drugstore. It was great!! They cook everything right in front of you. We had super strong sangria and Sheridan and I split a steak dinner and a vegetarian Japanese dinner. Such a good choice! We felt so Argentine because we had dinner at midnight!
Some of the group wanted to go to the ONLY club in town. I was freaking exhausted, so was Sam and Carla. So Sam went to bed and Carla and I stayed up by the fire for a bit. We were so tired though it didn't last long.
In our room was Sheridan, Carla, Vimi, two girls from France (I think), an older woman, a man, and I. For one night it was only about $12 USD which included breakfast.
Colonia was so nice to get away from the city. There were very little people on the streets and barely any cars.
The next morning we woke up and had breakfast which included:
- coffee
- tea
- frosted flakes-type cereal
- milk
- tangy OJ
- small pastries
- break/toast
- dulce de leche <-- YUMMM
- jam
Sam, Sheridan, Carla and I went horseback riding after that! We made reservations with Fredrico the night before. Unfortunately there were only 4 spots so the other group couldn't sign up. They rented bikes instead.
We walked to another hostel to pay then a man picked us up about 45 min late-- Uruguayan time!
Sheridan, Sam and I have horse experience but Carla barely had any. She kept freaking out and saying "tengo miedo! tengo miedo!" She was given the most calm horse and Sam got the most energetic because she plays polo and has the most experience. The man that went on the trail ride with us was named Edwardo.
My horse was white and named Rosanante (from Don Quixote). He was awesome- pretty much did everything I asked him to and wasn't too testy.
We kept telling Carla that she had to be calm because the horse will test her and can read her. Yet, at every different move of the horse, she freaked.
Carla had the worst luck this weekend.
The second her horse stepped onto the sand, he sat down and Carla jumped off right before he rolled over all in the sand. Poor chica. She switched horses with Edwardo and didn't have too much trouble after that. We just felt bad cause we kept reassuring Carla that as long as she kept calm, she'd be fine. I've NEVER seen a horse do that.
(Photocred: Sheridan)
We walked through dry plains, marshy parts, rich vegetation parts, and beaches. A 2.5 hour horseback riding session for $35USD... awesome deal!
We went to a small part of town with a part dirt part paved road so Sam, Sheridan and I could trot, canter and gallop. It felt so good to run on a horse again!!
The stirrups were very shallow so it was tough to keep my feet in. I definitely feel the soreness in my calves and thighs today.
After horseback riding we stopped at a grocery store to get wine, pasta, tomato sauce, peas and a sandwich to bring back to the hostel, cook and share.
We just drank wine and chatted so much. We drank a little more and that's when we started REALLY getting to know each other. Who knew friends who only knew each other for a couple weeks will start talking about sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll?
We also met a woman from London who was traveling by herself and was going to Buenos Aires next. She asked if we had any suggestions on what to do for the week- we said definitely Bomba de Tiempo on mondays!
We then bought bus tickets from Fredrico for later that evening- we got the last 4 seats! Hell yeah! Everything seems to be working out on this trip, except for maybe Carla...
The whole crew then made some tea/coffee and hung out on the rooftop patio of the hostel. It was so nice out- probably around 60 or 65. It was so relaxing.
We walked around the historical part one last time, got our stuff, said bye and thank you to Fredrico, and headed off to our Cot bus for 7pm.
Plot twist! The bus left like 5 min early!! What the heck?!?!?! I thought this was South America!
The bus was SO FREAKING COLD!! The draft was horrible and the drive was over 3 hours long. It was about 60 degrees outside but only like 40 on the bus... not cool.
Next post: Montevideo, Uruguay!
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