Colonia, Uruguay

Colonia. Ah Colonia. A mild and tranquil oasis away from the bustling chaos of Buenos Aires.  Just a one-hour ferry ride across the Rio de la Plata and you’ve stepped foot into the territory of Uruguay.  The planning for the trip was fairly easy. Go online, book the tickets through Buquebus, go to the ferry terminal and enjoy a coffee and brief conversation with a professional body builder from Colonia and his family while waiting for the arrival of our boat.  You know, the usual. The ride, comfortable.  The journey, smooth.  Customs in Uruguay, a breeze.  Now, how to get to our hostel without having to walk 12 blocks or grab a sparsely available cab?  Solution: rent a golf cart, naturally.  It’s airy, it seats four comfortably, quite easy to maneuver and ridiculously indiscreet but it gets the job done and the streets of Colonia are calm enough to feel confident that you won’t find yourself as road-kill.  The historical town of Colonia is considered a World Heritage Site, restored and preserved to its original 17^th Century Portuguese architecture.  Its quaint, cobble-stoned streets and picturesque neighborhood is ideal for a one- to two-day, relaxing getaway but be aware of the prices as the closer you get to the center of the historic square, the higher the prices rocket. It’s tourism at its finest.  After spending more than we had liked for lunch on the first day, Kip and I decided to buy pizza from a local pizza shop and a couple bottles of wine for dinner to bring back to my parents at the hostel and it turned out to be much more pleasant of a meal knowing we had spent significantly much less than at lunch, the company was, of course, enjoyable as always!

                The sites are limited but beautiful.  Being as small as Colonia is, everything you need to see can be done in a day:  The lighthouse tower, which you can climb up for a small fee, will give you breathtaking views of Colonia and the Rio de la Plata.  The Plaza de Toros, which is a 10-15 minute drive up the coast in our little ol’ cart, is the site of an old bullfighting ring which had been abandoned and is now closed off to the public but obviously is not regulated well by the looks of the disheveled fence prohibiting visitors.  The church and the drawbridge evoke images of the beginnings of a small village or town and the many vista points near the coast and beaches are perfect for photo ops.  All in all, it was a wonderful mini vacation from our vacation and I’m sure my parents enjoyed riding in the back of the golf cart while Kip drove! Colonia, two thumbs up.

Apartment Hunting in Buenos Aires

My apologies for such a long hiatus.  A LOT has happened since the last post and I don’t even know where to begin.  Firstly, Kip and I had moved out of our previous apartment into a new one.  Our arrangement at the old apartment was only a one month stay as someone had already paid the deposit for the month of September.  During our overlap of having to sleep on a mattress on the floor of the upstairs pool room, we had the pleasure of meeting and becoming friends with Philip, the German guy who took over our room.  We had agreed to be roommates with Trevor, a guy from Tulsa, Oklahoma (old stomping grounds of Chandler Bing) who we met through our first roommates.  Finding a new apartment had proven to be much more challenging than expected, and here’s why:  Trevor has a Puerto Rican dog named Coqui, but she was never the problem as practically everyone in Buenos Aires has a dog and you’d be hard-pressed to find a place that doesn’t allow pets.  The problem was that we were looking for an apartment, not a room in an already- occupied house, so unless you’re an Argentine with something called a Guarantee (putting up property in Buenos Aires as collateral for rent), you’re faced with having to pay massive fees in commission and/or deposit.  The struggle was trying to find a place with the least amount of both and the cheapest rent at the same time that wasn’t asking for a Guarantee.

 After massive searches online and in classifieds, through which I am now somewhat more knowledgeable in reading Spanish classified abbreviations, and after walking through apartments of all shapes, sizes and smells, we finally found the right balance and settled into our new apartment in the Palermo/Barrio Norte area.  We’re 2 blocks away from the main Avenue of Santa Fe, where you can find many subways stops, shops, restaurants and cafes and 6 blocks away from the famous and beautiful Recoleta Cemetery.  Trevor has been an awesome roommate so far and the addition of Coqui always makes the apartment feel homey.  Trevor is fluent in Spanish and absolutely hilarious and his love for hot sauces and peanut butter has only brought him more acceptance from both Kip and I.  We threw a housewarming party the first weekend in our new apartment and themed it American Night where we (and by ‘we’ I mean Trevor and I) cooked buffalo wings, loaded potato skins and made all sorts of dips with chips for our handful of international and multicultural friends.  ‘Twas a hit!