I remember a conversation I had once with a work colleague about the World Cup. Only a few teams have ever won it  - Uruguay is one of them. ‘Who’s heard of Uruguay?’ he laughed. At the time I don’t think I could’ve pointed to it on a map. It’s a small South American country sandwiched between two giants (Brazil and Argentina). Famous for…not much I believe, apart from winning  two world cups in 1930 and 1950. Compared to the scenic riches of Argentina, there doesn’t seem to be many good reasons to visit Uruguay.

Colonia del Sacramento is one of those reasons. It’s historical quarter is a wonderful maze of cobbled streets, colonial houses, ruins and ancient fortifications. It’s the oldest town in Uruguay, founded by the Portugese in 1680, in an eventually futile attempt to stake a claim on the territory of the River Plate in response to the new Spanish colony of Buenos Aires.

This time last year I was working on a cruise ship that departed from Buenos Aires and went straight to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, before heading south to Puerto Madryn.  As far as I know no cruise ships go to Colonia. This is a good thing.  Four thousand people descending from a megaship into this small and charming town would completely spoil this beautiful place.

We caught the ferry from Buenos Aires to Colonia. They’re separated by the Río de la Plata (River Plate), incidentally the widest river in the world (220km across at it’s widest point ). The trip took three hours (there’s a faster and more expensive hydrofoil that makes the trip in an hour). 

The port is just a few blocks from the Colonia’s historical quarter, and we soon found a hotel to stay in, the Posada de Armonía.

Colonia has some very luxurious, beautiful and expensive hotels (which we avoided, for economic reasons). My main priority was air conditioning. Buenos Aires and Colonia in February are extremely hot and humid, and I didn’t fancy sweating it out in a stuffy hotel room.

I’d visited Colonia once before, five and a half years ago, in the winter of 2002, just a few months after Argentina’s economic crisis in which the peso crashed and millions of Argentines fell into poverty. I was enchanted by it’s quiet, rain-washed streets, charming restaurants and old cars.

Now, in the middle of a hot summer and the high season, I saw another side to the town. Tourists walking around the historical sites during the searing heat of the day, enormous cameras dangling from their necks.  The restaurants had set up tables outside on the cobbled streets and at night they were full. I heard lots of people speaking English (and French).

Colonia is a photographer’s dream. Our first evening in the town was amazing. We set out with camera and tripod in the late afternoon. The warm light of the setting sun illuminated the cobbled streets and ancient houses beautifully. Then we headed to the river to take photos of the sun setting over the River Plate. There I had three pieces of luck. A girl was sitting reading a book on a rock in the water, and she made a perfect silhouette against the brilliant blue sky and the setting sun.

Then, as the sun set, a group of boys drinking and fishing by the river again made wonderful silhouettes against the setting sun.

And third, the sunset was wonderful, one of the most beautiful I’ve seen for a long time.

Then, after the sunset, we took  photos of the Calle de Suspiros, one of the town’s oldest and most beautiful cobbled streets, illuminated by the moon and lamplight.

Followed by a delicious meal in one of the restaurants, sitting outside in the warm night air.

Then, the following morning, we got up at 6.30am to take advantage of the early morning light and take more photos.  Luckily for me we made the effort as the weather changed during the day,  from searing sunshine to thick, gray clouds that completely wrecked my hopes of another beautiful sunset. 

The rain came the day afterwards, we stood by the river looking towards Buenos Aires and watching the rain sweep across the river until it engulfed Colonia in a deluge. We took shelter in a café and ordered coffees (for which we had to wait for an hour!) to pass the time until the rain passed.

Sunset over the Rio de la Plata (River Plate).

Lili admires the sunset.

Local boys by the river.

Calle de Los Suspiros (Street of Sighs) at night, the river can just be seen in the background in the top photo. I’ve heard several stories about the origin of the street’s name. One, that the sighs of slaves could be heard as they were led to the river. Two, that the houses were at one time brothels and it was named after the sounds of the prostitutes and their clientele. Three, that the wind from the river makes a sighing sound in the street.

Another night shot with the Calle de Los Supiros, Calle San Pedro and El Faro (the lighthouse, still in use).

See this photo on Imagekind.

The Portón de Campo, the gate and drawbridge at the entrance to the historical quarter of Colonia. Taken at dawn, with a full moon in the sky.

An old white ford in a cobbled street. Old cars such as this are still in use in Colonia and other Uruguayan towns.

All the photos are Copyright © Andrew Gibson. Please contact me for permission to use in any way. All the photos are available for licensing under Rights Managed licences.

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