Colonia (part 2)

Colonia del Sacramento (Nova Colonia do Santissimo Sacramento) was founded in 1680 by the Portuguese (Manuel Lobo), sandwiched in between the Portuguese colony of Brazil and the Spanish Vice Royalty of the River Plate (later Argentina, Uruguay and Southern Brazil). Its strategic position and use as a smuggling port meant that its sovereignty was hotly contested and the city changed hands several times between Spain and Portugal. This history is evident in the architecture style of the old town which is also surrounded by a "city wall". The old city is about half a kilometre from the harbour, so I am glad that we opted for the "thrifty" golf car, also the weather was bloody freezing so at least we had 'cover' from the icy wind. The old city is filled with old colonial buildings and cobbled streets, and it has been given a heritage site listing by UNESCO. It felt that we had been transported back in time... I could just imagine how it must have been as a busy city way back when. There are several museums, lovely parks and the streets are cobbled with local stone and lined with massive trees - oaks, syringa and even orange trees.. the architectural style is very colonial and many building have also been built with local stone. Driving around we spotted a restaurant offering a Lamb Special for lunch..... yes we were in!!! being the carnivores that we are, we settled next to the log fire, ordered some Uruguayan Cab Sav, (pretty good stuff) and waited for our Lamb to arrive.... Holy Moley, almost quarter of a bloody sheep, I also made the mistake of ordering papas de creme. We ate.. and ate.. and ate, until we literally couldn't have another mouthful. We were stuffed!! And then the bill arrived........... they didn't take credit cards and we only had a mixture of US$ and Argentine Peso. The Uruguayan peso is 22-1 against the dollar and 6-1 against the Arg. peso. Well lets just say, once all the conversions had been done, it was probably one of the most expensive meals we have had so far. But then it was great, and we did thoroughly enjoyed it. We decided to spend the rest of the afternoon taking in the sites and taking loads of photos. We were back at the ferry ready to depart as the sun was setting... A great day out, and I will definitely visit there again.