Argentina, Day 1

I left Uruguay today. I felt like I could have spent another day in Colonia – or more – but my time is short now, and with my work having resumed I wanted to be “settled” where the final leg of my South American journey will unfold. In any case, I had a ticket on the express ferry from Colonia to Buenos Aires this morning, and I needed to be at the ferry terminal an hour before it was scheduled to depart. I grabbed a quick breakfast at the patio of my hotel, where I met a friendly cat that decided my foot would be a fun thing to attack.

It chewed on my shoelaces until I was done eating, and then I left for the terminal.

The ferry terminal was quite nice, though it was difficult for me to determine which lines to stand in for customs and boarding. There weren’t any signs anywhere, and my ticket didn’t provide much information. But I managed to get on the 11:15 ferry, where I was immediately greeted by people offering glasses of champagne. I passed on the morning alcohol and then took a seat in the first class seating area. (Tourist class was sold out, and anyway, first class was only $19 more.) I was pleased to discover that the ferry had free wi-fi, so I got a little work done while crossing the enormously wide River Plate.

I picked up my bag after disembarking, changed money at a cambio, then paid a taxi 30 pesos (~$8) for a ride to my hotel in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires. By the time I checked into my hotel, it was a little past noon (Argentina is an hour behind Uruguay), so I went back out, in the 90 degree heat, and found a nice restaurant called Cala Pizza a block away.

Once seated, I ordered a mazzazo, a sandwich made of steak, ham, and cheese, and lettuce and tomatoes. I also ordered an orange and peach liquado, a refreshing drink blended with milk. For how simple it was, the sandwich was excellent, especially the thin, focaccia-like bread holding it all together.

My entire lunch cost 37 pesos (~$9.70). Cala also has free wi-fi, and I was probably the only customer there not taking advantage of this.

Cala is located at the corner of Junin and Pena streets. They do delivery within a limited area. Tel: 4805-2005.

Following lunch I went back to my hotel to do a bit of work. However, by mid-afternoon I needed a break, so I headed a couple blocks up Junin, which is at the corner of where I’m staying. Here I came upon a restaurant called Del Pilar.

They were apparently finishing lunch service, as a number of tables were being stripped of their white tablecloths. Wanting something halfway healthful, I ordered a fruit cup, which combined fruit both fresh and canned. I also ordered a double espresso, as I felt half-dead from the heat and thought the caffeine would give me a jolt.

Both did what I needed them to do – refuel me – but the most satisfaction I got stopping here was from the place itself. It’s a nice place to sit and watch the world go by through the long windows.

Del Pilar is located at Avenida Las Heras 2001. Tel: 4803-7733/4762.

It was way too hot to explore Recoleta, so I waited until late afternoon to visit one of the most famous sites in the immediate area, Cementerio de la Recoleta. This cemetery, located at the intersection of Junin and Guido streets, is where many of Argentina’s most famous dead are buried, including prominent politicians, former presidents, military persons, doctors, and other important people, including Maria Eva Duarte de Peron (otherwise known as Eva Peron, or more popularly as Evita, and buried alongside other Duarte family members). It’s a beautiful cemetery – and free to enter – where one can wander along the well-kept paths and see many impressive statues, monuments, crypts, and sarcophagi (not to mention stray cats). It’s definitely worth spending an hour or so here, and guided tours in Spanish, Portuguese, and English are all available.

Tel (for guided tour reservations, especially): 4803-1594. Hours: 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Right next door to the cemetery is the Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Pilar, a baroque colonial church that was built in 1732. It’s definitely worth a trip inside, though if you do enter, I hope you find fewer people smacking lips and trading saliva inside than I found. Why do I keep finding amorous couples in South American churches? (This time, however, I didn’t take their photo…)

When dinnertime rolled around, I stuck close to my hotel. A restaurant called L’ecole was only a block away, so I decided to give it a try.

When I saw they had patio seating in back, I asked for a table there. It was a nice setting, too, as the roof was open and I could actually see starts overhead. And the English-speaking waitresses were a bonus for me, as I had trouble reading the menu selections.

I ended up ordering from the menu de la noche – an entrada, a plato principal, and two glasses of wine for 51 pesos ($13.37). For my starter I opted for the ensalada de vegetales cocidos con oliva extra virgen, tostadas crocantes y pimienta negra molida, which was basically vegetables cooked in olive oil and served with pieces of toasted bread and pesto. It was very good, and had they served more of this I could have left the restaurant happy without bothering with my entrée.

But I had an entrée coming, too: mollejas con crema de dyjon sobre colchon de hojas verdes y champis feliteados. From what I understand, mollejas refers to meat from a cow’s cheeks, which is extremely tender. The entrée, too, was good, though the cream sauce it came with was quite rich, and by the time I’d finished I was really happy to have had two glasses of wine to wash it all down with.

I recommend this place for anyone staying in the Recoleta area of Buenos Aires. The price was right, and the service very good.

L’ecore can be found at Junin 1460, between Pacheco de Melo and Peña streets. Tel: 4807-0706. Email: lecole@ismm.com.ar.

Uruguay, Day 6

Well, I don’t have a great deal to share today. I traveled from Montevideo to Colonia by bus this morning, which was a three-hour trip, and checked into a small hotel in Colonia’s Old Quarter, the Barrio Historico.

Since I skipped breakfast this morning, I decided to make my first stop in Colonia for lunch. It was hard to pick a restaurant, however, since there were so many charming options along the tree-lined streets. I walked eastward to the end of Avenida General Flores and chose a place between the yacht harbor and Bastion de Santa Rita. The restaurant was called El Torreón, and from its several outside areas customers could get a nice view of the Rio de la Plata.



After last night’s meal, which was great, I wasn’t in the mood for red meat, so I went with an item that, if I remember correctly, was called pescados miniatures. Basically, I got pieces of white fish in a light breading with various herbs.


The dish really didn’t taste like anything, though the lemon wedges helped a bit. I also had a salad, which was pretty standard, and some bread that I thought was complimentary but actually cost me 40 pesos (~$2). I have the feeling that beef would have been a better choice – beef seems always to be, at the very least, a good choice in Uruguay. But the location and ambience made up for my so-so meal, and if I had a chance to come back here again I would.

El Torreon is located at the end of General Flores by the Plate River. Tel: (052) 31524. Email: eltorreon@hotmail.com. Hours: 8 a.m. – 11 p.m.

By the time I finished lunch it was after one o’clock, and the heat felt as if it had climbed precipitously since my arrival in Colonia. In fact, I think it reached 93 degrees (34 C) today. But I decided to walk around the Barrio Historico anyway and see what it had to offer. Since it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, there’s quite a lot worth seeing.

The area itself is rather small – it’s easily walked in only a few hours, even with a little shopping thrown in. Much of it is also shaded by trees, though along the water you’re directly under the sun.


The homes here are quite beautiful and well-kept, and the occasional bunch of bougainvillea bursts forth in bright pinks from the fronts of houses. Also, the streets are mostly cobbled, which lends the area an even stronger feeling of agedness.


Restaurants are everywhere, and it seems that they all have outdoor seating, with some offering live music on the weekends when Colonia gets especially crowded with weekend retreaters from Argentina and Montevideo. There’s also a lighthouse in the barrio, which dates back to the 19th century. (Colonia was founded in 1680, which makes the lighthouse, in relative terms, just a baby. Well, not quite…)


I gave it a climb for 15 pesos, but upon stepping out onto the very small viewing platform I got a bit of vertigo and kept my time there short. There was a guard sitting on the stairs leading to a higher viewing platform, but I didn’t need him to tell me it was off-limits.

I wandered around the barrio until I was good and sweaty, then decided to walk another fifteen minutes back to the bus station to buy my ferry ticket to Buenos Aires. That was an easy trip, though my clothes were getting progressively damper by then. Looking at my map I saw that I was only ten or fifteen minutes away from a crafts market called Feria Artesanal, on Daniel Folsaba Street, and went there with the intention of buying a maté gourd and pipe.



However, the prices surprised me a little, and I couldn’t find one that really appealed to me, so I decided to skip it. I mean, how often am I going to drink maté when I’m back home, anyway? Maybe I’ll find a cheap one in Buenos Aires…

On my way back I couldn’t help but stop off at Confiteria la Pasiva, on Avenida General Flores 444, and order a half-liter bottle of cold water and coffee with chocolate ice cream and whipped cream on top. It was a nice break from the heat, though my order was mostly just whipped cream in the end.


I worked during the afternoon, thanks to the wi-fi I have in my hotel room, but in the evening I ventured back out for dinner. I didn’t go far, but settled on a restaurant a half-block from my hotel called Mercosur.


I chose a seat indoors, in part because it was still very warm out, and in part because some drunk guy kept approaching me for money and got progressively surlier when I said no. The staff at Mercosur were super-nice, and my waitress helped me figure out what a Milanesa el pan was: a giant piece of beef that has been dipped in beaten eggs and then quickly fried in oil, and served in a bun with lettuce and tomato. I also ordered some fries with that, and a half-liter chopp, which is draft beer.


I found the sandwich strange. It was quite dry, and the egg-coating seemed to accentuate this. I would have preferred a juicy hamburger or steak, but I’m glad I tried it. It was something new and different. The chopp, of course, was delectable. Overall the food was very affordable: 225 pesos (~$11.50) for the entire meal.

Mercosur is at Avenida General Flores 252. Tel: 24200. Hours: 8 a.m. - 2 a.m.

I wandered around Colonia after dinner, which is the best time to take in the old, colorful Barrio Historico. Everything deepens in color as the sun goes down, and what had appeared pink during the day was now almost reddish, what had appeared peach was now orange, and what had been lavender was now purple. The same thing could be said about the green of the surrounding trees.


After that, it was time to come home and type this entry…

Uruguay, Day 5

I've uploaded photos of my second day in Montevideo. But I won't have time to explain their significance until tomorrow...

More soon, and thanks for visiting!