Colonia del Sacramento - heading west - for real this time

A foggy morning on the Atlantic coast greeted me with 17°C. Hop on the bus and head towards Montevideo, a quick stop to change buses, perfect time to write a few postcards, then continue to Colonia del Sacramento. I passed through here previously without being able to see anything.

The historically preserved town of Colonia with its Portuguese roots invited me to stroll through the streets in the evening.

This picturesque town situated on the wide Rio de la Plata is like a romantic museum village. The cobblestone streets have been intentionally kept, although both cars and pedestrians visibly struggle with them. Here, slow pace and leisurely observation are the norm. Along the waterfront, restaurants showcasing the specialty Chivito, a deluxe steak sandwich with cheese, bacon, and fried egg, abound, so that nobody ends the day with a low-calorie meal. The version for 2 people is easily enough for 4 people, and the version without bread is an even larger portion. Nevertheless, I observed with admiration yesterday a young couple from Brazil who devoured this huge meal completely! And the steak itself is relatively thin, well-grilled, and of course not ground beef!

For the sake of visual appeal and to attract people, restaurant owners like to have American classic cars parked in front of their establishments, even if they're definitely no longer roadworthy. In Germany, the police would intervene and order them to be scrapped.

After almost 1 week in Uruguay, I must say that those who only take a day trip here get a false impression of Uruguay - it's like if Japanese people only visited Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and yes, they do!