Last Saturday, I went on an excursion to the beautiful city of Colonia in Uruguay. Just a quick 1 hour ferry ride brings you back in history to a city filled with Spanish and Portuguese influence. Our group got both a bus tour and a walking tour with a local guide. The highlight of the bus tour was the bull fighting stadium. That took a lot of money to build and was used for less than a year. It has just been sitting there for many, many years. I thought it was pretty interesting that the government paid so much money, but also decided to let it just sit and decay for years.
My favorite part about the trip was being able to walk around the city and see the heavy influences from both the Spanish and the Portuguese. The Spanish and the Portuguese traded control over Uruguay many times and that can be easily seen throughout the city when you examine the architecture. One major difference between the Spanish and Portuguese were the way in which they constructed roads. The Spanish built roads with drains on the outside of the roads and sidewalk, while the Portuguese built smaller roads with drainage down the middle and no sidewalks. It was fascinating to see the two different types of roads next to each other. Another way we saw architectural influence throughout the city was through the houses. The Spanish built bigger houses with a pointed roof, while the Portuguese built smaller houses with a flat roof. Some Spanish houses and structures were even built on top of Portuguese structures.
It felt like the city was stuck in time in one of the most beautiful ways possible. The roads winded throughout the city, which reflected the not so organized city planning by the Portuguese. Walking along the wall of the fort (where I dropped my brand new camera down a flight of stair- but it survived) allowed you to see and feel what it would have been like hundreds of years ago. There was no driving allowed in the city, which allowed you to feel the full affect that this beautiful city had. This was by far my favorite excursion so far because I got to explore a beautiful city with my beautiful friends! We only had one day here, but I could have spent waaaayyy more.
Emilee Pierson
5,226 miles 