Colonia del Sacramento was built by the Portuguese so they could smuggle goods into Buenos Aires, being just across the Rio de la Plata (about an hour trip on a modern ferry). The point is the old part of town, characterised by cobblestone streets, quaint old buildings, ornate lamps and flowers, which was fortified to the outside world.

We arrived late afternoon and had a chance to have a quick look around town and head out to the jetty in time for sunset, an eastern location with the sun setting over water is always nice. Once the sun had set we made our way back to the hostel via the supermarket with the hope of making beef stroganoff. The cream only came in a huge container so we substituted it for natural yoghurt which was unfortunately full of sugar!

We awake and the day has good weather, something we're only accustomed to on transit days. We decided that it was good day to walk 6km (one way) to the bull fighting arena, which the girl in the hostel said was an important place to visit. As we left the hostel Fergus pats the hostel dog, bad decision, he decided that he'll follow us! We walk for about 1km and suddenly we've got 3 dogs following us. Managing to lose 1, Lindsay decided we should name them, Chubby (the hostel dog) and Fox (due to his tail). The dogs are having the time of their lives, chasing birds, barking ridiculously loudly so that everyone stared at us and swimming down at the beach.

Finally we got to the bull arena and it's ruins! Further more it's in disrepair and we couldn't even get in and have a look from the inside. Worth the hike, not sure? 6km down and 6 more to go to return to town, we gained another dog, where did she come from? She'll be Tiger, because of her stripes. We took a bit of a break on the beach, Chubby took the time to rest, while the other 2 were still happy to run around a little more.

With about 4km left Chubby cracked it! He was dragging his feet and looking at us like he'd attack us if he had the energy. We thought about leaving him behind, but as he had followed us from the hostel we felt obliged to return him, just in case anyone saw us leave with him. Slowly we continued home, and when we were about a block from the hostel, the dogs were off! Tiger just disappeared, Fox headed to a street vendor and Chubby watched us for a bit, but refused to join us. We thought we had him close enough to the hostel that we could leave him.

Time for lunch, we walked around checking out a few places and in doing so we stumbled upon Chubby, sitting out the front of a restaurant waiting to be fed by anyone willing, no wonder he's chubby!

After lunch we decided to check out some of the museums. Funnily enough none are open. Instead we climbed the lighthouse to take in a 360 degree view over the town. We can even see Buenos Aires from up here!

With the day drawing to an end we headed back for the always fun part of booking the next lot of accommodation and the transport there. This time it's a ferry to Buenos Aires.

We cooked dinner in a very crowded kitchen, in which Lindsay had to fight for space while being frowned at by a large group of German backpackers. After dinner we headed out to look around town of an evening. When we returned we ran into a couple of Aussie's that we'd chatted to in Punta del Este. Their bus was late so they missed the last ferry and had to spend the night.

The next morning we checked out and took one last look around town and grabbed some lunch (trying to use up all our Uruguayan Pesos). We also found a museum that was finally open but unfortunately we didn't have time to go in.

When we returned we found the 2 other Aussies waiting for the same ferry as us. We headed down together and once we checked in and cleared immigration (both the Uruguayan and Argentinean) the rain started. Thankfully we were already undercover!

The ferry trip was uneventful, as the rain prevented us from seeing much outside. When we hit Buenos Aires we discovered why you pay a little more and get the fast ferry. The terminal we arrived at is very basic and only serviced by taxis, which, as it's now pouring, everyone is waiting for and they only arrive a few at a time! Just over an hour on the ferry and over an hour waiting for a cab! We decided to share a taxi with the Aussies, but as the taxi driver refuses to open the boot we couldn't all fit with our luggage. They offered us the taxi and we headed off, hoping that they didn't have to wait too much longer in the cold.

LAPFWT