The best way to get deep into the history of a town is to walk on the streets slowly without destination. In Colonia de Sacramento one can find himself easily on Street of the Sigh (Calle de los Sospiros), a magical place full of with secrets and legends.
In many cases tourists can stay in Argentina for a maximum of 90 days. Would someone like to stay more, the usual trick is to take a ferry from Buenos Aires and sail to the nearby Uruguay across the La Plata river, then enter Argentina again the end of the day. This was not the case with me, no doubt however that it is appealing to take this one-hour ferry journey to arrive to a cozy, little town on the shores of Uruguay, which is also declared UNESCO World heritage.
Sailing from Buenos Aires to Colonia de Sacramento (Uruguay) takes only 1 hour. The whole trip can easily be made in a half day. I traveled with a big ferry which looked like a wide aircraft from inside. Of course there was a big fight for the seats at the window, but with no experience in 'localizing skills' I could only get seat in the second row.
Colonia de Sacramento was a Portuguese colony from the 17th century, which is now the oldest existing town in Uruguay and part of the World Heritage. I really liked the town. When walking on the scrubbled streets amongst the colourful houses I was trying to imagine how the first colonists came here, how they choose their places and how life could have been. I like to sink in these fantasies and fly back in time.
 |
| Quiet streets during siesta |
 |
| Lovely colorful walls |
 |
| Blue sky, white walls, beautiful flowers |
The most authentic and romantic street of all is the Calle de los Sospiros (Street of the Sigh). This beautiful street used to be called Ansina, but many legends exist about its current name. So what is the legend of Street of the Sigh? There are several theories about its origin. One says that those condemned to death were brought up to the street before drowning them in the water. A more romantic legend, however, says that one night a girl was waiting for her lover in the moonlight. Suddenly a masked person stick a knife in the breast of the girl, whose last word was a sigh of good-bye.
 |
| Calle de los Sospiros |
If one comes from Buenos Aires, the little historical center can be visited withing a few hours. This is a one day trip, but if you are outside the whole day be careful with the sun. I was walking around for hours under the sun, which I did not feel because of the mild breeze coming from the river, so I heavily got sunburned. I had two option for the night: either I totally disappear with my skin peeling, or as a second option I reborn in a new body. Fortunately the second option won.
Hobby writer and autodidact photographer whose passion is to travel and get to know new people and cultures. She has been on 4 continents and 30 countries, and the outcome is this travel blog where she shares travel stories, thoughts, tips and photography always through a subjective eye.
No comments:
Post a Comment