Tag: Buenos Aires

Historic Colonia, Uruguay – An easy daytrip by ferry from Buenos Aires

Calle de los Suspiros (Street of Sighs) in Colornia

Founded by the Portuguese in 1680, Colonia, Uruguay, with its UNESCO World Heritage historic quarter is an easy ferry ride from Buenos Aires and a picture-perfect way to spend a day away from the bustle of the city. Doing a little research, I chose the Buquebus ferry service over ferries operated by Colonia Express. Buquebus operates out of a large modern terminal in Puerto Madero.

I bought Buquebus tickets online, opting for Business Class as it was only about $10 more per person and allowed first on and first off privileges. I’d read there could be a line at immigration at times and, since I only wanted to do a daytrip and didn’t have time to waste, that was a deciding factor. read more

Starting Three Weeks in South America in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Basílica Nuestra Señora del Pilar and the weekend craft market

We kicked off three weeks in South America (mostly Argentina and Chile) in Buenos Aires. With my Spanish minor and years working with Spanish-speaking clients near the Mexican border decades in the past, my Spanish was beyond rusty. Years of living in France and focusing on French doesn’t help, so David and I spent the weeks before this trip watching Argentinian and Chilean movies and shows to try to revive our Spanish. (He’d studied Spanish some years ago, too.) I love the language and listening and reading was a big help, but wow are those accents different from the Mexican Spanish I learned! Still, it had been awhile since I was in a Spanish-speaking country and I was looking forward to the challenge. And I was really excited about Iguazu Falls and the farthest-flung reaches of this trip, Rapa Nui/ Easter Island(!!). read more