Colonia Del Sacramento, Uruguay

Aug. 22, 2008:

“Colonia del Sacramento is the oldest town in Uruguay,” writes longtime friend Hugo Ghara (who hails from Argentina but hangs his hat these days in Waterford, Ireland).

“The town was founded in 1680 by the Portuguese but traded hands several times between the Spanish and the Portuguese. The old town is like a movie set. Colonial structures line the cobbled streets…original farolas (outdoor candle-holders) hang from walls overgrown with purple and orange bougainvillea…foundations of the original Portuguese fort stand at the Plaza Mayor…

“All around this main plaza are seafood and barbeque restaurants, crafts shops, antiques shops… The oldest church in Uruguay is here, too, simple and white-washed…

“Colonia is but 50 minutes from Buenos Aires by boat, and there are three ‘rapido’ sailings every day. A rapido round-trip ticket is about $85. The schedule for sailings is detailed here: www.buquebus.com.

“Stay the night if you can, at La Posada del Virrey, on Calle de Espana, a colonial hotel in the old town. Have the barbeque at least once…it’s the specialty in this part of the world. I’d recommend you avoid the morcilla (black pudding), though. They make it sweet in Uruguay, with sugar!”

***

“We're here in Muscat, Oman's capital,” writes perpetual traveler Paul Terhorst, “heading off to second-city Nizwa later this morning. Here we are in front the Grand Mosque, built about 20 years ago by the sultan as a monument to himself. This is the only mosque open to the non-muslim public, and it's open only during a few hours in the morning when it's not needed otherwise for prayer.

“Here’s a local man in typical local dress: white robe and turban. The robe is cool and flowing, comfortable in the heat here. In neighboring Dubai--we've seen men from Dubai around town--men wear a similar white robe and similar turban but with slight differences that mark where they're from.

“Here’s an older, colonial building in Muscat's old town. This neighborhood was busier and more important 300 years ago than it is today. In the 19th century, the American consulate (later embassy) opened next-door.

“Here’s the royal palace near the colonial building above. When the current sultan took over from his father in 1970, there was a crumbling down palace on this site. Dad never used the place. The new, young sultan tore it down and built this one in its place, overlooking the old waterfront.

“Finally, here’s the souk, or Arab market, in old town at night. These markets, so common throughout the Arab world, consist of tiny shops on narrow alleys in a covered place in the heart of old town. Pictures from a century ago show the small stalls as bamboo shacks, the narrow alleys as mud. Now these markets have become tourist attractions selling perfume, silverware, spices, and souvenirs. This is the place, too, for locals to buy white robes for men, black robes for women, and caps, shawls, tassels, and underwear. Then again, the huge Carrefour hypermarket yesterday was packed with shoppers with overflowing carts, the busiest Carrefour I've seen anywhere.”

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