Today marks one week into our study abroad trip. Instead of exploring Argentina, we did something completely different, and took a boat to Colonia, Uruguay. In Colonia, we took both a walking and bus tour. For the walking tour, we saw areas of the city that had no roads for cars and only cobblestone paths. The city was located right on the water and had super colorful buildings and shops. One thing I found most interesting was all of the stray dogs that would walk around and come up to the visitors. We were told that the people in the city come together to feed and take care of them. 

During the bus tour, we saw the big houses right on the coast. One thing I learned was that people actually come to Colonia to vacation in the warmer months. The houses are beautiful on the outside, and range from $250,000 to $1,000,000. 

After the tour, we had lunch and then were free to roam the city on our own. I stopped in many small shops and ended up buying a pair of earrings and a bag. From what it looked like, Colonia is a very friendly and tight-knit community. Finally, we ended the trip with gelato of course, and headed back to Argentina. 

Shoutout to one of our group leaders Jason! One thing I really like about him is how he always catches up with us at breakfast and asks how our nights went. He’s super easy to talk to, and is very knowledgeable about Argentina. Bonus: I really like his hats.