Day 8! After waking up bright and early at 6am, our group took a bus to a huge airport-looking boat dock called Buquebus. There was a cute little shop where we would get breakfast and coffee. I ended up ordering a slice of chocolate and vanilla swirl bread, and Cami got a lemon loaf that we shared. She also got a vanilla latte that we both sipped on. Then, we went through customs and immigration, which was a cool experience to do again. It was almost exactly the same as the airport, and the Uruguay workers gave us stamps in our passports! I was super excited about that because they were the first stamps in my book. Then, we loaded onto the boat, which was huge. There was a large VIP area upstairs with a lot of extra space, and the area we sat in was so crowded that we had difficulty finding a seat. I felt a little bit nauseous on the boat ride from Argentina to Uruguay, but overall it was a smooth ride!
Once exiting the boat, we went to this sweet, little town called Colonia. It was so quaint, beautiful, and sunny. There, we had a walking tour, then a bus tour. We ended up taking so many pictures in front of all of the bright buildings. The tour guide was very knowledgeable, and one interesting thing I learned today was that the dirt in the area is so full of iron, which reacts with the oxygen in the air to create a red color. That’s also why the water has a slightly red-brown hue to it.
We also visited a bull-fighting ring called Plaza de Toros. It was very cool to see, and we were able to look around inside. We found a spot to get a snack, and the cookies there were so delicious! Everyone ended up buying one and passing them around for others to try. It was so fun being able to walk around and hang out with everyone.
One of my favorite things about Jason, one of our trip leaders, is his ability to talk to everyone. He is so thoughtful and insightful, and it was so much fun to hear about the many places he has lived and the languages he knows! I loved talking to him yesterday about the blog prompt, as the answer was very complicated, and discussing the potential answers. He is so open and friendly, and everyone on the trip loves him!
