Charming History and Killer Cobblestones

Colonia is beautiful with its little flower-lined cobblestone streets and plazas.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Colonia, Uruguay

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The jasmine and bougainvillea grace the pastel blue, yellow, ochre, and pale green walls…the palm trees sway…the lofty trees shower the ground with pink blossoms. There’s a lighthouse…bastion walls…a slew of galleries…craft shops…restaurants. At night, old-fashioned yellow lamps add another layer of magic.

Most visitors adore Uruguay’s most historic, picture-perfect city. Buenos Aires lies directly across the Rio del Plata—wide as the sea, muddy brown in the morning and silver blue by afternoon. In the distance, I can see pale sandy beaches.

Colonia’s Barrio Historico is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is made up of 27 little streets, three plazas, and four plazuelas (smaller squares). In a sunny plaza facing the church, I lunched at Restaurante Viejo Barrio. Pasta dishes are $4 to $7, but I splurged 300 pesos ($15.50) on merluza fillets (flaky white hake) with Russian salad, a half-liter of wine, water, and coffee. Entertainment is free. Wearing a succession of daft hats, waiter Ruben keeps popping out to sing to passersby about the daily fare. His apron is covered in offbeat badges, including one from the American Psychiatric Association!

Although leather and craft goods seem overpriced compared with other Latin American countries, Colonia is tourist-friendly, not tourist-trap. My only problem is its killer cobbles. Ankle-wrenching, knee-scraping cobbles...

Although not grievously injured, I’m hobbling. It happened when investigating Calle de los Suspiros. A tourism booklet says that in colonial times, this street was notorious for rough drinking dens, brothels, and its jail.

Not all streets are as lethal, but Calle de los Suspiros has no sidewalk. With hindsight, I’d give its assault course of cobbles a miss. No dubious inns or houses of ill repute are down here nowadays. Serves me right to go seeking any...

Homes in the historic district might seem expensive—I found an 860-square-foot house on Calle Real for $170,000. The real estate agent told me that anything under this price level “no existe.” Yet one street away from the Barrio Historico, a similar-sized stone-built property is $97,000. In fact, there’s plenty of these houses for $80,000 to $100,000.

Large properties in the Barrio Historico will cost upward of $250,000. One 18th-century, 1,720-square-foot home with original Portuguese carved wooden doors, arty murals, an inner courtyard, and river views from its flat roof is selling for $320,000…

Subscribers to International Living magazine will get my full report on real estate in Uruguay.

Steenie Harvey
Roving Europe Editor (on loan to Uruguay), International Living

Editor’s note: So ends our “Uruguay Uncensored” coverage. For three days, Steenie has shown us Uruguay through her own keen, world-wise, and occasionally bloodshot eyes. Who else would call the Uruguayan national drink “a sludgy green concoction” or manage to find black candombe drummers in Montevideo’s predominantly white Ciudad Vieja? Then again, who else could find apartments there for $45,000 or entire stone houses a block from the most historic neighborhood in the country starting at $80,000?

If you’re undecided on Uruguay, we’ve made it easy for you.... During this last day of our “Uruguay Uncensored” coverage, we’ve arranged a free way for you to explore Uruguay…with IL’s Ultimate Uruguay Package.

Read related articles:

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- Uruguay: Capital Living for $69,000

- Where to Find Colonial Homes for $80,000