Country Article / Postcards

Charming Colonials, Going Cheap

Date: 10/24/2005

International Living Postcards-- your daily escape

Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2005
Colonia, Uruguay

Dear International Living Reader,

This is one of the finest examples of a historic colonial settlement you’ll see in the Americas. Uruguay’s Colonia del Sacramento, or Colonia, is on a peninsula that juts out into the ocean. Its cobble-stoned streets, quiet parks, and finely-restored antique stone buildings represent a period in our heritage that has been lost in much of this hemisphere.

In the Barrio Histórico, you’ll see homes that were originally built by the Portuguese in the late 1600s, and later made taller by the Spanish. If you look at the sides of many buildings, you can see where the stonework differs between each of the two colonial periods. This neighborhood is also loaded with high-end shops and an array of restaurants that belies its small size.

Located but an hour from Buenos Aires, Colonia is the perfect town for a stroll along the river, a wander through the sycamore-lined narrow streets, or a rest in the shade of one of the well-maintained parks. This town is bustling no matter the season (including the mild winter), and you’ll see visitors--mostly from Argentina--year-round.

On the real estate front, you’ll find everything from newly-restored colonials with modern interiors and a view of the harbor ($170,000), to small cottages with a quiet internal courtyard ($86,000), to--my favorite--large, structurally sound restoration projects (prices vary, but I saw one I think will go for $90,000).

If you buy in Colonia and plan to rent the property, the prospects look good based on the steady stream of visitors. In fact, as soon as we learned there was a stone colonial cottage by the river available to rent, we moved out of our hotel (and at $40 per night, the colonial was cheaper).

You’ll find several good real estate agents in Colonia, but my favorite is Joaquín Mato of Sergio Mato Inmobiliaria. Joaquín speaks English and had the best selection of properties that I saw (I found the riverside cottage we rented through his company, too). E-mail joaquin@inmomato.com or visit http://www.inmomato.com (the website is in Spanish, but you can get a good idea of what’s available nevertheless).

Lee Harrison
Roving Latin America Editor, International Living

P.S. Barrio Histórico is not the only good neighborhood that Colonia has to offer. In fact, Centro stands up admirably--especially for a resident. The architecture is typically old Uruguayan rather than colonial, and you’ll see fewer tourists once you get off the main drag. Expect to pay in the region of $65,000 for something decent, although I got lucky and found a fixer-upper for $27,000 (a recent sale), and a house near the river you could move into right now for $38,000. If you spend a week here like I did, you’ll have a better chance of finding the good deals, too.