We drove GANNET2 to Colonia, the tourist hub on the banks of the River Plate 45 minutes away and had fish for lunch with some young Floridians we met on the way.
Will wonders never cease, tourists wandering Uruguay in winter and I thought only we did such senseless things. Come to think of it Colonia in 60 degrees might make a nice break from Orlando in 90.
Rusty wanted no part of the day as he was entirely happy at home. I encouraged him to join us in the van and he got a worried look on his face and started to sidle away so I propped the kitchen door open and left him to guard our rental cottage, of which he hid a brilliant job.
The joy of the open road…I know it’s boring, not the Andes or the Amazon but I love driving and we haven’t been doing much so crossing what passes for Iowa at a smooth 55 mph seemed like a huge break from dealing with electrical parts and payment methods and all the rest of the shop related issues.
The approach road to Colonia is lined with massive date palms because I assume some urban planner before World War Two had an idea above his station though I must say the effect all these years later (if my wild speculation is correct) is magnificent.
Traffic in Uruguay is light and in midweek in midwinter it is lighter than fairy dust: there’s no one around and unlike it that way. Even as we approached the capital of the department, the administrative hub of this part of the country there was hardly anyone to disturb my zen meditations on how much I enjoy this funny little country.
Parking was available too even for a 21 foot behemoth in the Lilliputian local capital and the Fiat plane trees of fond memory are getting ever yellower leaves and thus a more wintery aspect. Locals dress as though they expect banishment to Siberia without warning.
Granted I did put on a pair of jeans for the journey but temperatures were in the mid to upper 50s and snow never falls in this part of the world even in July which is mid winter.
We strolled to the highly rated seafood restaurant Layne had found and discovered to our horror it was closed permanently it looked like and behind those locked doors were the toilets we had had on our minds. We retreated back down the street to GANNET2 in the manner of Napoleon abandoning Moscow and the devil take the hindmost.
When we had had time to relax and regroup we found another fishy possibility not surprisingly this time in the waterfront a ten minute drive away through picturesque Colonia.
The portable toilet awaiting our hurried return:
The back up restaurant was on the waterfront, a very good place to be not only because of proximity to the source of lunch technically speaking but because also there was a park looking out across the waters of the River Plate:
This is the high speed Buquebus ferry to Buenos Aires 90 minutes across the river. The bureaucracy to board your van is crushingly complicated not least because we couldn’t get the website to work.
The Portuguese claimed the birth shore of the river and built fortifications here to protect their property from Spanish claims. After independence the feud continued and in 1828 the British envoy Lord Ponsonby showed up and created Uruguay to prevent Argentina from owning both shores of this strategic waterway. Gunboat diplomacy, nation building, that all seemed to be so 19th century and now here we are again in 2026 arguing over waterways.
We were waylaid by three pedestrians with luggage as we walked to the eatery. Weren’t we surprised to discover they are three enterprising youngsters pondering the possibilities of South America on a visit from Orlando. They joined us for lunch.
Meet Seth Tara and Chris entrepreneurs, runners and people who earn a living by organizing events. It boggles my mind you can make a living doing that but at least it’s a job whose parameters I vaguely understand. Most modern jobs involving computing sound like gobbledegook to me: Systems Analyst. IT Coordinator. Reliability Engineer. Support Coordinator. Organizing a marathon I understand more or less but I’d never have the wit to think of making a living at it. 
Aside from career advice which I found out too late but still fascinating we had fish for lunch not an easy task in a country devoted to grilled meat. Above my hake (a cod like fish I really like) with mashed potatoes and below Layne’s shrimp and octopus.
Chris sitting patiently next to me had to suffer my photographic efforts peering at his fried hake salad. I’d like to try that next time we return and we plan to visit this place again.
Layne found a co locally brewed cider she liked while I had a Spanish draught beer from Galicia.
And some excellent mussels to start.
Lunch was $80 so with Uruguayan prices to deal with you want yo eat something worthwhile when you eat out.
A worthwhile spot delightful I’m sure in a warm summer evening.
Signs such as these prohibiting campers reassure me as I feel much better about street camping in parks where these signs are not posted. My reading is if they didn’t want us there they know how to post prohibitions and one way we try to control costs in Uruguay is by free camping whenever possible.
Layne is a fan of murals and she had heard about a spot in Colonia devoted to the art. With the sun declining and Rusty on my mind we stopped on our way out of town.
