A hop over to Uruguay

There is but a river separating Uruguay and Argentina-- and, frankly, not much else. Though of course Argentina towers over its little neighbor (no offense intended), the two countries are very similar culturally and historically. On Sunday, I crossed the Rio de La Plata to visit the quaint town of Colonia, which is perched on hills overlooking the water. Well, Buenos Aires has charm, but Colonia is basically charm incarnate. The Portuguese founded it and it claims to be Uruguay's first city. Colonia was then ruled back and forth between Portugal and Spain until it was freed from Iberian clutches to become part of Uruguay in 1828. Though the gusts of wind and slight drizzle dampened-- both literally and figuratively-- the visit, Colonia's old, stone-built town, lighthouse and mate were more than worth the visit.