乌拉圭的一天 One Day in Uruguay

2022年11月24，星期四，南美洲之旅第八天 – Day 8 of the South America trip

今天是美国的感恩节，夏天的感恩节是一种奇怪的感觉。早上6点多就起床了，吃完早餐，步行去20分钟去Buquebus港口，坐渡轮去布宜诺斯艾利斯对面的乌拉圭小城市科洛尼亚-德尔萨克拉门托。7点多到了港口才明白买船票的时候被告知要提前一个小时到港口的原因，是排队要过海关，没想到有这么多人！

Today is Thanksgiving in America, and Thanksgiving in the summer is a strange feeling. We got up at the ungodly hour of 6am this morning to catch our ferry. After breakfast, we walked to the Buquebus port and took the ferry to Colonia del Sacramento, a small Uruguayan city on the opposite side of the river from Buenos Aires.

We got to the port at about 7:40am, and immediately realized why they told us to arrive at the port at least an hour before departure (8:30am). There was a massive line waiting to go through customs. We definitely didn’t expect there to be so many people!

一个小时10多分钟的船程就到了科洛尼亚-德尔萨克拉门托，下了渡轮，参加了40分钟的徒步团，导游的英文口音我实在不适应，很快就放弃了听她讲解。PJG告诉我导游说在乌拉圭法定每天的工作时间是6个小时，每周五天，而且乌拉圭从小学到大学的教育是免费的。

It took more than an hour and 10 minutes to arrive at Colonia del Sacramento. We got off the ferry and joined our 40-minute walking tour group. I couldn’t get used to her accent of the tour guide, so I quickly gave up listening to her explanations. PJG told me that the tour guide said that the legal working hours in Uruguay are 6 hours a day, five days a week, and that education from elementary school to university in Uruguay is free.

这里是一个非常安静的小城，于 1680 年由葡萄牙人在拉普拉塔河畔建立，后来又曾被是西班牙的殖民地，所以这里的建筑结合了葡萄牙和西班牙的影响。出于对这一殖民遗产的保护，在1995年这里的历史街区被联合国教科文组织列为世界遗产。小城里有很多树，被树荫覆盖的小路很平静祥和的感觉。

This is a very quiet small town, founded by the Portuguese on the banks of the Rio de la Plata in 1680, and was later a Spanish colony, so the architecture here combines Portuguese and Spanish influences. Out of the protection of this colonial heritage, the historic district here was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995. There are many trees in the small town, and the path covered by the shade of the trees is very peaceful.

下了船，出了海关，已经7点多了，在附近酒吧来了一杯冰啤解乏，晚饭也是在附近找了一家餐厅，因为没有回酒店休息并补充钱，我俩身上的现金加起来一共是8千多，所以晚饭点菜的时候，我俩格外小心，结果服务员上了一瓶比我俩点的红酒贵一倍的一瓶，最后结账的时候我俩的钱不够了，哈哈。第一次遇到这种情况， 最后身上的美金救了急，一开始给了服务员一个25美金的纸币，但是因为有一个小小撕口，饭店竟然不要！最后给了唯一一张50美金的纸币，汇率以1比290成交之后，这次的买单危机总算解决了，哈哈。今晚没有给服务员小费，一共消费是31美元（用1比290的汇率计算）。

After getting off the boat and out of the customs, it was already past 7 o’clock. We had some cold beer in a nearby bar to relieve our fatigue. We also found a restaurant nearby for dinner. Because we didn’t go back to the hotel to rest and replenish our cash, we were extra careful when ordering for dinner. Unaware, the waiter brought a bottle of red wine that was twice as expensive as the one we had ordered. At the end of the meal, we didn’t have enough money to pay, haha. It was the first time we encountered such a situation, and finally the 50 US dollars we had brought came to the rescue. At first, I gave the waiter a 20 US dollar bill, but because of a tiny tear in the bill, the restaurant refused to take it! In the end, we gave our only $50 note, and found the exchange rate was 1:290, and the payment crisis was resolved, haha. No tip to the waiter tonight, the total consumption is 31 dollars (calculated by the exchange rate of 1 to 290).

虽然今天是又热又累，科洛尼亚-德尔萨克拉门托还是值得一游的，过了一个不一样的感恩节。

Although today was hot and tiring, Colonia del Sacramento is still worth a visit. What a unique Thanksgiving we had！