Colonia del Sacramento, as I wrote earlier, is a very historic town that belies the complexity of the colonial times in this part of South America, when Portugal and Spain fought for control of the massive land expanses. Charming architecture and the old ruins of forts and walls take you back to olden times. However, there is another element present in the town that takes you back to older times, though not as far back as colonial times. Vintage cars – like, really cool classic cars. It is veritable vintage car museum without the signs and curation!
A vintage car museum that may not be intentional
I was not expecting this vintage car museum. It was neat to run into old, parked cars as we explored the town. This is the kind of thing that makes me wish I were an expert in old cars. In all likelihood, I would have greatly enjoyed naming models and years as I saw them. It was a little concerning, though, that these gems of the automobile industry are just out there. Sitting out curbside for anyone to touch, stumble onto, or perhaps hit (with another vehicle).
So, the only thing left for me to do was to capture the images and let any of you out there, via comments on this post, share your knowledge of these gems! And check out the last one – ingenious re-purposing of a vehicle!
And this old geezer has been turned into… a restaurant table! Ingenious!
What to do besides admiring vintage car museum?
Colonia is perfect to stroll around. The colonial architecture is well-preserved. The town looks well maintained but done so it still feels ‘aged’. That is, everything has not been restored to a perfectly fresh look. I feel this actually lends more charm to the town. Colonia is easy to walk about exploring the old town. The town was built on a settlement first established by the Portuguese in 1680. This territory flipped flopped between Portugal and Spain (mostly being under the Portuguese). That is, until Uruguay attained independence from Brazil in the first half of the 19th century.
You can walk around the old fortifications and city walls right by the water (the main gate or Porton de Campo with its wooden drawbridge being a key sight to see – and climb), see the foundations of important colonial period buildings (like the ruins of the old convent), and climb the faro (or lighthouse).
Getting to Colonia del Sacramento
Colonia is about a two-hour drive from Montevideo (or four hours from Punta del Este). I got to Colonia from nearby Buenos Aires which connects to it via several ferries. I took the Buquebus which has a modern terminal in Buenos Aires and offers convenient fast service to Colonia. The port in Colonia is tiny and we actually just walked to the center of town – a sign at the exit of the port showed how to walk to the old town: very simple and quick. We meandered a little bit to see less historic residential and quiet streets. All a great and easy day trip from Buenos Aires – and a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the Argentine capital!
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Pin this image to your board – and explore vintage cars and the colonial architecture and feel of this lesser known South American town and jewel of Uruguay!
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Have you seen such an open vintage car museum anywhere in your country or travels??
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