Argentina: Megan Holland (A New Experience)
Program: IES Buenos Aires Society & Culture, Fall
The location of the city of Buenos Aires lends itself well to weekend trips to explore various parts of Argentina and even neighboring countries. I took advantage of this by going on a day trip to Colonia del Sacramento (Colonia), Uruguay during one of my free Sundays in October. The ferry left the terminal in Puerto Madero at 8:30 am and arrived in Colonia only 1 hour and 15 minutes later.
Seeing the ruins of San Miguel Bastion (pictured left) made me feel like I was stepping back in time.
From there, I explored the historic quarter of Colonia, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Colonia is the perfect picturesque town to explore for the day. One of the most popular locations for photos are the historic ruins of San Miguel Bastion.
View from the top of the Colonia del Sacramento Lighthouse.
This gateway to the historic quarter is unlike anything I had ever seen before. For the small price of $35 Uruguayan pesos, I was able to climb the winding staircase of the Colonia del Sacramento Lighthouse and get a 360-degree view of Colonia and its bay.
The Colonia del Sacramento Lighthouse with historic ruins in front of it.
I scheduled my return ferry to leave Colonia at 8:30 pm. I wish I could say I did this on purpose because this gave me the opportunity to experience my favorite part of the day: the sunset! A small group of people and I sat quietly watching the sunset together. Then, when the sun dipped below the horizon, we all clapped. Despite its simplicity, this moment warmed my heart!
The beautiful sunset over the bay I was lucky enough to witness.
Megan Holland
Program Name: IES Buenos Aires Society & Culture
Major: Community and Organizational Development
Hometown: Rochester, Minnesota
One of the reasons that I chose my program was the opportunity to live in a homestay. I am hoping to participate in an international internship while I am on my program.