Colonia del Sacramento

The old city of Colonia del Sacramento is located 180 km west of Montevideo. It was founded in 1680 by Portuguese military to mark the western limit of their claims, after the 1494 Tordesillas treaty. I visited it a few weeks ago, during a sunny weekend.

The treaty determined limits by distance from the Cape Verde islands. As  in those days longitude could not be fixed with precision, many battles took place between Spain and Portugal for the posession of Colonia. The British also battled briefly here during their River Plate invasion in the early 19th century.

Colonia is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. You'll have to look hard to find this plate, but there it is.



The gate to the old city is always open.



Once inside, tourists make a bee line to Suspiros Street



Somehow, night suits Suspiros street better.  Few people remember that, before the old city restoration  which started around 1967, this was a red light district. 

The lighthouse, next to the stone remains of a building, is another tourist attraction.



Those shadows on the white buildings are one of the best subjects in the city. The guns in front of the Navy museum were recovered from River Plate wrecks, of which there is no shortage.

The city is very quiet in the early morning, with old houses that have been converted to the tourist trade.

Those yellow street lamps are everywhere. Either you like them or they get on your nerves.

I was lucky to catch an event. Representatives from traditional societies of Portugal, Brasil, Uruguay and Argentina converged into Colonia for a demonstration. They looked as if out of a time machine.

After their concentration in front of Government Hall, they streamed to the old city playing music.

Technical: B&W pictures are from a just acquired Russian Horizon, from about 1965, and a Minolta Autocord from 1953. Film was TMX developed in Beutler. Color pictures comes from a current Canon G12, since almost nobody develops C-41 these days.