Thursday 7 January 2010 Colonia

Or...I should really know better when it comes to immigration

“You want to go up the lighthouse?” the bored-looking security man asked.

“si....”

“Not me, I think it’s a bit boring”

Ah, ok...erm...

Not to be deterred, I paid my 15 Uruguayan pesos anyway and starting the long clanking climb up the metal spiral staircase, despite it being hot and having only just eaten lunch, inspired by the promise from my trusty guidebook that you can see Buenos Aires from up there on a clear day. Lord knows why that struck a chord – I’ve been itching to get out of there for the last month; why do I want to see it?

Well, yes you could see it and yes the ‘you’re-over-there-I’m-over-here’ factor was quite satisfying – modern, glassy tower blocks of Puerto Madero (think mini London’s Docklands) rising in a line to different heights like sound levels on a stereo.

Colonia’s metaphorical sound levels meter is well within the green – an idyllic Portuguese colonial town that seems to have escaped the extensive redevelopment of similar areas in South America, this is now a UNESCO world heritage site. Being only a stone’s throw from the hub of Buenos Aires (just imagine the catamaran is the stone and the throw taking it an hour or so across the giant rio del plata estuary), its a mecca for day trippers, weekenders, and, er, people who need to renew their Argi visa in a hurry (we’ll get onto that shortly). And yes it feels like a tourist town: restaurants EVERYWHERE, signs in English, multiple offices where you can rent golf-buggies to tour the town in, should the less-than-mile-square historical area be too taxing for you to potter around on foot after your huge parrilla lunch.

But despite this being the middle of peak season, and yes admittedly bumping into the same people you met on the boat several times during the day, it doesn’t in any way feel crowded, and you can always find sanctuary on the dock one of the little beaches, or equally one of the tree-shaded squares where I am now, feeding the mosquitos their late lunch and tapping away on my laptop. (I was amazed to find I can get a wireless signal here – tempting to facebook everyone I know: “guess where I am?!! Sitting in amongst some old ruins in the middle of a park in a town that time forgot in Uruguay!” (Except wifi shows no mercy and leaves no settlement forgotten and unsullied by its.....rays....).

I was steaming with curiosity by the time I left to come here this morning: various different sources had heightened and dampened my interest in Colonia by turns: was it a tranquil escape from the city or a dull backwater town where people only come to die or get a fresh visa (yes yes, I will get on to that. Just a minute)

So I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when the alarm went off at 5.30am, hurrying the taxi along to the port, one of the first in line for boarding in the predictably clinical departure lounge, eagerly awaiting, waiting patiently, waiting quietly, slightly fidgety, downright clicking my tongue..... I’ve gotten used to ‘Argi time’ (not yet a standardised concept and one of the many reasons we in the hostel have cited for Argentina still being a developing nation. Anyway...) but a 45 minute delay takes the biscuit even for them. And talking of biscuits, I hadn’t had breakfast yet, so was getting pretty cranky. We eventually left 30 mins late, but managed to arrive a whole hour late. Ah well, I caught up on some of that sleep!

What I do need to do today is decide if I want to come back on Monday. Here’s the story now – are you sitting comfortably?

So I knew my 3 month Argi visa would be running out early Jan... late December I checked some prices for a Uruguay trip, and it all seemed pretty steep to me, when I’d read that you can just get your visa renewed at the office of immigration for much less money. So I kept meaning to ask boss Nico, an Argi, to ring them up and see if I needed an appointment, how it worked etc. But then it was Christmas, and then the office was shut, and then Nico said there wasn’t a hope in hell of me getting an appointment so soon. So, back to the Colonia idea, but all the day trips were sold out until the 11^th. “Ah!” I thought: “I entered on the 12 October! 3 months, leave on the 11^th, no problem!” And went and bought the ticket for a bargain $174 pesos.

Problem... I realised, waking up with a jolt a few days later..... not a 3 month visa... a 90 day visa. Subtle but important difference: my boat was booked for the day AFTER it expired.

Bugger. Stupidity!

So the only way to do it was to go overnight (luckily, working for PAX as I do, they got me a free night at their ‘hostel amigo’ in Colonia). And the ticket was $240. No worries, no worries, not much difference, I’ll just go and get a refund. Nope – non refundable, and non-exchangeable to friends who also need to go: the ticket had my name and passport on. So I now have two tickets to Uruguay – one I can refund but have to use, and one that I don’t need but could refund.

*sigh* bloody Argis

So today my tasks are 1) get visa renewed (tick, by default), 2) buy new notebook and replacement linen trousers (fatface why hast thou forsaken me and worn out in the crotch???) and 3) decide if I want to come all the way back just for the day on Monday, seeing as I’ve spent the money and all...

We’ll see – there is a nice beach just a mile or so away, but it is an awful long way to go for a beach day.

Maybe I’ll go and ask my new friend at the lighthouse what he thinks I should do.

a few photos to come when I can charge my phone!!