Diary of a Day Trip to Colonia, Uruguay

Riding Motos in Colonia, Uruguay

Motorcycle Diaries eat your heart out. We weren’t curing Polio or anything but man was it fun feeling the wind in your face and a good friend clinging to your back. Just a couple of macho guys, drinking beers, picking up chicks and cruising around Colonia, Uruguay on scooters with pearl colored helmets.

Today my buddy Greco & I took the Buquebus over to Colonia, Uruguay to peep the scene, renew my tourist visa and chase some tail. I started off the morning by almost ruining our entire trip. We got to the Buquebus terminal in plenty of time for our 9:30 trip and started asking around for guidance on the check-in procedure. After some broken conversations we waited for the monitors above each check-in kiosk to say “Colonia”. I figured that would make sense. However, it never happened. So finally, at about 9:15 I asked another lady for help and she immediately rushed to check us in. Turns out they put the name of the boat we were taking on the monitor like the Elizebeth Izabel and not the destination. So, when I told Greco “Man that Elizabeth Izabel is a popular destination today!” It was really the check-in line for Colonia (that we should have been in). We had a good laugh about and boarded quickly.

Customs were a breeze and after a much needed 2-hour nap we made it into Colonia. While the port area wasn’t much to look at, the town had a very cool European vibe. Complete with cobblestone walkways and outdoor cafes by the water.

We grabbed some grub at the first restaurant we saw and then immediately set out to rent some Harley’s. I was a little reluctant to give out my credit card as a deposit, but we found a pretty reputable looking place and everything worked out fine (so far). Unfortunately, they were all out of Harley Davidsons so we settled on 2 very powerful and manly scooters.

We wasted no time getting into the traffic mix. It was chaos on the roads. The day consisted of praying through intersections with no stop signs, going the wrong-way down one-way streets, and even a little off-roading. At one point we got caught on a highway next to a few tourist buses which made for an exciting expedition.

After an Helado Break Greco jumped on the back of my scooter to do our best Motorcycle Diaries/Dumb and Dumber impersonation through the city center. However, things got weird and a little too close for comfort when we went over a real bumpy road so we went back to solo riding immediately.

We made our way back to Buenos Aires around 8pm with some beers on the top deck of the Buquebus and the sun setting over the muddy water of the Rio de la Plata.

SIDE NOTES:

  • I’m almost positive I wore my helmet backwards the entire day.
  • Plaza de Toros was really cool. It was like a miniature Colosseum in the middle of nowhere.
  • 90 more days on my tourist visa in the bag.
  • We came home and had an awesome Mediterranean meal at Sarkis in Palermo
  • In Colonia, 2 grown men on 1 scooter is cool, but helmets are not.

Checkout all the travel photos from our Day Trip to Colonia, Uruguay

My name is Gareth Leonard, a Marketing Director turned World Traveler with a passion for slow, meaningful travel. I have been traveling the world full-time for the past 9+ years and document it all on Instagram and YouTube. Come join me!

One Comment

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