From Buenos Aires to Colonia
After fifty days in Argentina, and a month to the date after she first touched the water, Ohana was finally exported from Argentina. We had an on-board inspection by customs, and we visited the customs and immigration offices, as well as the Prefectura (Coast Guard).
With all of the paperwork in order, we set off for Colonia, Uruguay, early on a Saturday morning with Sancho and Mariano from 40 Grados Sur. They kindly came along with us to make sure that there weren’t any problems on Ohana’s first true voyage, and especially to help us navigate customs, immigration, and the Prefectura in Uruguay.
Nights had been so frigid in San Fernando that frost coated the cabin top and decks the morning of our departure. Despite the cold, our entire family was out on the deck to say goodbye to Buenos Aires and wave to the beautiful city in the distance. Little did we know that it wasn’t truly goodbye, but more about that in our next blog post…
Colonia is a quaint city, with old and new juxtaposed everywhere you look. Colonial ruins sit alongside modern buildings, often sharing walls. The overall feeling is one of walking back in time, although there are plenty of reminders of modern life as well:
But our favorite modern touch in Colonia? The cars that would drive down the main road in town with a loudspeaker mounted on top of their car, blaring advertisements at incredible volume. Every time one went by, Ted would say, “For one night only, the Fabulous Blues Brothers Show Band and Revue”.
We enjoyed wandering through Colonia and exploring, taking in the unique flavor of this beautiful UNESCO world heritage site.
The girls also got their first real taste of life on board – taking the dinghy to shore to shop for groceries and to sometimes go to dinner, tying up to a dinghy dock and climbing up ancient rickety metal ladders. And in Colonia, we also had our own personal greeter – a pup that greeted us every time we got off of our dinghy.
Ohana Sailing Adventure 