Due to high import duties on cars and other vehicles, Uruguayans have reputations as master mechanics who can keep cars running long after they would be considered junk or antiques in other places.
This is the old bull-fighting stadium that has only been used a dozen times and was rather poorly designed since it started to fall apart almost immediately. Now it sits idle, waiting to be reborn as an open air theatre.
Old meets new in the little town of Colonia.
This is Kousuke from Japan. He was on our tour with us and he got mobbed by these school chidren who wanted to know everything about him. Too bad he doesn`t speak Spanish...
This is "The Street of Sighs". With a name like that, it must have a legend, right? There are in fact two stories popularized by the tour guides. One is that prisoners who were about to be executed by firing squad were marched down this road to meet their fate by the riverside (where the body would then be tossed). The other story (and far more likely) is that this road was where the brothels were and on those hot summer nights the air would be filled with the sighs of soldiers and sailors with their mistresses. This, as our tour guide pointed out, was far more likely since the brothels were still there until the mid 1970s.
This is the oldest church in Uruguay (the name escapes me at the moment). It has been destroyed in part and rebuilt on more than one occasion but this structure still dates from the mid 19th century and it now houses a fine collection of religious art.
This fine auto has actually been retired and now serves as a romantic table for two for the restaurant it is "parked" next to, complete with table and two chairs and a candle for ambiance.
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