Two Week Uruguayan Adventure

Much of our day in Colonia was spent finding good views of Milly

We spent a week in Colonia, a sweet, historic town with a very comfortable harbour. Our days were full - playing tourist, looking for hardware stores and chandleries, connecting online at the gelateria (not a hardship). 

The old town is full of beautifully kept stone buildings, cobble stone streets and lush vegetation.

The drivers of the aquarium jalopy 

The best table on the street

Cobbles were originally used as ballast on Portuguese ships

We were slightly frustrated when we found that stores were not open when they were supposed to be.  After one week we realized that the cause of our frustration was our own ignorance of a time change between Argentina and Uruguay - demonstrates our isolation but also our growing adherence to the sun as our clock.

Another view

Daily life chores cooking, cleaning, repairing seem to take longer on a boat.  And until we get out to salt water with a working watermaker, water conservation was always part of the thought process as well as power consumption.  We filled up our three water containers daily at the dock tap and used it for flushing our fresh water toilets, rinsing dishes etc. 

Yogurt made in a thermos!

In order to recharge our house batteries we attempted to use our generator.  It shut down with a message saying that water coolant was not reaching the engine.  We tried three times as we had been told and three times the generator shut off.  Next step, change the impeller.  Tools were gathered and with manual in hand, reading glasses on - mine, Peter dismantled the generator to reach the target and found an eaten impeller, switched it for a new one and put the machine back together again. Magically, it worked! Very gratifying.

Massacred impeller - it's the black thing in the middle with 5 broken paddle wheels.  One escaped into the heat exchanger.

We went for a circular daysail and learned from our successes and booboos.

After a week, we headed off to Riachuelo, a small river about 14 NM away.  Staying there required our first anchoring experience on Milly.  And it was not a routine one.  We had to find a deep enough spot, close enough to shore that stern lines could be tied.  The technique was to drop anchor across the river from the spot chosen and back up while releasing the anchor at just the right speed.  This was with the wind crossing our beam and hence sending us upriver (Milly has such high freeboard that her hull acts as a sail).  On first attempt, the climax was reached when we got too close to shore, the anchor could not be raised because the bridle was twisted around the rhode, it started to pour and two cows came down the bank to cavort - really, cows can cavort - just where we needed to go ashore.  After a bit of fussing and running about - no time for a photo! - we raised the anchor to try again, this time very successfully, apart from our port stern periodically being in the bushes overhanging the bank.

Our final location in Riachuelo.  Just right.

 Next morning, we found our rudder in the mud and so reanchored, this time expertly!  It got us through two crosswind lightning storms - we stowed our electronics in the oven for safekeeping and avoided metal on the boat.  It actually felt very cozy and safe eating dinner in our saloon.

Sunset up the river

Sunset down the river

A kayak paddle up the river brought us to a little set of rapids.

True isolation on the river.  No one in sight

Our unnamed inflatable kayak took us to the Rio de la Plata beach

A walk on the 2.5 km beach on a rainy day.  We were the only ones there.

After three peaceful days in Riachuelo, we sailed upwind to Puerto Sauce.  We knew that this was a pulp and paper mill town but didn’t realize that the pleasant enough sailing harbour was right beside the enormous factory.  With a bit of drama trying to successfully tie up to a mooring ball, we checked out the town - nothing, really nothing there.  One closet-sized kiosko with door open but no lights on and a bike parked in the only floor space.  Thank goodness for my over-the-top provisioning.  

We had thought that the incessant rumble from the factory might diminish at night.  But no, just two air raid sounding sirens at 10 p.m. - change of shift? - and then an additional louder growl that sounded like a snow plough going up and down the harbour bank.  Sleep was not happening so we untied the lines at  3:30 a.m. having our first night sail on our own, upwind, with motor.  It was lovely and relatively quiet even with Milly’s engines rumbling.

This says it all

We arrived at Yacht Club Uruguay in Montevideo early afternoon, tied up to a mooring ball. and explored the club and the neighbourhood around a tiny bit before relaxing.  The club was lovely and luxuriant.  People were incredibly helpful and friendly, voluntarily coming to our Spanish-feeble aid without us even asking for help.  We were told that Uruguayans pride themselves on being friendly and from our short experience there, we would agree that they have reason to be.

Our view in the CYU harbour

Harbour was also used by fishing boats

And by several fleets of dinghies.  The Opti's reminded us of Em and Tom's early sailing days in Squirt.

Our impressions of Montevideo after three nights were very positive.  It had a beautifully developed long and accessible waterfront with clean and wide beaches, cafes, an amphitheatre etc.  On our bike along the Rambla, a wide path that traces the riverside, we saw fitness stations, runners, walkers, roller bladers, swimmers and waders, fisherfolk, cricket, soccer (lots) and tennis players, hand ball competitors, dinghy races, kayakers, beach volleyball courts, cafes, heladerias (ice cream shops) and sun worshipers galore.

Biking on the Rambla.  Long beaches interspersed with rock and greenery for miles and miles.

  The mood, compared to it's big cousin, Buenos Aires, seemed to us hopeful and prosperous.   The city itself is small at 1.3 million compared to the 3 million of B.A. and the hustle and bustle is much muted.  The historic centre is tiny and quiet compared to the immensity of B.A.'s historic neighbourhoods.  However, lots of cranes in the skyline and clean streets, tidy sidewalks with people having time and inclination for r & r gave a happier impression. We had a great three night stay and would have liked to see more but felt the need to get back for Milly’s final fixes and the start of our journey to blue water and north.

Possession of pot - even as soap - has been legal in Uruguay since 2000

Mercado del Puerto is a lovely old building filled with eateries, grilling huge amounts of meats.  

The Mercado with art deco customs building

Ugly but intriguing.  

We left the harbour at 4:00 p.m. for our first overnight sail alone.  We crossed the Montevideo shipping lanes in daylight, making a quick gybe as evasive action when one ship suddenly sped up in our direction.  The sun set on our course to B.A. and night fell.  I took first watch with an enormous orange moon.  It was a peaceful downwind sail with only shipwrecks to avoid.  Rio de la Plata is littered with shipwrecks.  According to Memo, ships in Uruguay were loaded with rocks and gravel to carry across to B.A. when the city, in it’s prime, was being built.  The desire to carry a maximum load outweighed commonsense  - the freeboard or hull above water was so low that if a wind came up with wave action, the ship would take on water and sink.  Go figure!

Peter’s watch saw a change in wind direction and increase in wind speed.  He loved it.  Apart from the roaring wind and waves hitting us on the beam, I could also hear the exhilaration in his voice when he reported that we were going 11 knots.  He was wide awake - reefing the sails, adjusting, playing - and stayed on watch for an extra hour.

During my second watch at sunrise, I learned the value of radar.  Nothing on the chart, no marks or lights on some contraption that looked like the top 20 meters of two cranes sticking out of the water, was only visible on radar.  It would have done us serious damage if hit.  We are happy to have our two screens - one for the chart and one for radar.  I also had to avoid a dredger that was doing circles - up the shipping lane, expected; U-turn to dump the sludge right where we were, unexpected and not pretty; and then back to the shipping lane heading right for us.  I turned on the motors and crossed the lane pronto.

We arrived safe and sound in San Fernando.  We docked the boat in our old spot with aplomb and were greeted by Memo and Santiago.  There is a list of stuff to attend to on Milly, mostly minor, and then we will be off. We have already learned a lot and will continue to do so as we head north. Can’t wait!