Well off the beaten track, western Uruguay has some great attractions. The ancient city of Colonia and the industrial architecture of the Fray Bentos meat packing factory are both UNESCO sites. There are a  variety of hot spring resorts and the pleasant undulating country is green and peaceful.

The suitcases were lined up neatly in front of the boarding gate for the Buquebus ferry to Colonia in Uruguay, allowing their owners the luxury of a seat whilst they waited.  I was very tempted to put our backpack at the head of the queue to see what would happen!

I could understand why so many people would want to make the short one hour crossing over the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires: from the world’s 4th noisiest city to the quiet colonial streets of Colonia must indeed be a refreshing change. 

Founded by the Portugese in 1680, Colonnia started life as a smuggling port and changed hands no less than 7 times before finally becoming Spanish in 1777. In 1828 it became part of the new independant Uruguay and the old old town gained UNESCO recognition in 1995.

I was slightly disappointed: there simply isn’t much of it. A small jumble of streets on a little peninsula, it is pleasant enough but simply lacks the wow factor. We picknicked on the riverfront, went up the little 1857 Colonia del Sacramento lighthouse (taller than it looks and a nice view if you don’t get blown away!) and meandered up and down every old cobbled street there was. It would appear most of the old cars have been hoovered up, but there are plenty of coffee shops and souvenir outlets. 

The old bastions of the town can still be traced and the main gateway has been reconstructed whilst the 18th century church stands in a very pleasant square over the footprint of the original yet still manages to be the oldest in Uruguay. Some of the ancient houses have been resurrected either as boutique hotels or museums. 

Many of the latter were inexplicably closed: the UP50 entry covers 5 different museums, but we only managed to visit two. It only took us 10 minutes to explore the tiny Casa de Nacarello which was built by the Portugese in the 18th century on the Plaza Mayor 25 de Mayo, a large leafy square.  The Museo Portugues was more interesting for the building’s construction: many of the exhibits were reproductions and fairly limited at that.

The tiny beach at the end of Indentente Suares is handy for the old town yet well hidden; it is quite sheltered and though the water is never anything but muddy coloured, it is possible to swim. Otherwise, Real de San Carlos is the most popular beach, but it is about 5 km from the old town – though a nice walk around the bay. Nearby is the Plaza de Toros, which opened in 1910 and just as swiftly closed in 1912 when bull fighting was outlawed. It is in a sad state of decay with its elegant walls cracked and unstable, but there appears to be a major restoration under way, so hopefully it is due to be revived in a gentler guise.

End the day at the Paseo de San Gabriel, where glorious sunsets can be seen over the river – there are plenty of picturesque bars for sundowners.

Colonia is a gentle introduction to Uruguay. Our final day found us at the old jetty where some run of the mill yachts were moored. Here there was a splendid boarded up building, still sporting an elaborate coat of arms and occupying an entire block. Another, opposite, was in a similar state of neglect: for an instant, the place sported the whiff of atmospheric decay.

Frey Bentos

It was not altogether reluctantly that we picked up a hire car in Colonia and headed north to Fray Bentos, unable to resist the lure of this industrial heritage site which was once the world’s largest meat canning factory. A UNESCO site since 2015, many English people would readily recognize the name and its products, though few would be able to trace their origins back to this little town in Uruguay. Originally called Villa Independencia and founded in 1859, the town was renamed after a local 17th century hermit – Friar Benedict in English.

The meatworks dates back to 1863 and in the early days enjoyed great success as the producer of the Oxo cube. The process, which reduced 32 kilos of meat to a kilo, was discovered by a German scientist and came to be a staple in the trenches of WW1, being nutritious, warming, easy to transport and cheap. The meat that was left over from this rendering was then packaged into corned beef, so supplying a source of cheap meat for troops. Partially funded by British investors, the company supplied food to every war that fortuitously came along in those days, and showed great business acumen in supplying both sides of the conflict in WW1! In 1943, 16 million cans of corn beef were exported and the famous tins even went on polar forays with Shackleton and Scott.

The Vestey empire  gained total control of the company in 1924, renaming it the Frigorifico Anglo Del Uruguay S.A.. They expanded into chilled and frozen meat using the great chilling plant which was built in 1923 and still stands today: a stark brick and cement block upon whose face can still faintly be seen the ANGLO name. 5 floors high with 10 rooms to each floor, it was able to hold 18,000 tonnes of meat. It was insulated with cork – the mind boggles to think how many cork trees were needed!

The plant is situated on a headland to one end of the town and a whole village grew up around it, with housing for 4000 workers, a school, a hospital and even the first golf course in the country. We picnicked on a breezy seat overlooking the old jetty where two cranes from Leeds still looked in good shape, then headed in to explore the museum. This gave a good overview of the history of the plant and the people involved in running it. The original offices still exist above, quite open plan before their time, though the boss had a separate room with a secretary to screen callers. Grooves in the floor before a desk told of 43 years of leg stretching by one long term employee. Another display houses the first light bulb used in the country!

 We joined an English speaking tour and were taken around the complex, starting in some of the engine rooms which were impressively intact with all the dials and switches and clocks one could wish for. The great wheels in the generator room looked as if they could burst into life at any moment. 

Emerging into daylight, we followed a metal slabbed path that wound between the buildings – these had come into the country as ship’s ballast. Photos lined the walls depicting the building in its once gruesome heyday in the 1930’s – it was interesting to see that women had an active role too in the skin cleaning and canning areas.

The great slaughter house was an example of an early production line that could reduce a living cow to meat on a hook in 20 minutes. The place worked non stop with 3 shifts in 24 hours, killing some 1400 cows a day. At its peak, some 5000 people from 60 different countries were employed and apparently even today there are many foreign surnames in the town.

Demand starting falling after WW2 as countries became richer and better able to produce their own beef. The Vestys sold out in 1960 and the plant staggered on until 22nd June 1979 when the final 483 cows in a long line of millions were slaughtered in 4 hours and 15 minutes. In 2005, it was reopened as a museum

Since 2011, the Fray Bentos name has been owned by Baxters and its products are now manufactured in Scotland – it may be ironic that many of the machines used in the original factory came from Glasgow.  In October 2019, it was announced that Fray Bentos were about to produce their first vegan pie in a tin – I can only think that those cattle are laughing somewhere!

The Thermal Resorts

We decided to head on another 130 km to the Almiron thermal pools near Guichon.  At least the day had been a good introduction to the Uruguayan countryside: cows are still plentiful (apparently 7 to each person) amidst undulating pastures and wheat crops. There are so many eucalyptus plantations that Simon was reminded of Australia, an image aided by the wide verges and the old barbed wire fences. We came across the occasional gaucho trotting on his way and a variety of old vehicles. The country looked laid back, not over developed or going anywhere in a hurry.

The hot springs resorts of north western Uruguay are probably what brings most people up this rather off the beaten track side of the country. Strangely enough, they aren’t springs at all. In 1946, when carrying out exploratory drilling for oil, they found instead the waters of the Guarani acqufier, an important reservoir, which underlies Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.

Now there is the possibility of visiting 6 different spa resorts scattered along the Uruguay river. Almiron has the only salt water spa and is located about 85 km east of Paysandu, along a rather bumpy bitumen road. We arrived on a sunday so it was busy with local day trippers but come evening we had it largely to ourselves. There are two adjacent indoor  pools with waters of 34 and 38 degrees and we were happy to stay within those – the outdoor ones felt much cooler.

Their campsite was grassy and spacious with lots of scattered trees and after our hot soaking, we slept well. It was nice to be out in the countryside again by ourselves. The following day we attempted to visit the San Nicanor spa, but found the gate firmly padlocked: it was a shame as I had heard good reports of this one, sited as it is in picturesque countryside with wild pampas foxes and lots of birdlife. 

Dayman is vast and didn’t really appeal so we backtracked somewhat to the Guaviyu resort, on the main road north of Paysandu. It was pouring with rain by now and a spa seemed a good option. The nice range of outdoor pools were closed but the indoor ones were lovely; we contented ourselves with the 38 degree jacuzzi pool until lightening knocked all the lights out and we were told to vacate the place at 8 as it was getting so dark.

Again, there is a huge campsite with lots of distinctive Yatay palms around and it is easy to find a good spot.  In the morning, the outdoor pools were thankfully open and a lovely spot to chill out. There is even a ramp so the disabled can have access to the pool which I thought was a nice touch. At a little mini village area, we were able to buy fresh bread still hot from the oven.

There were a couple of things that caught our attention north of Paysandu, one being Queguay. It might be stretching it a bit to call it the prettiest railway station in Uruguay but it was an interesting little spot with an array of old carriages parked on parallel lines that were quite interesting and photogenic.  

If Queguay were a graveyard for rolling stock, the large field on the main road on the northern side of Paysandu was a mecca for automobile enthusiasts. A huge array of decaying old cars, combi vans, tractors and even a bus were scattered haphazardly, merrily rusting away in various states of dereliction and decay: maybe this is where all those picturesque old cars from Colonia ended up. We tried to work out why some had containers of water sitting on the roof and were later told that it is a sign that they are for sale. There is no access but they are obvious – it is easy to walk along the wire fence and look in: well worth a stop.

Paysandu was a busy little town with a sparkling bus station within a shopping centre. It is a good place to stock up on supplies.

One other delightful feature of this side of Uruguay is the Rio de la Plata; it is so big that often the right bank cannot even be seen. It borders Argentina and there are bridge crossing points. We camped on it a couple of times and enjoyed stunning sunsets over the water – it is rather muddy water but that isn’t obvious at sunset. If visiting this part of Uruguay, it is worth making the effort to catch at least one sunset on the river – we were quite sorry in the end to leave it behind us after Punta del Este where it finally enters the ocean..

NOTES

Getting There

There are frequent ferries from Puerto Madero in central Buenos Aires to Colonia in Uruguay. The crossing takes 1.5 hours and a return costs from A$2,600 with Buquebus or Seacatcolonia.

Getting Around

Distances are quite large. We hired a car from Thrifty in Colonia with handy pick-up from either the port or the old town.

Colonia

There are numerous possibilities when it comes to accommodation; we stayed in the Viajero Hostel on Gral Flores, the main street which runs into the old town and ends in a prime sunset viewing spot. In cheerful colours, it is pleasantly situated around a central atrium with a great location and facilities. The mid range Posada del Gobernador is also well located; it has simple rooms with a leafy garden and swimming pool plus a good breakfast.  At the other end of the scale, Radisson have a nice hotel tucked away in a little side street off Gral Flores: the restaurant, pool and a lot of the rooms overlook the river.

We enjoyed the outside tables at the characterful El Drugstore; there are a couple of other restaurants on the same strip in Plaza de Armas with Meson de la Plaza good for lunchtime sandwiches.

Fray Bentos

The old meat packing plant is open every day except Monday. On Tuesday entry and tours are free. There are 2 tours a day at 10 am and 3 pm, the first in English. Museum entry only is UP50, tours are UP120. The Casa Grande is free and open between 12 and 2 pm on sundays. 

There is limited hotel accommodation in the town and super wild camping spots on the river above the factory.

The Thermal Resorts

All of the resorts mentioned here have accommodation of some sort, either hotels, motels or cabanas; all except Salto Grande have campsites. The two we didn’t manage to visit were Arapey Spa Town in the far north which is the oldest in the country and has various hotel options, cabanas and camping, and Salto Grande which has an 80 bedroom 5 star hotel near Salto.