Argentina travel blog by Mark Berman -
May 2012
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View Photoset (19 Photos)
I came to Colon from Parana 5hrs west and arrived at the bus terminal in the middle of the night. I spent the rest of the night there until the
morning. I stored my belongings while I had a walk around town for a few hours before heading across the border to Paysandu - Uruguay later in the day.
Plazas and Sights
Colon is a small town on the banks of the Uruguay River, it was a damp and misty day as I set out to have a look around. I had a rough idea of
the direction of the river. Along the way I firstly found Plaza Washington (1863) and church Parroquia Santos Justo y Pastor (1871). The church
has a clock tower and a bell tower and overlooks the plaza. The plaza is large and has monuments to Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (1811-1888) - the
7th President of Argentina, Maria Eva Duarte de Peron (Eva Peron), Juan Domingo Peron (1895-1974) - 3 times President of Argentina and Manuel
Belgrano - military leader. Directly across the road from Plaza Washington is Plaza Artigas, it's another decent sized park with monuments to
General Justo Jose de Urquiza (1801-1870) - an Argentine general and politician, Jose Gervasio Artigas (1764-1850) - Uruguayan national hero,
to the mothers of the nation and to
Jose Hernandez
(1834-1886) - a poet and federalist. A few minutes walk ahead I came to Plazoleta Bomberos Voluntarios with its monument to the volunteer firefighters
of Colon.
Through Quiros Park to the River
To get to the river I walked through Parque Quiros, this park is one of Colons main attractions.
It's a beautiful place to enjoy recreational activities. There are pitches for soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis
and biking. In the summer the swimming pool is open. The park was founded by Dr. Herminio Juan Quiros in 1927. He brought statues up from
Buenos Aires including Cervantes made of marble, winged lions, Dante, an eagle and many more. There is a special building called "The Lindera"
with entertainment and cultural folklore. Quiros Park has many nice spaces to sit or walk around under the shady trees near the fountain and
has lovely tree-lined footpaths.
Camping Grounds and Hotel
On the other side of the park are the camping grounds called
Piedras Coloradas and some shops beside the river.
It is hard to say what it's like here in peak season because it was the end of May and it was quite deserted but I think it would be quite busy.
There is a large beach area on the rivers shores, nearby is an old rusty shipwreck in front of the large
Quirinale Hotel. Along the road
a little is the local cinema.
Wooden Sculptures
A few minutes walk in the direction of the bus terminal I stopped and had a look around Plaza San Martin which
was under restoration, the main monument is to General Jose de San Martin but the main thing to see there are the dozens of wooden sculptures
on display around the plaza. Many of these sculptures depict animals such as an iguana, horse, eagle and fish. My girlfriend and I had had an
excellent companion from the bus terminal all the way to the river and back, a local dog had walked with us the whole way, he is in several of
the photos I took - the brown dog.
Falklands War Monument
In Plazoleta Malvinas Argentinas beside the bus terminal there is a monument to Elbio Eduardo Araujo
Penon (1962-1982), he was a soldier born in Colon who was killed in the Falklands War at the age of 19.
45mins Bus to Paysandu
The
first bus across the border to Paysandu in Uruguay was due to leave in the middle of the day. It's a 45min journey across General Artigas Bridge over the river from Colon
to
Paysandu.
Hot Springs, National Park and Palace
Colons other attractions include the Hot Springs beside the river near the golf course. The waters are heated to a temperature of 36 degrees and are therapeutic and relaxing.
El Palmar National Park is 56kms away for bird and animal watching, camping is available also. 63kms away is the national monument of
Palacio San Jose, this was the house of General Urquiza (1801-1870, Argentine general and politician), there is a museum also. 30kms from Colon are the thermal pools of
Villa Elisa.
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