I went to Uruguay somewhat on a whim. I had a week to spare, and everywhere on my travel bucket list was a place I wanted to spend a bit more time in. After some research, I found that Uruguay seemed like a place where I could see a lot in the limited time I had. I had not, however, put any thought into the fact that summer up in Canada is winter down that far south. This was the first and only trip I've taken to the southern hemisphere so far. It's an area that I had never heard much about, and I was curious to expand my horizons. It's a trip that I am still amazed and in awe about 8 months later. The architecture is so incredibly beautiful there, and the cities built so long ago are so rich with history.

A day trip on a tour bus to Colonia del Sacramento taught me so much about the rich history of the country. To see the different forces that influenced the development of this small historical city on the scale of street by street was something I had never expected to see in my life. It was in Colonia del Sacramento that I saw my first lighthouse in Uruguay and my first lighthouse in the Southern Hemisphere. The intricate rock walls all through Colonia del Sacramento are truly incredible. Still, it is by Faro de Colonia del Sacramento that you can really see the actual age of this area, with the rock wall crumbling around the lighthouse. It is such a beautiful city, and I wish I had more time there to explore the whole area. I spent such a long time just watching this lighthouse, amazed at the story it told.