Colonia Suiza

Uruguay is a Guarani Indian word which means river of birds. It has the most amazing bird life from noisy green parrots nesting in the trees chattering away and eating all the plant life to the beautiful but elusive red crested Cardinal, the many yellow bellied varieties which flashed past me and the tiny emerald green humming birds who woke me up in the morning with their burring wings searching the orange flute flowers for nectar.

Colonia Suiza streets was founded by the Swiss in the 1800’s and is famous for its dairy cows and its Swiss cheeses. The streets have German names and many Germans, Swiss and Italians came here after the Second World War. The Mossad actually traced one of the top Nazi’s to this small village. Uruguay produces a wonderful French influenced wine Tannat with grapes originally brought from the Basque region in France.

I stayed in a wonderful Estancia in the middle of this Swiss oasis and enjoyed the glorious sunsets with the orange sun streaming through the trees lighting up the cornfields. Customs here range from Swiss fondues to Asados where huge slabs of beef are roasted on a grill. Fresh peaches are served alongside goats milk and there are very strict Gaucho rules about drinking mate, the popular herbal drink made from leaves of the Yerba plant.