Blake Bowen
Email MeThe River of Silver
The most impactful travel moments can’t be planned. That might seem like a counter intuitive statement for a travel planner to make, but it’s actually not.
To illustrate this point, travel alongside my wife as she recounts one surprisingly meaningful evening along the bank of a river.
“One of my favorite travel moments-one of my favorite life moments, and one that influenced my future in ways I never could have imagined—occurred during an unscripted moment in a tiny town in the south of Uruguay.
Colonia del Sacramento is a historic Uruguayan town on the Río de la Plata. Just an hour’s ferry ride from Buenos Aires or a two-hour drive from Montevideo, Colonia makes a popular day trip from both capital cities. It’s easy to see why: With its prominent whitewashed lighthouse, rambling cobblestone streets, and loads of bygone charm, Colonia is incredibly appealing.
I’d spent the day exploring Colonia. After dinner in town, I intended to take a taxi to my hostel. But on whim, I decided to walk. The blazing Uruguayan sun was going down, and as it sank, the light struck the river and turned the surface into ripples of silver.
I was enthralled—but not by the shining river. A fascinating phenomenon occurred as the sun neared the horizon: The people of Colonia came out of their houses, burdened with blankets and folding chairs. They crossed the road to the grassy bank above the river.And they sat.
They sat with their families and their neighbors. They might have shared a hierba mate, but there was no ceremony to the gathering, and no expectations.
They sat, side by side, and watched as the dying day brought the river to life. And when the dusky sky grew dark, they packed up their chairs and went home.There was something about those people, how they relished an everyday moment in their everyday lives. Appreciating their own little piece of the world, and the people they shared it with.
I wanted that. Not a chair by the Río de la Plata, specifically. But somewhere I could join in a quiet celebration of the ordinary.
It would take fifteen years, but when my husband and I moved to a small town in Ecuador, that sunset longing was satisfied.”
As a travel planner, my job is to make space for your unscripted moments. Let me work out the details—you go search for your silver sunset.