We entered Argentina from Frey Bentos. The Border crossing
was relatively painless and only took about 30 minutes . I did note however
that the last stage of the process involved me handing a small piece of paper
to a girl who looked about 12 who was hiding behind a curtain in a plastic
booth. Pretty impressive security I thought.
The landscape instantly changed and became greener with many
miles of wetlands either side of the road. A veritable Twitchers paradise.
We had arranged to meet up with an Israeli family who have
been on the road with 4 kids for about 8 months.Their truck was arriving in Buenos Aries
that day from the United States. Tuval had identified a camp site in an area called Tigre , a suburb of Buenos
Aries on the Rio Lujan. Sounded fantastic . Upon arrival it was in fact a Gypsy
Camp and locals told us that if we went their we would be robbed at gun point .
So we ignored all this and went anyway. And yes they were right so we left
pretty quick and ended up further down the river in the parking area of a
Riverside YPF gas station for boats . It was perfect and we got to know Tuval
and Michals wonderful family.
The following day we drove to South to Talpaque and set up
camp in a park area by the river.
By Chance we met an English woman called Jane
who has settled in the area and owned a large Estancia ( Ranch ) about 10 km
out of town. ( we will come back to Jane shortly ) It was perfect in the park until about 11pm.
At this point the park turned into a party for the locals who had amazingly
managed to turn their entire cars into speakers . The party ended about 9 am
the next day.
Plan B was hatched and after a few messages to Jane we
headed to her place. The drive to Jane’s
place was 10 km of what is normally dry , dusty , gravel road. However, just be before we hit this track it
started to rain quite heavily so we turned up at Jane’s with most of her drive
attached to our vehicles.
The next day Jane gave us the tour and the hospitality and
kindness she threw at us was unbelievable . Tuval and Michal’s kids were
treated to a couple of hours of horse riding . I cannot sing Jane’s praises
high enough , what a wonderful lady. Look her up if your passing , you will be
well received that’s for sure . www.estancialamargarita.com
The next couple of nights on our own were very peaceful
staying on the shore of a large lake and the yard of an Olive farm.
We had arranged to re meat Tuval and Michal in a large camping
area on the shore of Laguna de la Salada . We arrived a day before them. Upon
arrival it was beautiful and tranquil with a few locals enjoying the sunset
sipping a beer. Not for long. Within an hour of arrival I had created an
international incident and operation “ Drag the stupid Brit out of the Mud” was
in full swing. Yes I completely
misjudged the firmness of the lakes edge and within seconds had the truck
resting firmly on its differentials, tipped over by about 20 degrees.
Now this could have been a disaster but actually tuned into
one of the best highlights so far. The locals turned up , had a good laugh, and
then rallied round to get us out. We had about 20 people there , all of which
had a plan. None of the plans worked and
then the local police turned up. This guy had a friend with a tractor who saved
the day. The reason it became a
highlight was that we were gob smacked with the unbelievable desire to help us.
We offered payment and were nearly pushed back in the lake for thinking about
it. The night ended with everyone hugging and kissing each other, exchanging
presents and group photos. We stayed
here two more night, a few meters away from the lake though.
The next day our camp became a rally. Firstly we were joined by a fantastic young Brazilian couple , Nicholas and Elis , who had given everything up, sold all their possessions and bought a roof tent to go on top of their small hatchback and were trotting around South America on a budget that is unbelievable.
The next day our camp became a rally. Firstly we were joined by a fantastic young Brazilian couple , Nicholas and Elis , who had given everything up, sold all their possessions and bought a roof tent to go on top of their small hatchback and were trotting around South America on a budget that is unbelievable.
They make videos about their journey and post them on Youtube and apparently if enough people look at it they get a few dollars back to help them travel . So if you would like to support them please look at their site at www.corujacareca.com.br.
Tuval and his crew showed up and then to everyone’s surprise our German friends Ellen and Perry showed up. They had managed to drive in 2 days what had taken us a week.
We all headed further south to a town called El Condor, parking on the promenade. We had come here for two reasons, one was to meet some fellow travellers at a Horizons Unlimited Hubb meeting and the second was to witness the spectacle that is approximately 35000 Burrowing Parrots , that live in a cliff . Both of these events were good.
The next day we went to see another spectacle . Thousands of locals go nude sunbathing on the beach. It was packed and pretty smelly.
Wild camping places have so far been pretty easy to find and
since we have crossed into Patagonia , the whole coast line is a wild camp.
Some of the roads here are pretty interesting. Today we drove the first 150km off road on a gravel and sand track. I manged to make it and no tractors were used along the way..
We are now heading for the Valdes peninsular to look for whales
Some of the roads here are pretty interesting. Today we drove the first 150km off road on a gravel and sand track. I manged to make it and no tractors were used along the way..
We are now heading for the Valdes peninsular to look for whales
