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Published: December 22nd 2008
The Pampas
Our first days biking from Chascomus were unbelieveably hot! We saw miles of cows, armadillos, thistles, strange birds (one the size of an ostrich with the beak of a stork, one that was pink with blue spoon bill), jack rabbits, and blistering shoulders.The past seven days have been incredibly different than the first part of our trip. A brief summary:
Day 1, Dec 15 - Leaving Buenos Aires was tough. We were told we could put the bikes on the bus when we bought the tickets, then were told differently by several other employees. So we thought about biking out of the city. Then were told it was impossible. We went to the bus station with tickets, not really expecting to get out. Ah, but it was easy. They packed our bikes up nicely with our other bags for 50 pesos extra. Riding out of a disgustingly hot Buenos Aires on the second floor of an air conditioned bus felt too good to be true. Arrived in Chascomus, assembled bikes, bought groceries, stayed in cabaña on the lake. Total of 10km? Maybe.
Day 2, Dec 16 - Stayed to eat the free breakfast. Looking back, should have left early to miss the hot sun. The owners of the cabaña convinced us to take Ruta 2 (autopista), not Ruta 20. Good move, Ruta 2 has very wide, nice shoulders and not much traffic for an autopista. Very hot. Too hot. Tried to
Day 2 Campsite
Two new friends who kept us company all night, sleeping outside our tent and barking at birds. Nice campsite on Lake Chis Chis (we think). find shade. Found campground around 3, ate dinner with two friendly dogs. Only biked about 36km we think, too hot.
Day 3, Dec 17 - Stopped in Lazarma for snacks and water. Talked to some locals in the park about bikes, filled up on potable agua from the city cistern. Maybe not the best idea...our water bottles still have a very distinct taste from that place. Very hot. No shade along the road. Only cows. We make it to gas station campground just before Delores. Total of 59 km. Still getting used to it and the heat.
Day 4, Dec 18 - Still can´t get up early enough to avoid sun. But I think we still got in about 50km before lunch. Stopped in General Guido for lunch, made it to Maipu by evening. No where to camp though. Thankfully another nice gas station allowed us to stay in back for free. Total of 80km today.
Day 5, Dec 19 - Finally we get up early and are on the road by 7:30am, bike till 12. Made it the full 70km necessary to Coronal Vidal before 12:00. Very happy not to have to ride in the afternoon
Finding a home between a gas station and cow pasture
We found this gas station had a nicely forested campground behind it, just before Delores. Mark still had energy to work out after a day of biking. sun. Reserved a room at El Plata, but met a very kind family, the Solers. They invited us to asado dinner at their house and to stay the night. Amazing experience for us and cannot thank them enough for their generosity. Great food and conversations, la gente argentino es muy sympatico...
Day 6, Dec 20 - Up early, wave goodbye to Tato and Ale (escribo correcto?) and off towards Balcarce. No longer on Ruta 2, Ruta 20 doesn´t have shoulders but has less traffic. More trees along the sides of the road too. We make it to Balcarce around 2, take awhile to find the campground. Nice park, very quiet and clean. Lots of people enjoying the pool...instead I take a cold shower and clean, Mark cooks, and we are asleep by 9:30. Total of 75km, we think.
Day 7, Dec 21 - The solstice. Hope you folks in AK are celebrating. We were too busy to remember it, focusing all of our energy and attention on how much the wind hates us. Continuing to grow in strength as the day went on, the wind blasted us head-on, with occasional gusts from the sides. So demoralizing (Mark tested
More Pampas
It looked like this for days. We had to start biking (or at least we tried to) at 7am, so we could be done by noon or 1pm, before the sun got too hot. On days we were slow getting up, I suffered in the afternoon heat, barely able to pedal 12km/hr...always looking for trees to rest under...but hardly any along the roadside. it out, it only took 7 seconds to go from 17kmph to a stop in this headwind). Thankful for some clouds though. Wanted to make it 100km to Necochea, only made it 65 before 7pm and decided to camp on the side of the road, in a rare cluster of brush and trees and spiders. Beautiful night of stars, but was chilly.
Day 8, Dec 22 - Up early to beat the wind, ate left over oatmeal from day before. MMM. Made it to Necochea by 10, but are so tired and hungry, have a hard time functioning. Find a nice hotel, eventually find food, and then finally, the beach. Total of 30km (approx). Time for sun and rest. Y muchas frutas y verduras!
PS. Everyone thinks we are aliens.
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Cara
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You are an alien!
Is that tan skin I see? For an Alaskan, that's pretty alien...you look great! I miss my traveling tan...it went away so quickly when we returned.