01 - Photos! Iguazu Falls - Argentina

May 28th, 2006 | By April | 5 Comments »

Yea!!! First of many photo albums to get finally posted on the blog. These are from way back on March 2nd. To refresh your memory or to see what was written: Click here on me

Click on me to see the photo album!!

Photos to come Uruguay, Buenos Aires, River Soccer Match, Van Breakdowns, Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego… a full two months worth

Iguazu Falls from the Argentinian side.

April 26/May 13 - Argentina/USA

May 18th, 2006 | By April | 4 Comments »

Day 268/285 - After our non-stop, 48 hour journey to the airport, we spent the morning talking to every airline office in the airport. Then talking to them on the phone. And finally browsing the internet for airfares. Our research found that the compassion (bereavement) fares that airlines offer for flying home last minute for family issues is not very generous. The internet prices are just the same, or even cheaper. We couldn’t find anything under $2500usd each, which was way too much, and we needed to leave within 24 hours in order to arrive in time for the funeral. We were really bummed to find out compassion fares are not so compassionate. So, with that decision made for us, our next option was to fly straight to New York City, which was our original intention a few days earlier. The best deal we could find to New York City was leaving that same night, it was even cheaper than waiting a few days. I think it was because it was a Wednesday. Of course we bought the tickets, and spent our time wandering the airport until our flight took off in the evening.

Next thing we know, we are sitting in our friend’s apartment in New York City, with the western world all around us and spring sunshine beaming through the windows. It is really crazy, how quickly things can happen. There wasn’t much culture shock for us since we have been bouncing around from culture to culture our whole trip. I think the hard thing will be staying in one place for an extended period of time, since we have been living our vagabond lifestyle. It is definitely nice being back and having available all the food we are used to. To be in your own environment always feels fulfilling, but it is not something I was longing for when we were travelling. Though I have to admit, our first meal was my favorite comfort food, Kraft Mac & Cheese

We are not ending our trip, but have it on hold right now. It is hard to tell for how long. It all depends on the outcome of the projects we need to finish, and what the future brings in the coming months. Although getting jobs seems so permanent, in order to maintain any short term living in New York we need to (this city is so damn expensive). To our amazement, the job market for architects is hot right now. That was a relief to find out, that it won’t be too hard to survive here.

As time passes I will add posts, just not as often since our experiences in New York are not quite as new and interesting as they were on the road. I am starting to put together our photos, and will be uploading them to the blog. I apologize for not having any in the past month, but our computer was on the fritz, and we only got it working right before we left Cerro Sombrero. It will take some time, but this is a good chance for us to catch up on all the photos for the blog I am sure you are all just dying to seem them - hee hee.

April 11/26 - Chile/Argentina

May 10th, 2006 | By April |

Day 253/268 - At the end of the world our journey had come to a point: a stopping point, and a point that seemed to aim back towards the States. Our van broke down, it was 15 days and counting – we were stopped. Our partner in New York City needed some assistance on a project of ours, and the only way we could help was by going back. Jason’s grandfather passed away and family ties drew him to the funeral in Washington State. Our travels had not stopped, even though the van did, for we continued to meet people and learn about their culture and the country around us, in a way that we never would have been able to before. We met new friends and amazing people, who have outlooks on life that we can only hope to emulate.

All of these different situations fell upon us in a three week period. We decided follow the signs, and head back home for some period of time, while the van is being fixed. The following is a brief summary of this:

In Punta Arenas we were picked up by Javier’s wife, Cecelia. That day we went to Aduana with them and the officials told us it would cost $140,000 pesos ($280 usd) to import our non-functioning car, plus we had to tow it to Punta Arenas so they could see it. That would cost around $75,000 pesos ($150usd) for towing the van 219 kilometers (136 miles). The import cost for us would be over $400 usd. That was very opposite of what they told us over the phone. It wasn’t going to be an option… back to the drawing board.

The events unfolded like this: Jason got the flu for five days. We stayed with Javier and his really nice friends in Punta Arenas until after Easter, then caught a bus back to Cerro Sombrero. Javier and Jason took out the motor in the van and were able to conclude that the number one piston was shot. Javier also thought, after closer inspection, that the block might be cracked. Javier had to go back to Punta Arenas for work and while there he looked for a replacement piston for us. He couldn’t find one the right size, but he came back with two options: either buy a bigger piston and bore out the cylinder just a little, or buy a new engine. During the week we found out our business partners in New York City needed us to come back for a short period of time to help with some projects. So we started to figure out how to leave the country without the van. Good news came later and amazingly enough, Javier found a used VW engine from the 70’s, so that means it is 1600cc – ours was a 2000cc. It would fit perfectly and we have a new engine, sounds great – and it was even in our price range, $100usd! We started to make plans to get the new engine and return to New York City. That weekend we found out Jason’s grandfather passed away. After a few phone calls it turned out that we could make the funeral if we left that morning, which was a Monday morning. We packed quickly and made arrangements for Javier to install the new motor. We said our sad good byes (though we will be back), and walked towards the highway to start our journey to the airport in Buenos Aires. Of course this is all a very watered down version of that week and only about half of what went on.

In order to get to Rio Gallegos, which will take us to Buenos Aires, it was faster for us to hitch a ride than to take any other form of transportation. If we took a bus it would be a three hour ride to Punta Arenas (which is in the opposite direction) and then a wait for a bus to Rio Gallegos, which only comes once a day. So we got a ride from Cerro Sombero to the highway by a very nice gentleman – who knew of our van; everyone knows of us in town, it’s kind of funny. After getting to the ferry terminal and crossing the Straights of Magellan, we got a ride (our fourth by now) to within 12 kilometers of the Chile and Argentinean border. We decided to start walking towards the border. Up and down the sloping deserted hills that are covered in tall yellow grass; we walked while we munched on a package of gummy bears that we finally opened (thanks Peter! they were delicious). No one was interested in picking us up – though there were only about 10 semis/cars that passed us during the whole walk. After walking about ten kilometers a trucker took pity on us and picked us up. He took us through the border crossings and to Rio Gallegos. He dropped us off right across the highway from the bus terminal. It was a relief to get through the border crossings, since we were with the trucker the officials didn’t even know we had a van in Chile (we were not supposed to leave the country without the car). We were just in time to catch the first bus leaving that night to Buenos Aires, a 36 hour bus ride, with very few breaks. By Wednesday early in the morning we were taking a taxi to the international airport in search of compassion airfares to Seattle.

April 2/4 - Argentina

April 4th, 2006 | By April | 1 Comment »

Day 244/246 - We got a parking spot right on the harbor, with an ocean view, behind a petrol station. It was perfect. For Jason and I, most of our first two days were spent on computers, writing and doing a bit of work. Yesterday we walked around the town to see what it had to offer. I have to say I really like Ushuaia. It is the best port town I have been to, and I would love to see it during the summer. The gray landscape is dotted with fall colors, and the cloudy sky reminds me of Seattle. The town itself has all the amenities a traveler could ever want, including a ton of shops, restaurants, and accommodations - though they are a bit expensive. We were even able to find a hostel that would let us shower, so we all smell clean again! Basically, we all just hung out in the town and caught up on our Internet.

Today we are installing a new gas/water separator on the van. After that we are going to roll out of town and see what route J has to offer, it goes along the Beagle Channel. Then we’ll head up north towards Bolivia. Prices are cheaper there, and I hear the food is spicy; I can’t wait!! If there is one downfall to Argentina and Uruguay (yes, Lyndell, you were right) they don’t like to stray from what they know in regards to food. They have their comfort levels, and the food is the same everywhere, which is a bit bland after awhile. Oh, well… though they do have great chocolate!

April 1 - Argentina/Chile

April 3rd, 2006 | By April | No Comments »

Day 243 - We made it to The End of The World!! Tierra del Fuego. And we survived the Straits of Magellan. We drove up to the ferry terminal noticing strong winds and rough waters ~ along with a ferry boat coming towards us, but drifting sideways through the Straits of Magellan. With hopes that it wasn’t our ferry, we went into the cafe and got the information we needed. It wasn’t our ferry. I wish I could say something exciting happened, like the jolly green giant walked through the straight, or a shark came jumping onto the ferry, but I can’t. The ferry crossing was fine and the boat had 15 foot tall walls on all sides of the parking area, just in case.

Now with all four tires on the firm ground of Tierra del Fuego, we continued on the last 440 kilometers of highway before you hit the ocean and Antarctica. Ushuaia was the port town of destination. Driving down the highway with flat fields surrounding us, and the night starting to settle in, we decided to look for a place to sleep for the night. Soon small hills started to appear out of our pitch black environment. The van started to sputter and cough as we climbed one of the gentle hills…..more bad gas. Down shift and ride it out; that has been our mantra in dealing with it for now, unless of course the fuel filter needs to be emptied…..Henry’s energy started to drop quickly and he died. We started him back up but it only lasted a few moments until more sputtering, then bucking. A bucking VW made us pull over, and Jason got out in the freezing wind and rain to clean out the fuel filter. Any time we have to get to the engine it is quite a process, since it is in the back under the storage space. We have become very efficient at transferring our belongings from the back to the front.

After a clean fuel filter and a damp, chilly Jason got back into the car, we started the van back up and tried moseying slowly down the road. It didn’t last long. Apparently Henry had had enough, and decided that we should camp on the highway for the night. We drove, if you could call it that, until we could find a good spot to pull off the highway and not be on the shoulder. Our first choice was the entrance to a restricted area, we passed on that idea. By the time we found a dirt road to pull on to, I think we got enough training to properly ride out a mechanical bull. Unfortunately, it was still windy outside and the pop top canvas was getting a licking from it - so we ended up sleeping three in the lower bed and one in the front seat. Jason pulled the short straw and slept up front. Only 170 kilometers from our destination ~ so close, yet so far away……..

In the morning Jason was able to work on the engine in the daylight and with no rain. He got it running just enough to get us to the next gas station without too much whiplash. We got the last part we needed for a contraption (that we purchased last week) that will separate the fuel and water. We installed it and Jason cleaned the basic parts of the carburetor. Here we come Ushuaia! We all took our seats and took off ~ for about 20 feet. The car died. Uhmmmm…….we looked in the engine and saw that the part of our gas/water separator that holds the gas, was cracked. No gas, no rotating wheels. Jason took off the contraption and back to the gas station we went. We pulled back into our work spot and Jason took what he learned from an earlier mechanic and took every piece out of the carburetor, and cleaned it thoroughly. The car was finally happy again, and all the gunk got cleaned out of the carburetor.

Ok ~ Ushuaia here we come! The rest of the drive was smooth, with absolutely amazing views. The hills turned into mountains, and the Andes were back. The tree covered hillsides were full of all the fall colours and were showing off ~ brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows, against the blue- grey of the mountains and the sky. We made it into the port town and celebrated with a beer. Now the only thing we need is a new gas/water separator so we can successfully leave the end of the world at some point…………

March 13/31 - Argentina/Chile

April 3rd, 2006 | By April | No Comments »

Day 224/242 - So, it has been awhile…. Here is a very brief summary to catch everyone up: The car broke down, as described in our March 10/12 entry. Got it fixed. Picked up Maude, our new addition to the van, who is from Montreal, Canada. We drove west, then south to El Chalten to trek Mt. Fitz Roy. Visited the Perito Moreno Glacier. Crossed into Chile and trekked in Torres del Paine National Park. Came back into Argentina (cheaper gas) and headed east, then south. Made it to Ushuaia. Below is a long post with a bit more details on the above, for all who would like to read in more detail……

They asked us to arrive at the mechanics in the morning. When we got there they were already working on the van, even though we had asked them to wait for us. They fixed it quickly, by re-threading the head for the spark plug, without taking it out of the engine - they promised (we asked five times so there was no confusion) no shares would get into the engine. We crossed our figures, and hoped we weren’t going to be returning later with a blown engine. After a test run to the beach, the van ran fine, and so we continued on our journey with a tuned up car. The only thing left is the oil leak, which needs to be fixed still, (the problem wasn’t fixed like we thought it was in Buenos Aires). This is something we wanted to do before we headed off into the Andes on dirt roads and desolate countryside.

Puerto Madryn was our next town. We decided to get the front seal replaced there. We had been trying to find a front seal since we left Uruguay and Argentina, and no one had one, so we finally decided it was worth having one shipped down from the states. As we waited for the package to arrive in Puerto Madryn, we visited Trelew to look for a trusty mechanic. The hostel worker in Puerto Madryn had told us it would be cheaper for us to get the work done on the car in Trelew instead of Puerto Madryn. It turns out that the mechanic we finally got in touch with had a front seal for the car! More and more our trip is proving to us that if we look hard enough, our needs will be met. So now we have an extra front seal Bear in mind that Sean has been with us for all the car work, he has faith in the van. We thoroughly explored the area, including Gaiman, where we had high tea. I never knew there could be so many cakes to eat! Gaiman is one of the towns that was originally settled by the Welsh. By the time the car was ready we had picked up Maude, a welcome addition to our traveling van, we were all very ready to hit the road.

We drove directly west from Trelew and took highway 40, south, once we hit the Andes. We slowly made our way to our first trekking destination, El Chalten. We are constantly reminded what a pain in the keister bad gas can be, as it turns out they enjoy adding water to the gas down here. Henry doesn’t really appreciate it. We’ve (well, really Jason), has cleaned out the fuel filter numerous times, and at one point we paid a guy to clean out the carburetor for us. But we move on, nothing can stop us We camped in the desert one night on our way to visiting Cueva de las Manos. This is an area that has paintings of hands and animals on the canyon walls. We are a bit skeptical of the paintings since some of them were pretty bright and looked new; but if it is true, it is pretty cool. I am not sure if I would recommend spending the $15 pesos ($5 usd), though the canyon was very beautiful. It was a pretty small area, and there is no information in English about the site; the only reason I bring that up is because if you are a foreigner you pay twice as much as a national visitor. Which doesn’t bother me, if they can provided information on the site that we are visiting. It has been pretty common for the foreign visitors to pay twice, if not four times, as much for park entry fees.

The hiking around Mt. Fitz Roy, out of El Chalten, is really amazing. We hiked up to our first camp and, after setting up our tents, did a side trek called Tres Lagos. If you go hiking in this area you have to go up on the Tres Lagos hike. Both Jason and my legs were definitely feeling our age and how out of shape we have become, but the steep trek up the mountain side to the glacier, and the great view of Mt. Fitz Roy, was worth it. The next morning we woke up to snow on the ground. It was pleasant, but cold, surprise. We moved on to our next camp, though we had decided to possibly not stay up in the mountains for a second night - it being colder than we’d like, and with the treks being quicker than we had originally thought. So, we hiked the rest of the trail and saw everything we wanted to, with enough time left over to hike out and get a warm shower before bed. The hike out reminded me of Christmas back home with all the snow lightly topping the tree branches and brush.

Our next stop was El Calafate; to see the Perito Moreno Glacier, use the internet, get gas, and exchange our money for some Chilean pesos. The internet was down in the whole town, due to a recurring power outage. So we accomplished everything but the internet. The glacier is worth the $30 pesos ($10usd) park fee to visit. It was huge and impressive, though you have to put up with all the tour groups and buses.

Now we start of border crossings with Chile and Argentina…not they are hard… just many. Torres del Paine in Chile was our next stop. We spent about six days there in total. We all trekked up to the base of Torres del Paine, which is very gorgeous. Then Jason, Sean, and I did a two night camping trek up to the Grey Glacier, which is part of the ‘W’ trek that most people do. We didn’t have the proper trekking equipment for the temperatures and the possibly rainy conditions, or we would have done the whole circuit. Next time we are definitely coming back here. The weather was fabulous for us though, and we couldn’t have asked for anything better. It was so nice to be out in the forest and camping. Maude decided to visit Puerto Natales while we did our camping and meet up with us later.

We left the park and crossed back over into Argentina, where the gas is much cheaper, and so is everything else. We picked Maude up at Rio Gallegos and started our way to Ushuaia. Now, by the time we get back from Tierra del Fuego and head north again, we will have collected about 12 entry & exit stamps from each country since visiting Torres del Paine. I feel like we have crossed every Chilean Argentinean border we could

Note - 9

March 22nd, 2006 | By April | 5 Comments »

We are in El Chaltén in Argentina, and are about to do our first Patagonia hike. I am writing this brief note because the internet here is super expensive, $10 pesos for an hour when it was $1-$2 pesos an hour everywhere else. Henry is doing good now, he’s all fixed up. The mountains here are amazing! I can’t even describe it! More details later, when we find cheaper internet.

Also, we are going to be heading to Australia around May. If anyone knows a cheap way to fly there from S. America, or any inside deals that could help us, please send us an email….thanks! Our love to all!

March 10/12 - Argentina

March 19th, 2006 | By April | No Comments »

Day 221/223 - As we headed south from Buenos Aires, on route 3, our spark plug cable came off. It had been loose, but it was nothing duck tape couldn’t fix at least until we got to a town for the night and could replace the cable. We had known about this problem and it was our plan to get some extra car parts once we were out of the city. I guess our van just wanted to make sure that we did it sooner rather than later. We bought some parts in Azul, the town we camped at for the night.

The next day we continued driving south on route 3. Everything was going well ~ birds were chirping, the sun was shining….until all of a sudden a very deep, loud thuddering noise came from the engine. Jason, who had been driving, immediately turned the car off and coasted over to the grassy roadside. We sat there, looking at each other. That sound was no good at all. We finally mustered up the courage to get out and take a look under Henry’s hood. We popped it open and saw the spark plug cable loose and the spark plug sitting happily all by itself, next to the engine. It apparently had decided to ‘pop’ off and it wasn’t going back in……you can imagine our exclamations (which aren’t appropriate put in writing). Jason hitched a ride to the nearest gas station and got a tow truck, since the van wasn’t moving anywhere without additional help. Sean and I stayed in the van and waited, and got to watch a beautiful sunset over the very flat, windy plains. At least it was better than being stuck on a busy four lane highway.

This is our first major breakdown outside of the states, and fortunately it wasn’t too terribly far from a medium sized city. We got towed to Bahia Blanca and paid, in the end, 190 pesos ($63usd), even though we were quoted a lower price. The driver added on a “transportation charge” of 23 pesos for letting us ride with him from where our van stopped, to the town. I guess he could have just left us there on the roadside and we could have hitched in… it was pretty ridiculous. The van was put in a garage that was owned by the towing company guy, who was also a mechanic. He wouldn’t be open until Monday, and it was Saturday night. So, we left the car in the shop, since it was secure and we couldn’t fix the problem ourselves anyways, and got a hotel. We spent the next day seeing what Bahia Blanca was all about.

Overall the city was nice and clean. We had really good pizza and empanadas. Sunday night we watched a fashion show that was at the town square. We think they were modeling clothes from stores in the area for the upcoming winter season. During the breaks between models they had teenage dancers, who danced to advertise for the sponsors, it was definitely entertaining.

March 6/9 - Argentina

March 10th, 2006 | By April | 1 Comment »

Day 217/220 - We were talking to one of the front desk workers at the hostel, Manuel, and asked if he had any recommendations for a mechanic in the city. Manuel ended up having a highly recommended mechanic, and ironically enough had to take his car in to get looked at also. He offered to take us over to the shop after he was off of work, when he takes in his car. We couldn’t pass up an offer like that! The mechanic took his time and looked thoroughly at the oil leak, making sure he knew where the leak was coming from, since pulling the motor out to replace the front seal is an expensive and time consuming job. When he looked in the engine he noticed the clamp was no longer on the vacuum hose. After a bunch of tests, he concluded that the seal was not blown, but that the problem was with the vacuum hose. It was creating pressure in the engine, making the seal leak once the car got warmed up. So he replaced the hose and gave us a new clamp. After he made the changes and tested it again the leak at the seal stopped. This leaves only two very small leaks somewhere else, but those might even stop since the main leak was fixed. We’ll find out if that was the right solution once we really start driving, but it made sense, and has worked so far. That situation made Jason and I believe more and more in positive thoughts in the world; to find a great person to take us to a very reliable, honest mechanic and have the problem not be as big as everyone was telling us before. He didn’t even charge us for his time and work, but we gave him a tip. He saved us a lot of money and headaches. Thank you so so much Manuel, for being so generous with your time and helping us translate the problem with the mechanic! We really appreciated your kindness and friendship.

The next day we went to a River Plate soccer match in the city against an Ecuadorian team, El Nacional. I was so excited to finally see my first soccer game outside the in a country where soccer is a major part of the social life. We went a half an hour before the game and bought general seating (popular seats) at the box office for $15 Pesos ($5USD). Walking up to the nose bleed section in the corner of the field my heart started pumping; I like to think it was due to the excitement of the game, but I think the stairs had more to do with it. We grabbed some seats at the corner section, just one section away from the goal, where all the seats were packed with dedicated fans, who never once sat down. The fans live for the games. They are constantly singing from the bottom of their souls, jumping up and down, gesturing with their arms, waving their flags, and twirling their shirts in unison above their heads… I couldn’t help but smile the whole time and jump up with them when they surged with excitment and the utmost possible amount of energy. They were acting like 7 year olds, after drinking triple shot espressos! I would have sung too if I had any clue what they were saying (I would probably have gotten some strange looks though). It was a great game to watch live, not only for the crowd; the game was excellent. River (the home team) scored right off and then Nacional scored.. 3 times and River just couldn’t get the ball in the goal. Nevertheless, River’s fans never gave up and even sung louder and with more passion when the team made some pretty bad screw ups. Finally, the fans energy took hold of the team and River scored 3 more goals in the last quarter of the game, winning by one point! The second to last goal was even a classic textbook dive, heading right in front of the goal, beautiful. The crowd went wild at each goal, as they got closer to winning the game; some teenagers were even moshing with each other below us (they didn’t bother anyone else though). After the match, as we were riding in the taxi back to the hostel, we passed the jam packed, bouncing buses, with flags streaming out of the windows as the fans jumped inside and kept singing their chants. I have to say that Argentineans can really hold a tune; I think if we tried something like that in the States we might drive the teams off the field. I can not wait to go to another soccer match! Do you think they will have any in Patagonia?? Maybe the penguins have a team.

The rest of our time in the city has been spent writing, trying to fix the computer (thank you Neil and Sarah!!!), and getting the supplies we need to hike in Patagonia. I can’t even describe how eager I am to be in Patagonia! We are leaving tomorrow morning. We even got an addition to our driving team. Sean, a guy that we met at the hostel, is joining us for the drive down to Patagonia. It should be a great drive.

March 3/5 - Argentina

March 10th, 2006 | By April | No Comments »

Day 214/216 - We ventured to the south, on to the next border crossing, to Paraguay. There we will visit a city to get the van patched up. Our departure from Puerto Iguazu was delayed, due to a long wait while the gas station got refueled, and then waiting in line since there was only one pump to fill up all of the cars. The fuel prices are not bad in Argentina, and much better than in Uruguay; prices in Uruguay have been the highest for us, about $5usd per gallon.

Paraguay’s border put a damper on our day; and a few days later, embarrassment. It is a bridge crossing, so we exited Argentina and drove over the bridge to enter Paraguay. We parked on the side of the road, in front of the immigration building. I went up to the window and asked for entry from the immigrations officer, who looked younger than me, barely old enough to be in college. After a few questions he told me I need a visa before coming to the border. What?? From the information I read, there is no need for a visa for a person from the States visiting for tourist reasons, and it is also at no cost. He said no again and with a smile told me we had to go back to Argentina to obtain our visa. Frustrated, I went back to Jason and asked him to talk to the guy. The officer seemed to be using his power of authority a bit strongly. Jason went to talk to the officer and asked if we needed a visa. He told Jason yes and that they cost $130usd total, $65usd each. Jason asked if there was a way to get the visas here instead of going back to Argentina. The officer asked him to wait, and went back to his boss. He came back saying yes, it will cost $130; $65usd each. Jason, shocked by the price, laughed, and said no. The officer went back to his boss again, and came back offering $65USD; a two for one deal, since we were only going to be in Paraguay for a few days, and would be leaving by this border. Trying to barter a lower price, Jason offered $20USD. The officer said no and handed back our passports. We drove back over the bridge and went through the process of re-entering Argentina. Even got our van sniffed by a dog; that was a first – and he was a cute dog We decided to move on to Buenos Aires, because we were told they might have car parts there, since it is such a big city. A few days later we found out that the officer was correct and we needed a visa before coming to the border, and it does cost $65USD each. The travel book we were using was outdated on the visa information, oops! And Jason thought he was being taken, when really we were bribing them. Always check on line first before going to a new country!

We decided to take a different route from Posadas. Instead of going the more direct route south along the Uruguay River, we went west towards Corrientes, crossing the River Parana, and then headed south to Buenos Aires. We couldn’t find a resting place before night fell, so we kept driving until we did. The roads in Argentina are very nice, so it was no problem. We also got to meet the beetles of the night. In the area west of Posadas, during this time of year, these black beetles come out and swarm the lights. It was crazy how many of them there were! As we drove they were hitting the van like they were at war or something. We drove into one town to check it out, and they were flying around the top of the street lights - tons of them. The part of the road that was lit by the street lamp was saturated with beetles, just hanging out in the luminosity. It was a pool of crunchy blackness that spilled over the whole road, pretty crazy to drive through. A bit gross, and this happened at each street lamp. We finally stopped at a gas station to sleep. It was pretty desolate countryside. The gas station attendant was sweeping up all the dead beetles in the morning before we left; the driveway was covered in them. After that night our van was the nastiest it has ever been, it wasn’t just bug splatters – there was bug goo all over the windows, even the side windows.

We drove for another day, and as we were passing through Corrientes, we got our long overdue gringo driving fine. A traffic cop wanted payment for us running through a red light – all I can say is that miraculously, no other cars hit us as I “ran the red light, 20 meters back”. Jason gave them a run for their money and tried to get them to take us to the police station. Funny enough, they said since it was Sunday the office was closed… well it was fun to make them squirm a little, trying to keep up their side of the argument. We gave him $15 pesos ($5 usd). That night we stayed at a true truck stop behind a gas station. We paid $3 Pesos ($1USD) for full use of bathroom, showers, and could comfortably pop the camper top up. We did a little cosmetic work on the inside of the van and ate at the restaurant at the gas station. It was one of the best meals I have had on the road, I had veggie crepes and Jason had some pasta, while we watched a soccer match on the TV. What more can you ask for.

Drove into Buenos Aires the next day and found a great garage to park the van, and a hostel to park ourselves for a few days.