Reserva Esteros del Ibera

Reserva Esteros del Ibera, or village Colonia Pellegrini, is a small place out of tourist track, which we found to be superb! Campsite was right next to the lake, green pitches, roofed cooking area with light and charging points. Good spot for sunset and sunrise.

Heat was something incredible, no need for clothes not to mention sleeping bag during the night. Our tent was like sauna at midday heat!! Only option was to put hammocks and try not to move, even reading took too much energy  :) Lake looked so tempting for cooling down, but it was 'Swimming at own risk. Watch out for caimans and piranhas!'. Another minus was that we couldn't find a bakery for goodies! 

Saturday we took evening boat tour around wetlands. Saw many black caimans, baby ones were the cutest ones. Landscape made me think of our summer cottage, calm water was like a mirrow and sunset was coloring the sky. Just from the car we had already seen many egrets and herons, parrots and other small birds, tens of capybaras and one huge lizard iguana. Greatest eye catcher was a marsh deer with huge horns. In the evenings there was no need for music, we had natures own concert, crickets and frogs :D

Sunday was something different. If I would have been home, under a roof with walls, heating and nice cup of tea and cozy couch, it would have been perfect. But when you are outside and temperature drops 20°, wind is blowing and it rains 12h and your tent starts floating it is not so funny :o Keep the positive mind! I was wet anyway so what the heck, lets go horse riding! Me and Bruno were seriously the only people outside!! After two hours of riding I was completely soaked, my lips and hands were blue but I was happy :) crazy, I know!

Hitchiking to Pellegrini

Getting there was difficult and expensive by bus so we hitchiked :) I wouldn't say it is easier but ten times more interesting.

First we had to get out from Buenos Aires so we took local bus to Zarate. Just our luck there was an accident on the road and it took over two hours to get there. And then the driver was unreasonable and didn't let us out from the bus until the station. It was over 5km back to the crossroads. Rescuing angel Charlie, who was on the same bus, promised to pick his friends car and drove us back to the roundabout. So kind of him! From there we got picked from an elderly couple going to Gualeguyauchu, they also offered us to use their shower if needed (what, are you saying we smell bad?! ;D). By lunch time we were waiting at police checkpoint and got a ride till Colon. This guy also offered that we could sleep at his place if we want, but 'cause it was only 3pm we wanted to carry on. Long way still to go. Next guy picked us from gas station and dropped us at Concordias toll station. Living the lows of hitchiking, it was probably the most unconfortable place to wait. Plus it started to rain little bit but just then a car stopped and Rey took us to Federacion. Lovely and clean village on the river, Uruguay on the otherside. We didn't want to camp, thunder and lighting was right above us so we checked in Mi Sueño (my dream), the cutest apartamentos and coziest bed! I could have just stay there, use the kitchen and walk along the river.

But we carried on. By 10am it was already +30° and we were roasting! This waiting time was the funniest of all. Rob was waiting on the otherside, in the shade, and when car stopped and I said that we are two, they had a look at Rob and then just left without saying anything! After an hour couple took us to Chajari, we were there 15min when another couple came to hitchike. Rules of hitchiking - you either wait that the first person there has gotten a ride or you walk further. They waited. But we got a ride pretty quickly, hopefully they were as lucky as we. Cristian went almost all the way to Mercedes, and rest of that journey we went with a truck.

It was again only 3pm and no buses to Pellegrini. So we desided to try our luck and hitchike. Problem was, it was over 30° both of us had two bags and 6km to walk end of town.. Started walking and thank good Liliana stopped and gave us a ride for the junction. And she gave us her address so we could sleep at her place when we would come back! So there we were, waiting in afternoon sun but it just felt so perfect. Everything had gone so well, how many amazing people we had met again and seen two really nice towns where no other tourist had probably stopped before :)  120km to go, easy we thought. And when we got a ride from a women who said she is going close to Pellegrini we were ecstatic. Ei saa nuolaista ennen kuin tipahtaa, äiti ois sanonu. We drove 30min and then it was it, 95km to go. We were middle of nowhere! Two cars passed without stopping and I was already thinking that we will spend our night on the road. Then, huge pick up came, drove past us and I got so angry. But then he stopped and started reversing, jihuu!!! And he was going to Pellegrini, we were saved :)

I think this has been our best hitchiking journey. So many intetesting people and bonus places to see. If we would have taken the bus we wouldn't have seen anything or meet anyone. It is sometimes exhausting to wait a ride and make conversarions when you would like to sleep. Also stressful not knowing how far you will get. But end of the day, hitchiking will make your life more interesting and we still have time :)

Uruguay

We wanted to do quick check on Uruguay and I must say I like it. Like it a lot.

From Buenos Aires it is only one hour ferry crossing to Sacramento de Colonia. Pebbled streets, colonial buildings, fortress, beach,.. Cute cellar restaurants with wine and cheese tastings, tea houses with scones and home made jams! Our hostel was also really nice and cozy. Enjoyed vegetarian chivitos at the square, doesn't leave much for it.. (Chivito is Uruguayn burger with steak, ham, bacon and sausage)

Next stop was La Paloma. Beaches for surfing and swimming. Half of the hostels, campsites and restaurants weren't even open yet. Which was a shame because I could see it being really nice village, laidback atmosphere, people carrying their surfboards, but now it was completely dead. Obviously people start coming end of December. We were too early once again. We also checked Pedrera, smaller fishing village with better surfing beaches. And the same, no single soul there.

We tried to hitchike to Valizas, no luck at all. Diabolic day. We don't talk about it.

Next day we took a bus. And yes, this place was heaven on beach :) We put our tent and hammocks, chilled for the next three days, walking on the beach, freezing our asses off (cold wind ruined our tanning options), admiring abandon houses (every other house had a 'rent' sign), running along 30m high sand dunes and playing with puppies. Lucky Valizas had dog with three puppies and one kitten. I don't know what am I going to do when we are back and there won't be street dogs greeting you and making your day.

It was a good week, even I couldn't lie on the beach the whole time. When we took the bus back to Montevideo we saw first Christmas decorations. It is end of November!! 48 days to go, this trip is going to end soon..

Buenos Aires

Arrived to Buenos Aires late saturday night. Sandro dropped us 30km outside city center so we saw crazy suburb life and huge lines for the city tolls. Everything was fully booked, so we ended up walking around and looking for a hostel more than an hour. Eventually desided to pay little more and stay in a hotel (which smelled like old peoples home). Change!

Sunday was very rainy, we swapped for a real backpacker hostel which we regreted pretty soon. We are too old for that, especially on weekends. Plus why do we always get a room with loud snorer!! Omg! We walked around San Telmo area (got completely soaked), Sunday antique market and market hall. So many nice cafes and restaurants, like from an old movies. Perfect place to take a book and go people watching. Rob calls it eaves dropping ;)

Monday, weather wise it was perfect. Sandals, shorts and t-shirt! Yes, this is what I have been waiting for. Changed a hostel again, for a really nice hotel, full of zen :) Walked to the Cemetario Recoleta. Massive graves, full of glamour with statues and marble floors and pillars. My mission was to find Evitas tomb. We continued through Recoleta area, so many nice parks. Passed japanese garden and a zoo which had been closed in June due to the cruelty towards animals. Best part of the day was Palermo, proper hipster area with plenty of colorful houses and cafes, beer and burger places.

Tuesday we went to La Boca to see some more street art, tango, colorful houses and huge old football stadium. Rob took a tour there and I went people watching :) It was so great. To watch how people pose in front of statues and houses, locals buying their everyday shopping, tour groups running around like headless chickens. I really enjoyed the afternoon. We walked back through Puerto Madera, upper class area, right next to the river rose the skyline of Buenos Aires. For the evening it was a date night <3 We had booked tickets for Tango show and got free upgrade!! Dinner at El Banco Rojo, oh my those veggie burgers!

Wednesday was running around the city, very stressfull trying to sort our errands. I can only say thanks to the fabulous metro and bus system. Evening we met Marie and her husband, it was really nice to get together again. Think we will come back after Uruguay! :D 

On the road

We are back in the hitchiking. Why stop now when we have had so good rides.

Friday we left Gaiman around 9am and got ride before we even got to the main road. Couple dropped us outside of Trelew where it was easy to catch our next ride. And it was so funny. After half an hour a car pulled over flashing the lights, it was Lucy and James who we had gone to Peninsula Valdes two days earlier. We went with them to Puerto Madryn. From there traffic slowed down so much, so I went to ask one truck driver could we carry on with him. (I don't like to go and harass people asking where are they going) He was going to San Antonio, 300km up. Alexandro was really funny, he put Rob behind the weel at one point! Can you imagine how horrified he was, driving 14m long truck which weight I don't even know how much, wrong side of the street for him and in Argentina?! Que loco! :D He gave us drinks and snacks but didn't take anything what we offered him.

In San Antonio we waited almost two hours in burning sun. Lows of hitchiking. We wanted to go to Bahia Blanca which was 300km away, at 5pm we started to be little worried. Rob went hiding and it was only me on the road, guess what, the first truck stopped! He was only going to Rio Colorado which was half way, but we took the ride. Sebastian was super nice also, when he dropped us off he gave us a can of peached and told us to try them with manjar. Everybody are so nice in here!!

Today we woke up really early and were on the road before 7am. One truck was parked next to the road so we asked could he take us to Bahia Blanca. First he wasn't so keen but agreed then. We were the first hitchikers that Sandro had ever picked. After two hours when we arrived to Bahia Blanca he offered to take us all the way to Buenos Aires! Damn, yes! :D So we carried on the next 700km, stopped for lunch and talked a lot. He dropped us in San Justo, suburb of BA, from where his girlfriend gave us directions to continue. It was very easy.

People say hitchiking is dangerous and you shouldn't do it. But we have only met so nice people, everyone has left us somewhere where it is easy for us to catch a next ride. People offer food and house to sleep and we tell stories of our travels. Last two weeks we have hitchiked almost 3000km and saved so much time and met amazing people. I would say it is nicer to travel with the truck, lot of space and the vuew is nice from 3 meters :) but they go slow! Max 90km/h. With pick ups you can easily drive 160km/h and arrive your destination faster than you would think. 

Peninsula Valdes

We took a bus from Trelew to Puerto Madryn and stayed in ACA campsite. First time and it was really good! Why haven't we realized them earlier. It was nice and warm and we put our hammocks, nice to lie in them after three months waiting :D I really wanted to do some dives with whales from here, but when we went to ask around, everyone basicly said there is nothing to see. Popular thing would have been snorkling with sea lions, but wasn't going to pay 85e for that! So we gave it a miss ago.

Next morning we took bus to Puerto Piramides, walked to Mirador Loboreria on a hope to see some right southern whales from there. And we did!! They were far but with camera zoom you could see them clearly. It was mother and her calf which really liked jumping. Absolutely amazing! :)

Wednesday we desided to try our luck and hitchike otherside of the peninsula. Third car stopped, english couple Lucy and James were going to do the loop and picked us to join with them. First we stopped in this little salt lake, it was full of water so it really looked like lake! We continued to Punta Cantor and Valdes, but all male elephant seals had already left. We still saw some pups with their mothers lying on the beach. We had heard that two days ago people had seen four orcas! No, where were we then! We also saw penguins again, they are such a littke smile makers. Can't be on a bad mood when there is penguins around. Day was super nice and by the time we got back, Marie was waiting for us. She had talked us all discount for whale watching tour! We only saw two but it was incredible. Size of those animals.. 

Next day we all took bus to Puerto Madryn, we said goodbye to Marie, hopefully see in BA in few days. We continued to Trelew. Went to see dinosaurs exhibition which were little disapointment. It was in spanish and not much information how they had found the fossils. This was pretty shitty day actually. Next thing, Rob lost it at the bus station. It is usually me who gets frustrated and angry but this time it was Rob. Gaiman is 15km away, ticket 19pesos which would have been fine. But plus that we would have had to pay 35pesos for a card to load the fair. Not going to happen. We hitchike. After a while police car stopped to tell us it is not safe to hitchike this area. We walked little bit more and it looked even dodgier. Luckily car stopped and nice man took us all the way to our campsite. 

Gaiman had lost it charm. Welch settlement with teahouses and bakeries. It was okey but not worth of staying more than one night. People there were super friendly!! 

Calafate to Trelew

We were so lucky with our hitchiking! We left Calafate at 7am, walked through the town to police checkpoint and put our sign up. Ruta 3.

Many cars passed us but they were all going to El Chalten. Just after one hour waiting this pick up stopped, he was going all the way to Rio Gallegos. 400km went super fast, two and half hours. He left us for another checkpoint and we only had time to put our bags down when car pulled over. He was going Caleta Olivia!! We couldn't believe our luck :) 700km with Federico was super fun and crazy. At one point I was thinking that we are driving pretty fast. I leaned forward to see how fast we were actually going, 180km/h!! It was super straight road and not so many other cars, so I think it was okey. By the end of the day we had shared stories and drank plenty of mate :D Federico was continuing to Trelew (another 500km up north) the next day and promised to take us with him. We spent very comfortable night in the hotel and carried on with him on Sunday.

We made a detour to Punta Tombo to see the biggest colony of Magellanas penguins. I was one big smile! How cute are they with their tuxedo? and wobbly walk :D There was thousands of nests with egg or two. Penguins were just walking on the road, lying on the beach and from the cliff you could see them swimming. Amazing! When we got closer to Trelew he asked if we want to stay at his place. We said yes, bought some wine and made curry. I would say absolutely wonderful experience and superb day :)

Perito Moreno

Back in Argentina!! Oh my that busride and border crossing were boring! It has been a while since we have sat more than six hours on a bus. My butt was suffering :) So welcome back to expensive hostels and outrages busticket prices. But now we have good supernarkets and fresh fruits, Gelatos and Malbec <3

We are in El Calafate now. Plans have changed and are open. We went to see Glacier Perito Moreno today, impressive!! Huge ice field, 30km long, over 5km wide and about 70m tall!! Shit, it was massive!! And that color, white, light blue and deep blue. We really could see huge ice blocks breaking and falling down, causing really big waves. Perito Moreno is actually growing glacier, not shrinking like most of our ice and snow fields due to the climate change. It was really crowded which made us change our plans towards El Chalten. We will skip it and try to hitch hike till Rio Gallenos and up on Ruta 3 till Camarones, where Rob will eat at least kilo of shrimps :)

Puerto Toro

Classified as a hamlet, little bit more south from Puerto Williams, on a west coast of Navarino islands stands the last village with people living permanently. Next place is Antacticas research stations in South Pole. I thought that Puerto Williams was the last city.

Every last Sunday of the month, you can take free ferry (probably the only thing what is free in Chile) from Puerto Williams to Puerto Toro. Two hours and half there, an hour to look around those few houses, police station and beaches. Less than 30 people live there. No shops or restaurants. It was a good day trip as we didn't have anything else to do.

We spent one night in a hostel, took a proper shower and recharged our things. But we went back for camping. I actually slept better in the tent than hostel bed :) It was not worth of paying 25$ for a bed in dorm. Plus our camp spot was superb, we just chilled, made fire, listened the river and did absolutely nothing. Very relaxing!