The Road To Buenos Aires

Friday we have rented an Airbnb in the capital city of Argentina. We will share it with friends from the States until next Wednesday morning and because the city has a terrible reputation for theft and vehicle break ins we are doing what lots of overlanders do and we are parking GANNET2 safely in the suburbs.

It was an uneventful drive from our street camp by the river in the town with the unpronounceable name. 

We had some shopping to do owing to the strip down our fridge got at the border and this supermarket chain is familiar to us from Peru oddly enough. 

The odd thing was when Layne returned to the bat cave bearing two shopping bags she didn’t start moaning immediately about the prices.

Our memories of Argentine Patagonia last year were colored by high prices and poor quality in the supermarkets. 

In this northern area of Argentina especially of course being close to the capital, we’re finding more reasonable prices abc better selection and it’s a relief. Imagine visiting Alaska and thinking what you find there is mainstream America so we were a bit naive. 

Our drive was estimated at two and a half hours by Google Maps, mercifully bypassing downtown Buenos Aires (“pleasant breezes”) to get to the rv storage and camping site. It was the usual flatland drive. The gringo butcher (!):

The classic Argentine gaucho beret. 

A military base: 

Our route took us over two rivers on two suspension bridges in the style of the Sunshine Skyway. 

One river is the Paraná Guazú…

While the other is simply the Paraná the biggest river in the south of the continent. It’s been suffering from historic low levels attributed to climate ate change which has been making commercial navigation more difficult. 

There is a railroad bridge alongside at a slightly less steep angle. However it was soon apparent the rails are abandoned. 

We took a lunch break and had a salami and cheese sandwich. Rusty sat outside enjoying the grass and the view and took his well earned rest 

There were a few roadside stands selling local products. 

Layne went shopping again while Rusty and I enjoyed the day. 

It was northern she expected but it was a wild ride through dust catcher heaven. She always asks for a photo and the sales people almost always say yes with a smile. 

She found a nice hard cheese and an aged salami and they were good, surprisingly. 

We also started seeing lots of assorted RVs on the road. Argentine families love to go camping and the country is littered with cheap municipal campgrounds. Below we see “the little old grandparents” presumably  dissipating the grandkids’ inheritance. 

Need a Buddha? 

Need a “burga”? 100% beef…

The left hand lane was much smoother than the lane on the right which takes most of the abuse from the 18 wheelers. I didn’t a lot of time digging in and out of the left lane to  spare us the bumps. 

We skirted the capital city on the freeway and at last turned off and found ourselves in a wooded suburb.

It was an odd area to have an RV business but sure enough it exists and we found it. GANNET2 will be secure while we are in Buenos Aires.

Backing Off

We left Pomerode yesterday morning under a blazing hot sun. After ten minutes we had to turn back as we’d forgotten a mat and Laynes pajamas. I guess we were having a hard time leaving but we got on the road.

It was a pretty straightforward 90 minute drive to the coast, the road was lumpy but we weren’t in a hurry. The plan was to park at a restaurant that has devoted part of its parking to motorhomes. 

Our route took us past a beach town called Balnearió Camborioú which we’re never heard of and were not expecting the city we saw.

When we got to the restaurant I made a bad mistake. I lifted Rusty into our bed so he could rest under the air conditioning while we had lunch.

I have been feeling the strain in my lower back as Rusty is heavy and I am older and weaker. But his 52 pounds did a number on me this time. 

I am a stranger to back pain but I’ve hurt myself lifting Rusty. I could barely walk to lunch. 

I spent the afternoon under the a/c resting my back and trying not to hurt myself. 

I guess I’ll have to see a chiropractor and get in the habit of not lifting young Rusty. Change comes with age. I am not as strong as I was. 

This is coastal living for locals. Team Lost is still off the tourist map. 

Stifling Heat

I have read of the heat wave sweeping the western United States and feel some empathy. This is supposed to be the cooler rainy season in Brazil and we are sweltering in unbearable heat in much the same way.

It seemed a good moment to cut back the shrubbery surrounding my head and close by the parking lot where we spent the night in Timbó there was a barber with a beard I could envy. Among other things it’s black. His landlady Odette brought us lemonade and pets for Rusty thus we all left in a buoyant mood. Brazilians are like that. 

The plan was to drive to Blumenau and give it the once over while boosting our batteries. We’ve been living well ofc the solar panels but we have been using the air conditioning at night in the heat and we like to make sure we will have plenty of juice even if we get to park in the shade. Blumenau is famous for its German themed festivals but we saw nothing of that, just a big city with hints of a German past.

We seemed to drive for miles winding through hills and valleys and getting nowhere. 

And then of course I had my moment of panic when I turned left and found myself on the wrong side of the road, driving in the “English manner.”

I cannot stand these single blocks of driving on the left and they drive me crazy. But I am not the city engineer do I suffer not very silently and try not to screw up. Easter is April 5th but it looks like bunny rabbit festival already. 

We drive back to Pomerode unimpressed by Blumenau and sought refuge in the campground remembering fondly the bearable days and cool nights on our first visit. The city welcomed us in its own inimitable Teutonic way. 

We went to lunch in the Pomerhof across the street where Brazilian and German food are all in the same buffet.

It seemed like a good idea and the food was good but our memories of cool mountainous Pomerode betrayed us. 

Sunshine, heat and indefatigable annoying children running around are a clear indicator we’ve outstayed our welcome. Time to find a beach.

Rusty evading the heat.