When planning for this trip I read a little about long distance bicycle touring and although most experienced tourers indicated that pretty much any bike will do, what they did note is that one should have their back wheel which will be taking a lot of weight, rebuilt by hand. I had considered having it done before heading out here but didn´t and soon forgot about this good piece of advice when I had covered over 8000km on my original wheel with very few troubles. The back wheel hub had perished and after replacing 3 axles I had had it replaced in Montevideo but had not remembered to ask them to rebuilt my wheel by hand so they just used a machine to rebuild it causing the spokes on my already bucked rim be overly tightened. This is ideal for racing conditions when you need a perfectly true wheel but with all the weight I was carry it didn't last much more than 200km before the spokes started going. Mark too had a few loose spokes so as soon as we cycled into the rather scruffy little town of Chuy, with its close Brazilian neighbour of Chuí, we immediately set about tracking down a bike shop.
The bike shop on the central plaza could not help us that evening so off we went on the now quite customary 'de frente' process of being sent from pillar to post until we eventually find what we are looking for. It was Andy's first day on the bikes with us so having only just survived the 40km gruelling cycle into the wind and rain he really was being treated to quite a baptism of fire when we commenced our bike shop hunt. The bike shop on the central plaza had sent us towards the sprawling suburbs in search of another bike shop so asking as we went we got sent deeper and deeper into the thick of the suburbs which was now beginning to look more like township than a suburb but nonetheless we persevered. Just when we were about ready to give up on the hunt a man on a funny old motorbike we had encountered earlier stopped and ask exactly what we needed a bike shop for. After explaining that our spokes were broken he smiled and asked us to follow him, we laughed and off we went as if being lead off by The Pied Piper of Chuy.By now Andy was shattered and hardly wanted to be chasing down a motorbike but he didn't have much choice so he sucked it up and joined us behind The Pie Piper. After following him around a few twists and turns we found he had lead us to his friends workshop which was nothing more than a shack which opened up on to the road in what was now a very poor area but we didn't need much more. The man at the work shop was not to interested in our travel stories but he was the perfect man to replace our perishing spokes. Within an hour he had repaired both our wheels proudly showing off the device he had built to true bicycle wheels. while the man saw to our wheels we relaxed a bit and just watched local life pass us by, its experiences like these that allow that we most most enjoy and would not find on your average tourist trail making every bit of peddling worth it.
Now chuffed with our wheels boasting a full set of spokes we set off to find a hostel, a rest Andy by now was in desperate need of. It's easy to think of our time on the bikes as one big holiday but it really does take a lot of discipline and time management. Just when you think phew we've made it to town now I can kick back and relax that's when you've got to start the hack. If its not setting up the tents its hostel hunting and once that's done its time to start cooking, then there's no leaving the dishes for tomorrow, the dishwasher or the domestic so its wash up time, once that's done its time to go shop and plan 4 meals for each day we're going to be between towns and finally its wash and to bed time only to be awake again 6:30am ready to pack everything up and cycle another 90 odd kilometres - only do it all again.Km1497 to Km1398: Discovery of the beautiful Uruguayan ´campo´
Waking up in Chuy early, in order to make some ground before the heat of the day, Andy found that his legs were pretty stiff and Mark found that one of his spokes that had been over tightened had now pulled itself from the rim. It was only one spoke so we decided to go on and deal with it when we reached the next big little town of Lescano. The section between Chuy and Lescano was breath taking not only because of the little rolling hills but also because of the beautiful and green scenery. Halfway to Lescano we came across an old fort, Fortín San Miguel just outside of a little town called San Luis with a beautifully maintained section now operating as a hostel. We never expected much form the hinterland of Uruguay but as has always been the case on this trip the places that we have little expectations for always pleasantly surprise the most.Most of the people we had spoken to before heading inland did not know much about the hinterland of Uruguay and certainly weren't doing a great job of promoting it. What we found was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen with the friendliest people we have encountered anywhere on the continent all contributing to the feeling of absolute serenity. Huge bright green planes opened up before us with fields of palm tress dotted here and there. The lush green grass seemed to be teaming with life including some very healthy looking cows that were literally swimming in the abundant pools of water, however for some reason this place seemed to defy nature as high humidity and mosquitoes never were a problem. In between the jaw dropping green fields we passed over and down rolling hills covered by think green shrubbery proving endless ever changing breathtaking views as we rolled up and over the top of each one of them.
About 20 cups of 'mate' later Mark's bike was ready and we had been told there was a great place to camp by Rio Cebollatí, 12km down the road. It was Andy's second day on the bike and he was already quite shattered but we all agreed it would be worth it so off we went. The sun was going down fast and we didn't want to cycle in the dark so it was a rather quick 12km down the road leaving Andy puffing and panting as we got to the top of each rise. Once at Rio Cebollatí we all agreed the mad race down the road was definitely all worth it as we got to enjoy watching the the sun slowly slip down over the where the river disappeared into the distance. There were no facilities there but there was a road running along the river with makeshift camping spots doted here and there. After a refreshing swim Andy set about making a fire while we got the veggies on the boil. We weren't there long before another camper and their pet sheep, Gordi (short for gordito which meaning little fatty), came along to welcome us and told us to please let them know if there was anything we needed, we had been offered this a lot in Uruguay and were quite tempted by this stage to see what they would say if we responded by saying "ok then, some dinner and a place to sleep would be lovely thanks".
It was Andy's first night in his new tent and sleeping basically in the middle of nowhere so was quite understandably a little apprehensive about a few things. After carefully pitching his tent, between ours making sure he would not be the first one approached if someone were to bother in the night, he spotted what looked like 2 eyes in the bush so he very puzzled he came over and said with concern in his voice "ah guys what is that in the bush, is someone filming us?". After recovering from laughter we allayed his fears and began to realise how accustomed we have become to living outdoors, now little things like fire flies flashing away in the bush have been lost on which is why having someone like Andy joining us is great as it helps us to have a renewed appreciation for our surroundings. Having had a great braai and a swim we all slept great that nigh enjoying what was one of my favourite camp spots on our whole trip.Km1398 to Km1323: The broken bolt that brought good luck
Waking up on a river bank is always so pleasant because you can have good wash and a freshen up before you head off for the day. Again it was another beautiful morning in Uruguay and we realised we had to get moving fast before it started getting too hot. We made good ground so as started getting sticky we were only too relieved to roll into Treinta y Tres for a good long lunch break. I had planned to just sit back and relax in this little town possibly even getting to my Spanish Popular Mechanics under the shade of a tree in the local plaza but my bicycle had other plans. As I pulled my bicycle up onto the pavement I lent back on my seat and crack went the bolt sending me flying off the seat. Great I thought to myself, there goes my break, as I wheeled my bike off in search of yet another bike shop.
Fortunately, the people of Treinta y Tres do not have super mammoth siestas and the bike shop I had found reopened within an hour so I sat outside enjoying my Mechanicos Populares magazine just outside the door. So often on this continent have we arrived at a place to find its closed only to come back later and find we had missed the 10 second window of opportunity when it had opened in between so I was staying out until I had gotten my bolt. When I had barley gotten through an article because of having to use the dictionary with every second word, I looked up to see an attractive middle aged lady asking me where I was from, I thought to myself surely this is not the owner as every other bike shop owner was a chubby greasy man? I politely told her I was South African after which I was promptly invited to come inside and before I had finished explaining that the bolt had snapped she had rushed off to the work shop to ask the workman to please have a look for a spare seat bolt.
The workman seemed to be having some trouble finding a bolt so in the meanwhile the shop lady and I got talking, and before long I had been given a very cool German looking 70s cycle top which she explained had been her fathers, the original owner of the shop. The shop was full of pictures of races her father had done in Brazil and around for what I understood was the Peñarol cycling team but I could have misunderstood her. In addition, I received a couple of free football stickers, one from Peñarol and the other Nacional who I believe must be the 2 main big teams here because when I had them out on a table later that day the waitress was very exited by the one and pulled a really horrible face about the other. The workman had still not found a bolt so after a couple of phone calls her daughter pitched up on her bicycle to hold fort while her Mom hopped on the bicycle and went in search of a bolt in her dress and high shoes! Soon, after a slightly awkward chat with her daughter, who I managed to work out was still at school, her Mom returned brandishing 2 brand new bolts. She proudly handed me both and when I enquired how much I owed she just said 'No, por favor!' a very commonly used term here in Uruguay meaning 'No, the pleasure is mine' sometimes just shortened to an almost off putting 'No!' in response to a polite 'Gracias'. Now very chuffed first and foremost with my awesome family heirloom I cycled off to show it off to the others thinking to myself how lucky I was that my bolt had broken that day.That evening´s cycle was again so breathtaking, we cycled up and over green rolling hills which would rival any Scottish scenery. It was now Andy's 3rd day in a row on the bike so after a long day the rolling hills were almost the end of him. When given the choice as to whether we camped at the top of the hill we were on or over the other side Andy very quickly selected the one we were already on which turned out to be a great choice as we enjoyed yet another wonderful yet unique sunrise over the rolling hills.
Km1323 to Km1243: Becoming famous in Melo
Km1243 to Km1143: The generous gaucho
Having had both a radio and TV interview we were now almost more famous than Brad Pitt, be it only in Melo and probably only for those 24hrs but we were famous nonetheless, well at least we like to think so. Even later that day when we stopped by a river for a lunch break about 60km out of town some people kept approaching asking if we were the people they had heard about on the radio but our fame didn´t last long because once we were out of range of the local transmitter we back to just being another gringo.
One of the greatest things about Uruguay is that people can drive down to their local river and set up camp for a day or 10 to have a little holiday, which got us think why don't/can't we do this in South Africa? Firstly access to land is an issue but also if you allowed anyone and their dog just to drive down onto your land and pitch up camp it would soon be over run with people. Uruguay only has a population of around 3 million people so overrunning shared resources like rivers and beautiful beach destinations is less likely. We in this modern age are forever banging on about recycling and carbon emission but has anyone ever dared to stop and think what if we just bore less children? For every one less person in this world I'm pretty sure there would be a whole lot less pollution than if say even 2 people separate their waste and stop taking overseas holidays and solely use public transport. Problem is no one dare suggest we have less children, I don't know why it´s such a taboo but why can´t we start encourage people to have less children, and if they do want more children there are hundreds and thousands of children without parents who would love a pair, or even just one!
That evening as it began to grow dark we started scouting for a river we could camp at and had stop to check one out when a 'gaucho' or farmer stopped next to us. Darn we thought to ourselves now he's totally going to chase us off, but no he popped his head out and invited us over for a Friday evening 'asado' or braai. He said he owned all the land we could see and that were welcome to camp by his river but his house was just 5km back and we were welcome to join them for and 'asado' and could stay the night at their place. We loathed the idea of cycling back 5km so we thanked him and said we'd just camp down by the river so looking a little disappointed he again confirmed his house was only just up the road and if we changed our minds we're welcome. We still loathed the idea of cycling back 5km but then again this trip has tough us to always take an opportunity that is not likely to come around again soon so after some discussion and a democratic vote we headed on back up the hill. Soon we were bouncing down a dirt road where we found the 'gaucho' and his family enjoying an evening of fun down on one of their lakes but this was not where the house was so he loaded us all up in his 4x4 and off we all went, 3 kids, a 'gaucho' and his wife, 3 bicycles, 3 ´Gringos de Africa´ and a dog!
Back at the farm house the staff already had the fire going and were almost ready to slap on the lamb that that the 'gaucho' had prepared. It was a great evening because not only did we get to enjoy the evening with the family but the staff were invited to the 'asado' too. The one old man had worked for the family for 3 generations now and claimed to be 116 and also claimed that his son had taken part in the Olympics for Uruguay. The 'gaucho' seemed to agree and verify this info but I struggled to understand it all let alone believe it because the old man's dialect was quite a mix of Portuguese and Spanish now being so close to the Brazilian border. We had a great evening out under the stars next to the fire sipping local beer and learning a bit more about the farmland way of life in Uruguay. Soon the meat was ready and we all sat down to eat, however with 'asado' there's no salads and other veggies all there is is meat and a few little rolls. Mark got lucky though as the 'gaucho's' wife had whipped up some eggs and rice for him but I nor Andy were about to complain as we had healthy helping tasty tender lamb to get through.Km1143 to Km1053: Crazy lady with great hamburgers
Over the 'asado' the 'gaucho' had given us some advice to take a back road from Ansina, about 40km up the road, which would take us to a earlier border post with Brazil, at Rivera, instead of going via Tacuarembó which would have taken us directly up to Artigas further along. The new route meant we could cycle through a beautiful area with little traffic up to the border and then would be able to cycle along the plateaux in Brazil towards the border with Argentina, essentially just along the other side of the border with Uruguay passing close by to Artigas along the way. The route we had planned to take apparently was not as beautiful and the road on the Uruguay side of the border was apparently interrupted by a large 'cuesta' or steep hill. Given that we preferred back roads and only ever avoided them when they were tarred and would be avoiding a 'cuesta' we took his advice and first thing headed for a our new destination, the border town of Rivera.
The back roads did prove to be beautiful and tarred, and as we cycled along we could actually see some hills in the distance down in the lower planes that we figured must have been what we would have had to cycle over had we not changed our route. They looked like mini versions of table mountain and proved beautiful scenery from a distance and that's how we preferred them, at a distance. Halfway to Rivera we came to a little town famous apparently for having the first hydroelectric plant in South America called Minas de Corales. It was a strange town and everyone was friendly but you could definitely see you we getting closer to Brazil as the people looked more Brazilian and they all seemed to speak some strange mix of Spanish and Portuguese. We had stopped to ask the lady at a make shift hamburger stand in the middle of the main road where we could find a supermarket but we got chatting and she turned out to be the funniest lady we had seen in a while. She was amazed by us and a our story calling us 'loco' (crazy) at every opportunity while pointing at Mark's beard saying 'feo, muy feo' (ugly, very ugly). That evening we returned to her stall so that Andy and I could try out one of her hamburgers and it turned out to be delicious, that is when she finally stopped laughing at us and went inside her little trailer to prepare it. The hamburgers were crammed full of hamburger patty, ham, peas, eggs, you name it it was in there and it was just what we needed after long day of cycling.As we finished up our delicious hamburgers it began to pelt down with rain so we quickly made our way out of town in the direction of Rivera, which happened to be up a huge hill, where we set up camp for the night. Fortunately, the rain soon stopped so we enjoyed preparing our dinner and a most enlightening catch up on my little big brothers last few years in school as the sky grew dark. It has worked out so well that Andy could join us for the last leg of our trip because not only is he getting to experience some of the most beautiful places we have seen and gain Independence but this too has given us a chance to catch up 5 years lost years while I working and travelling all over the place.
Km1053 to Km965: Andy gets towed into Rivera
Sleeping up on the ridge over looking Minas de Corales proved quite a treat as we were awoken by a beautiful sunrise over the valley and town below. We had a long day cycling into Rivera with the scenery now pretty as the road had joined up with a more main road outside of Minas de Corales now running along the border and into Rivera. Just as we could see Rivera on the horizon and were literally climbing the last hill before coming into the town Andy's bicycle chain broke. I was already at the top of the hill being puzzled by a rugby field that I had seen pop up on the horizon, now I knew Argentina played rugby but I was surprised to find a rugby field in Uruguay especially just on the border with Brazil. Mark had luckily spotted Andy's plight and kindly threw him a rope, literally, and towed him up the hill. Fortunately as we came down the other side into Rivera we almost immediately came across a little bike shop where a customer agreed to wait a little longer for his bike so that the man could deal with Andy's broken chain and another 2 spokes of mine that had gone in the last 100km. It was already very kind of the man to almost immediately start working on our bikes but then when he was done he refused to let a pay him! Imagine trying to find a bike shop in South Africa where: A the owner works on your bike, B it is done there and then in front of you and C they don't charge you anything for it.
The bikes were all back into top shape in almost no time so we had the whole evening off to go shopping in the duty free town of Rivera preparing for our next section where we would spend 2 or 3 days sneaking across the south west corner of Brazil and back into Argentina. It is amazing but things we already beginning to look more like Brazil, especially the vegetation, and while I was excited to be making progress in trip up to Iguazu Falls it would be sad to soon be soon waving good-bye to Uruguay which could well be one of my favourite countries in South America.All the pics from Uruguay can be seen here.
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