CYCLING for LOVE: Magnificent Campo of Uruguay

Km1545 to Km1497: Cycling for LOVE commences

Now with just Mark, Andy and I left we were ready to commence the last leg of our journey which we are now dedicating to the LOVE Trust. While Uruguay is one of my favourite countries visited on this trip it too will be remembered for the many bike troubles we had even though conditions have been perfect for cycling. Fortunately, Uruguayans are cycling crazy too so spares and bike shops are easy to come by even in the smallest of towns. Coming out of Punta del Diablo I had heard an all too familiar pinging sound coming from my back wheel which can only mean one thing, a broken spoke. Later I heard a second spoke go so I knew I'd better get to a bike shop fast otherwise I may be soon dealing with a very buckled wheel. While in countries like Ecuador and Peru we had never been too concerned about bike troubles as we knew that sooner or later a local bus would be coming whizzing prepared at every opportunity to stop and pick up or drop off passengers wherever or whenever they desired. However, here while the people are incredibly friendly their buses run on schedules and only stop at stations so if we were to be stranded without a functioning wheel we would most likely be stranded for while before catching a lift into the next town.

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.

Halfway through our afternoon session we arrived in Lescano where Mark quickly found a bike shop to replace his spoke, while that was being seen to we all shared a 'mate' with the shop owners. We first came across this 'mate' when we entered Argentina, it is basically a type of tea that does not come in tea and is drank straight out of the 'pot', otherwise called a calabash. It is enjoyed and shared by the calabash around being drunk through a metal straw with a filter at the bottom, otherwise called a bombilla. Everyone drinks it in Argentina and Uruguay quite religiously to the point where you it is not uncommon to see people ridding along on scooter with a passenger on the back refilling the calabash from the trusty flask of hot water ever present, they even have vending machines at every petrol station to ensure your flask is never empty. One of the first things Andy said to me when he arrived was ´what is that thing everyone is carrying around and sipping on as if their life depended on it?. Personally I find it a bit bitter but it a is a great social drink and almost rude to turn down if ever offered.

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

The next day we continued up and down over rolling hills as we made our way into Melo. Andy had been cycling almost none stop now for a few days on a an almost zero fitness base so he was very relieved when we finally pulled into the quaint little town of Melo, a town where we became a little bit famous for a day. On cycling into Melo a man stopped and asked me what our trip was about and then asked me if I had a local mobile number, which I did, so gave it to him and cycled off thinking nothing of it. About an hour later I received a call from a lady enquiry about our trip and before I knew it I discovered I was was chatting live in bad Spanish on the local radio station! Then the following morning as we were cycling out early past the local plaza, the wrong way up one-way street, some men started shouting at us asking if we spoke Spanish. I just cycled on thinking that they were going to reprimand us for cycling 'contramano' but then Mark stopped as he realised all they wanted was to do an interview. So, another local interview later we were back on the road towards Brazil now just a little bit famous in the town of 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.

CYCLING: Welcome Andy, hasta pronto Nick!

We have decided with to dedicate the final 1,500km of our over 10,000km cycle trip culminating at Iguazu falls to LOVE Trust. I hope to post the commencing of our final leg soon however in the mean while please take a look at the LOVE CHALLENGE APPEAL above and enjoy the below post which carries us up to the point of our finar departure.

Km1778 to 1708: Cooking show
We awoke in a forest on the side of the highway 70km out of Montevideo ready to make our way to Punta del Este where the rich and famous apparently from around the world meet and play. We had all heard such great things about this place mostly because it is a popular vacation spot for Uruguayans next door neighbours the Argentinians with their slightly stronger Peso but I don't think any us us were particularity excited to by the idea of the place. As we cycled into the place everything seemed to go up including the price of things and the buildings. We had gone from the beautiful tranquil beaches of El Pinar to the peak season packed and over priced beach destination of Punte del Este. The only things that had really changed for the better I suspect would be the night life, which we were not going to hang around for, and the body of water which the pristine white beaches led onto that being the slightly clearer Atlantic Ocean as opposed to the murky river water of Rio Plata flowing past Montevideo and El Pinar.

We arrived in Punta del Este just in time for lunch so by habit we found a nice spot under a tree and whipped out our little 'kitchen' and ingredients. Although, this time we did not have the place all to ourselves as we had set up under a tree on the waters edge just in front of a rather busy pavement where a restaurant too had felt it was a great spot for their patrons to enjoy a meal and so had a few tables and chairs within ear shot of our set up. Our little cooking stove is by no means quite and before long it was as if we were doing a cooking show and were now being gawked at by many passers by. Fortunately, only the polite and interested ones had the guts to approach us asking questions and mentioned that they actually quite enjoying the aroma of frying tomatoes and onions emanating from out little stove. The waiters at the nearby restaurant also became quite interested in our culinary skills and soon we all got chatting. I'm not sure if we smelt really bad but one of the waitresses even offered for us to use her shower which we politely declined as we needed to move after lunch but nonetheless we were overwhelmed by everyone's kindness. I'd imagine if you had to set up a mobile kitchen near any other popular beach destination anywhere else in the world you'd very quickly be chased off.

After having played cooking show cooking show for the local passers by Mark and Nick discovered that the price of internet was 4 times that of other areas so decided to move on quickly down the coast to one of the smaller less know beach towns in order to use the internet at a reasonable price. I had agreed to meet them there later as I had the luxury of being able to take advantage of the free wifi at a local bar while sipping a cold beer even if the beer was twice the price of one anywhere else in the country it was so worth it but the extra time in Punta del Este proved to be a bit of curse. By the time I had done what I needed to do on-line the clouds had rolled in and would now have to make my way down the coast to meet the others. Just as I set off everyone and their dog vacated the beach in a mad frenzy due the dark ominous clouds that were fast approaching so before I knew it I was not only stuck in the rain but stuck in traffic too!

The beach towns further on up the coast didn't prove to be any cheaper as this is where we discovered the super wealthy and elite hang out . As fast as the high rise beach apartments begin to disappear so do the the Ferraris and the like become common place. Needless to say Mark and Nick never did find an internet café let alone a cheap one so when I did finally get to them they were just sitting around waiting for me to appear from the curtain of rain while huddled under the shelter provided by the local petrol station. That night we camped in the park behind the station hoping that with all the rain the passers by whizzing by in their Ferraris wouldn't take much notice, and fortunately they never did However, the lady at the petrol station staff did do a bit of a double take when I reappeared from the darkness of the park to restock up on water.

Km1708 to Km1590: Naked swim
Thanks to all the rain the day prior we began to doubt whether we would make it down the supposedly long dirt road to the much spoken of beach town of Vilizas in time to see the place and still get back to the highway so we could continue on to meet Andy in Punta del Diablo the following day. We had been told it was all very natural and didn't even have electricity so we were very keen to get there but because it was supposedly down a long dirt road we began to doubt whether or not we would have time. Luckily when we got to Castillo the town inland a long the highway we discovered that there was a 30min bus down to the beach and a courtyard out the back of the 'bus terminal' where we could store our bikes for the night. Again quite astounded by our luck, we set off in the bus to Vilizas for the night.

Valizas was less of a 'small town' than I had thought and had a tarred road leading all the way to it boasting far more electricity than I would have imagined but it was beautiful nonetheless with a healthy supply of hippies dancing around fires selling useless tat to support their free lifestyle. That night after a couple of drinks and in true hippy style we didn't even bother looking for a camp site and headed straight to the beach. It was new moon and pitch dark so with only the starlight to guide us we walked far down the beach hopping to avoid bothering any local home owners whilst also hopping not be bothered any local home owners or wondering hippies.

Once a spot had been strategically selected and camp set up we did a bit of star gazing and within moments I saw 2 shooting stars. Now already satisfied with my star gazing accomplishments my mind turned to getting clean before going to bed. I did not want wet clothes in my tent to deal with nor did I want to have to faff with drying them in the morning so figured I'd have to go for a swim without them. It was so dark that there would be no finding my kit post swim if I wasn't careful so after stripping down I carefully piled my clothes close enough to find but far enough away from the waters reach not to be washed away. Slowly I walked straight into the deep dark ocean trying not to veer left or right never allowing my feet to leave the ground, I did not want to be moved off centre of my clothes nor did I want to get sucked out to sea in the pitch dark only to be found the next day stranded and naked!

It was the most amazing swim, I felt so vulnerable being surrounded by nothing but blackness, crashing waves and the starry sky while just being in awe of the elements that surrounded me. Although, soon this awesome feeling of freedom turned to concern, a concern that the other guys, the hippies, the waves or my bad memory may cause my clothes to go amiss so I quickly followed the line back from where I had started. As I began to towel myself dry I noticed that the fine white beach sand glowed florescent green and the more I ran it over my arms and legs the more it seemed to glow. This truly was a moment I never will forget.

Km1590 to Km1545: Brothers reunited
Andy had arrived in Argentina the day before and over night had been making his way to Uruguay so that morning I was up early checking my phone to see if I had any news of his exciting journey from Argentina to Uruguay with a bicycle and not knowing 2 words of Spanish. As I checked my phone I noticed it was just going on for sunrise and because we were now on the east coast of South America the sun was rising over the sea as I peeped out of my tent. We now were not alone on the beach as many of the hippies still partying in town when we had left to setup camp had now stumbled onto the beach and were too now enjoying sunrise on the beach but I don't think it was nearly as appreciated by them.

I was now very keen to get to Punta del Diablo as Andy would be arriving there soon so after an early morning swim Mark and I made our way to the bus terminal leaving Nick to enjoy the beach for the day. Once back in Castillo I packed my bike up and headed on up the road to Punta del Diablo leaving Mark to take advantage of the cheap Internet we had discovered in the little town. As I headed off I received a message from Andy to say he would soon be arriving at his destination which was encouraging and provided much fuel for the 45km cycle especially given that I had to stop every 15min and force some more air into my tire which was now had an ever growing puncture.

By the time I made it into the little beach town of Punta del Diablo, exhausted from trying to pump up a deflating tyre with a perishing pump, Andy had arrived and was now putting his bike and bags together in order to cycle on to the hostel I had booked for him. It was so good to see Andy again especially since it had been almost a year since I had last seen him and was now most looking forward to him joining us on our adventure,and too boot he was carry a mich need puncture repair kit and spanking new bicycle pump! The guy is growing so fast that I hardly recognised him, the only reason I turned and took as second look was because he was making a distinct African whistle sound trying to get my attention, fifiiiiiiif!

Due to the intense heat we experienced coming out of Buenos Aires and the never ending confirmations that the region leading up to Iguazu Falls was even hotter and more humid Nick had taken the decision to move on and cycle elsewhere on the continent where it would be a bit cooler once we had reached the end of the Uruguayan coastline. Punta del Diablo is essentially the last popular white sandy beach along the Uruguayan coastline so as Andy was joining the team Nick would be heading off for cooler pastures. Nick hadn't quite decided yet where exactly he planned to cycle but had booked a bus and boat back to Buenos Aires and would then be heading back up into the Andes because with the altitude it would be a lot cooler cycling around there.

I decided to join Andy at the hostel that night but accommodation was now full, and Mark and Nick did not want to pay the inflated price for camping on their grounds so decided to rather find somewhere else to camp for the night then spend the next day, our last day all together on the beach. Staying at the hostel landed up being a rather lucky choice not only because we were out numbered by girls 5 to 1 but also around midnight it began pouring and I mean absolutely pouring with rain the whole night long. The rain unfortunately did not stop there and continued on into what was now going to be all our last day on the beach. After breakfast Mark and Nick appeared from underneath the curtain of rain but were made to feel most unwelcome by the hostel staff so now homeless and with rain pouring outside our options were limited.

With our options limited Nick decided to take start making his way back to Buenos Aires ASAP by first cycling back to Castillo then catching a bus from there while we decided come rain or shine we might as well start our cycle trip on up towards Iguazu falls. However, before setting our separate ways we would be having one last big meal all together. Everything was quite pricey within the actually beach town of Punta del Diablo so we decided to try our luck at the restaurant we had all seemed to have noticed just at the turn off down to Punt del Diablo. It was a perfect location too because it was on the highway so after lunch we could head our separate ways. The restaurant was less established than we had all imagined and was basically just an old home converted to a restaurant where the locals took refuge to enjoy a meal outside of the craziness of the beach resort but it turned out to have great food and we had probably the best service we have ever received.

On arrival at the restaurant were immediately welcomed in and invited to take a seat wherever we pleased being offering a table outside which was not yet set up if we so desired one. Once seated the chef popped out to give us a run down of the her best dishes and once she was done she told us she would be coming back with a little dish on the house to get us started. The prices we all so reasonable and with home made pasta and malenesas being a Uruguayan speciality we all opted for one of the two and no one was disappointed. We all enjoyed our lunch, just the perfect meal to welcome Andy to the team and wish Nick a fond farewell and good luck on his cycling adventures.

Now with tummies full we all reluctantly clambered onto our bikes saying our fond farewells as Nick cycled off into the the distance with his 'Please give me a lift to Montevideo' sign attached to the back of his bike, which as we later found out was unfortunately not very successful. We all wish Nick luck with his trip!

To see all the pics click here.

CYCLING: Buenos Aires to Montevideo & becoming little bit famous

We have now made it into Uruguay and Andy, my little big brother, is due to join us in a few days from Punta del Diablo just as Nick has taken the decision to continue his bike trip in the cooler Andean region. The end of something great and the start of something new and exiting but I reckon the next few weeks are going to get tough as we head into the hot humid region below Iguazu Falls!

New Years & The Feministas
Buenos Aires is actually probably the worst place big city in the world to be for actual New Years because it a family thing here, nothing is open and no one is doing anything. Luckily enough though during old years day we were accosted by some crazy Brazilians who had decided in true Brazilian style if there isn't a party to attend then you make your own wherever it may be. They were just chatting and sipping beer on the side walk outside a convenience store taking advantage of a few spare tables and chairs provided along the main avenue running through Buenos Aires. As we walked by, the streets now deserted because it was siesta time, they called us to join them. In hindsight I think we can thank Steve for this because it quickly became clear who the one chica was interested in. They had already gathered a bit of a crowd by that stage so we were now accompanied by several Brazilians and a Frenchmen, stereotypically arrogant winking as he announced he was from Toulouse.

It was only midday and we had a long night ahead but it was time to get the beers flowing along with some banter . As always there was a bit of a language barrier but what was nice about this crowd is that they were all in the same boat as us and Spanish was too their 2nd or 3rd language making it much easier to be patient with each other. Steve having only been on the continent for 2 weeks obviously just had to do with English, most of the Brazilians knew some English but the the lady who's eye he had caught didn't know much at all, nonetheless she persistent in her attempts to reel him in. It was quite entertaining having the 2 of them sitting next to me because the chica was blatantly interested in Steve and well on her way down the road to passing out before midnight. She kept whispering things to Steve in Spanish which he had little understanding of so she had to repeat just about everything to us in order for us to translate them, most of which were getting quite bluntly flirtatious. Eventually she got desperate and asked him straight out if he wanted to go back to the hostel, to which he declined, and then finally as we were bidding farewell she managed to, in desperation, pull together some English words blurting out across the pavement 'I want you!'. Steve being Steve just laughed in her face and said thank you as he walked off, she had used a literal translation of Spanish to English which in Spanish actually just means I like you and can even be used to express fondness between friends and family members but nonetheless it provided us with endless laughter.

We had made plans to meet the Brazilians outside a club just before midnight just after dinner. Once back at the hostel we met some more Brazilians chicas Sarah, Patricia and Kauara preparing for the night out but they did not yet have concrete plans so we did as all sensible gentlemen would have done and invited them out to join us for a New Years eve dinner. As expected nothing really was open when we were looking for restaurants so after walking the streets near the club where we planned to meet we finally found a suitable dinner spot but only started eating just before midnight so were a bit bummed we'd be sitting at a table for New Years. These Brazilian chicas too were so interesting to talk to and turned out to be 'Feministas' who work in a feminist organisation in Brazil fighting for woman's rights. They were most interested in South Africa and how far woman's rights have come and were especially interested policies promoting equality in the work place and our parliament proudly boasting a 50% female membership which I was all too happy to go on about.

Steve was on top form and had spotted some more ladies to join us, this time a rarely spotted South African and a German lady. So, after so more banter and great food it wasn't long before we had all wolfed down our dinner, just in time for the New Years celebrations. As the clock struck 12 free bottles of champagne began to flow, people poured into the street in front of our dinner table conveniently placed on the pavement and the sky light up with fireworks, all a very unexpected exciting turn of events. We were all aware that the other Brazilians were expecting us as the night club so we soon headed on to the club but it was closed and the streets around it dead. We spotted a bar opening up nearby, bear in mid it was now 1am, and within 30min of ordering a drinks the area sprung to life!

The streets quickly grew busy with cars, the club opened and a huge queue formed outside it reaching around the block. Just as we were reluctantly muting the idea of joining the queue some crazy DJ with a generator and a mobile sound system came striding down the road with a huge crowd of dancing follows. Needless to say we never did get to the club but instead danced in the
street until the sun came up!



Later that New Years day we discovered that the Dakar 2010 - Argentina and Chile was being kicked off near the city centre where we were but after watching the first of hundreds of cars, trucks, motor bikes and quad bikes setting off for the challenge we grew tired and headed of for some much needed sleep.

Popping in for a chat with Ambassador Tony Leon
We have been trying to visit all the South African embassies as cycle between countries, one because it is so interesting chatting to and hearing the experiences of the staff at the embassy but too to get a resupply of World Cup 2010 and South African promotional goods. Everyone we meet wants to see pictures of South Africa and where it is on a map so thanks to the very generous embassies we have plenty to share with them. When visiting the Lima embassy Ambassador Manley mentioned that Tony Leon soon would be taking office as the Ambassador in Argentina and if we were lucky we would get to meet with him when we finally made it to Buenos Aires. A few days before coming into Buenos Aires we decided to try our luck because our promotional goods were running out and it would be very interesting getting to chat to Tony Leon. However, we did not have much faith because it was the festive season and we figured it would be unlikely that anyone would be about receive our email let alone meet with us. We were in luck though and as we have experienced at most of the embassies we've contact we had a very positive and timely response, if only Home Affairs could be as efficient as Foreign Affairs!



The earliest we could meet with Ambassador Leon was the 4th of Jan the day after Steve left so unfortunately for him he'd miss the visit. As with all our visits we were quite nervous to meet the staff and the Ambassador, what were they going to think of these unshaven boys with crazy beards, moustaches and mowhawks?! We headed over to the offices in good time to make sure we weren't late but there was now way to spruce ourselves up as our wardrobes are very limited and to boot Nick had handed in all his clothes for a wash so now had to attend the meeting in board shorts and flip flops! I'm not sure how but we passed through security with ease and before we knew it we were sitting at a table with Mr Langa, First Secretary and head of World Cup 2010 promotions in the region and Ambassador Tony Leon. It was quite surreal having such a famous well respected South African figure sitting before us but it is was easy to see why he had been chosen by the DA to be the longest standing leader of the official opposition party for over 15 years because within moments we felt quite comfortable and conversation was flowing fast.

It can always be a little awkward at first meeting with the staff at the embassies because I'm sure for them its kind of like why on earth are we meeting with these hobos especially if they haven't been briefed about our cycle trip. Often the staff at the embassies are so busy that they don't get a chance to experience the countries that they are now South African representatives to so we get to offer a perspective on the country and people that they would otherwise often find difficult get so by the end of the meeting I'm sure they are quite grateful that we've shared our experiences with them. In addition, as Mr Langa and the Ambassador expressed that they are paid to promote the country so us offering to lend a hand while cycling around the continent is much appreciate.

The Ambassador was then only in his 2nd month at the head of the South African Embassy to Argentina but had plenty of interesting insight to offer about politics on the continent. He in jest suggested that perhaps he should have done a little more cycling instead of spending his youth studying and doing his lawyers articles but I think we can be grateful he didn't because I'm sure the knowledge he gain during this time enabled him to keep the ANC on their toes for all the years he was at the helm of the official opposition party, the DA. It can't be easy moving from the head of the opposition into an ambassadorial role serving under the very same party you spent many years 'opposing' but I feel this shows how South African's democracy is maturing and as the ambassador stated himself 'I'm living proof we celebrate diversity'. Around the same time as we had met with the ambassador he had been interviewed with the Mail & Guardian and its looks like they chatted about almost exactly the same stuff so I won't go into any more detail, the article can be read here.



After an enjoyable and insightful chat the Ambassador and Mr Langa presented us with some more promotional goods to take with us including being kitted out with World cup 2010 caps and t-shirts . In addition, we got presented with a box of beautiful South African calendars, the only catch was how would we carry them all. In the end we were so overwhelmed with the whole event that we forgot to get a picture at the embassy with the Ambassador and Mr Langa to remember it all by! But, as the Ambassador stated in the meeting, if you don't write it down it never happened, so here's to hoping this serves those purposes.

Km300 to Km210: Plans are made to be broken
We had now bode farewell to Steve who was going to be missed but had to headed back to South Africa to continue his day job and although we had such a greet experience in Buenos Aires as with all cities we've been to we were always just too excited to get out of the city after a while. Being on the bike feels like routine now and having our own tents every night has come to feel like home and our own little bit of space. At first the thought of unpacking and packing up a tent is quite arduous but I actually I still get as excited as I was the first time every time I set him up. Having the bikes in the city is a pain because you always have to find place for them then drag them up and down stairs piece by piece with numerous bike bags in tow. With the tent you can just strip everything off the bike, set up the tent, chuck everything in, lock the bike to a tree then jump into the tent and organise everything into its little routine corner and there you have a little home with everything exactly where you can find it. Then, when you leave you can very quickly see if you've left anything behind.



Sorrel had had a bit of admin with her house mate who had returned from his holiday to find 3 bicycles on their roof terrace, which I may add is huge like 4m by 8m, and decided he did not want them up there which is fair enough. As a result Sorrel kindly organised with Vero and James, 2 of her friends we met at her place on the first night to kindly take us in so when we returned for having spent New Years in the hostel we collected our incredibly space consuming bicycles and headed over to Vero's. Their place is huge and they had a few spare rooms so we were very well accommodated and as is always the case in Buenos Aires we almost immediately headed out for another asado (braai). It's been great staying and hanging out with all these guys because we've come to meet so many local and international people living in Buenos Aires which is just the way I like to see a city!



We had always planned to catch a ferry to Uruguay but as usual we left buying tickets for the last minute so when we got there not only were the queues huge but the tickets had doubled in price. So, while standing in a boring long queue when we could be doing something else more fun we had a little vote amongst ourselves and unanimously voted to skip the boat and cycle up the river to the first available bridge and back down to Montevideo. This route would add on an extra 600km to the trip to Montevideo but we figured since we had the time why not. We would now be cycling out of the city from Vero's place which is near the centre and thus needed to head off early to avoid traffic so off we went to do our routine departing shop.



None of us had slept well since arriving in Buenos Aires due to the heat, humidity and mosquitoes so we were all a little blurry eyed coming out of the city. It was hard work because as we discovered the city sprawls north with big highways and heavy traffic. Only after about 4hrs of cycling did the roads quieten down and we could find a road side restaurant to eat lunch and have a nap under the trees. It was piping hot and humidity high thus mosquito heaven so I literally had to sleep with mosquito spray in my hand lazily spraying it around every time I herd something buzzing near by, I think this is when Nick started questioning whether or not he was going to enjoy cycling in these conditions all the way to Iguazu Falls still over 2000km away.



That night as we came across a toll gate storm clouds began to roll in so after getting permission from the local police we setup camp along side the highway. After setting up the tent the clouds an sky lit up with lightning and soon the rain followed, for the first time in a while I was only too happy to have a cold shower even if it was just an act of nature.

Km210 to Km95: Mosquito infested deltas and memorable swims
We would now spend the whole day crossing a large delta with the Rio Paraná running through the middle of it. This river has its source all the way up in the Amazon forest running past the Pantanal (a region of the Amazon Forest most densely populated by animals), running through Paraguay (where is called the Rio Paraguay), finally passing into Argentina below Asunción (the capital of Paraguay) and down through the delta joining up with Rio Plata as it flows into the Atlantic Ocean past Buenos Aires on one side and Montevideo on the other . I didn't realise this at the time of crossing Rio Paraná but Andrew and I may just be catching a boat up this very river in 2 months time to the Pantanal starting in Asunción where it is likely our bike trip will end and a boat journey will begin passing along the border between Brazil and Bolivia



We crossed 2 large bridges that day to get across the delta, a very unexpected addition to our journey around the continent as we had always planed to catch the ferry across between Buenos Aires and Montevideo if we got that far completing the whole journey in under 3hrs now extended to over 6 days. The rivers were huge and as I passed over the one bridge with a sign denoting that I was passing over the Rio Paraná a huge oil tanker passed under me, I think I now really understand what my geography teacher meant when he said South African rivers are not navigable, especially if this is what he was comparing them to.



There had been a lot of rain in the delta of late so as we cycled through we were greeted with entertaining images of cows standing in fields literally tummy deep but they didn't seem to be too bothered. Again it was hot, humid and the mosquitoes were going mad and all we wanted to do was take a swim in one of the many pools of water that we passed. Jokingly I noted how good would it be if we could find a restaurant with a wooden deck that we could prepare our lunch on and a pier so we could have nice refreshing swim without haying to traipse through a swamp, and true as bob as the clock struck lunch time that's exactly what we found. We spent a good lot of time at that restaurant swimming and chatting to the owners younger son who at one stage dropped his poor little bird into the water who's wings had been clipped so we figured it didn't have a chance of survival but then 15min later it popped out on the bank alive!



As we progressed down the highway we became ever nervous about whether or not we would be allowed to cross Rio La Plata at the first bridge into Uruguay. We had heard conflicting stories about whether the first bridge crossing into the town of Fray Bentos was open. Due to a pulp factory that had been built in Uruguay on the Rio La Plata in the town of the Fray Bentos the people of Argentina, and more specifically the people of the town opposite the factory, Gualeguaychú were now preventing anyone from reaching the bridge and ultimately Fray Bentos directly. It's a long complicated story but I think it just comes down to politics and the Argentines feel that Uruguay didn't get their permission to build such a huge factory on a shared river. On the other hand the factory was one of the biggest foreign investments Uruguay had ever seen so they weren't about to stop it from happening and now that it was built bash it down because Argentina felt they need to get their permission. Everyone we asked had conflicting stories, some said absolutely no one could cross at that bridge but the border was still open which didn't seem to add up considering it had now been blocked by protesters for over 2 years, while others said we should be able to cross the bridge in Fray Bentos by bike, either way it was worth attempting to cross if the actual border was still open which it sounded like it was. The big catch though was that if we were not able to cross into Fray Bentos we would have to head 30km back to the highway and up to the next bridge adding about 300km to our journey!

If the name Fray Bentos sounds familiar that is because it probably is. There used to be a huge meat processing plant in Fray Bentos under the brand of Fray Bentos so at some stay in your life you probably ate or at least heard of one of their products but the factory and the products have long since ceased to exist.

Km95 to 0Km: Protesters, Vespas and Hello Uruguay
The next day we cycled into the town of Gualeguaychú now making a beeline for the border and were almost immediately approached by a radio station reporter, then before we knew it we were being interviewed in Spanish by the local radio station, yikes! The interviewer was obviously in the know about the local politics so after the interview they assured us that if we spoke to the protesters nicely they would allow us to cross.



As we cycled out the other side of the town towards the bridge and the border we started noticing that the road signs to Uruguay had been painted over by protesters saying that the road was closed, which only made us increasingly nervous. We had been told that the protesters were somewhere along the road so every time we saw something in the distance we started to wonder if it could be them until eventually we saw what must definitely be them characterised by cars, caravans and a boom blocking the road with plenty of posters around explaining their cause. The company that had started the pulp factory is Finish so many of the posters were aimed at them including 'The Finish are terrorists!' which we found quite in entertaining as Nick's ex-girlfriend is Finish.



As we arrived at the boom blocking the road an older couple came out to chat to us and they very quickly agreed that we could go through but they didn't think that the police would allow us to cross the bridge on bicycles. We took their pamphlets explaining their cause and explained that we were from South Africa and felt the same way about nature resulting in Nick getting lucky for the first time in Argentina receiving a parting smooch from the protesting lady. Not far down the road on the way to the bridge still nervous we may not be able to cross now not because of the protesters but because of the bridge laws we spotted a calf that had literally just been born. We stood their for a while admiring the miracle of life and enjoyed watching the little calf take his first steps then full of joy off we cycled for the border.



We had been told that the border post for both countries was on the other side of the bridge so we quickly snuck past the police station where the police had long stopped looking out for anyone and quickly approached the bridge hoping that the police station was not where we actually should have got our exit stamp. The bridge was huge and looked to rise almost vertically in front of us as if a roller coaster. We grew a little concerned that we were going to cycle our way across this huge bridge only to be sent back and to get our exit stamps but we thought that we would rather have that than alert the polices attention. Once across the huge bridge we rolled down into what was now Uruguay still nervous about whether or not we had made actually made it to the final hurdle, passport control. The border office were now run down and dilapidated due to years of neglect as hardly anyone use it but we were in luck and there still seemed be few offices open, one for Argentinian exit stamps and the other for Uruguayan entry stamps, phew we had made it!!!!



We were now in Uruguay and with far less hassle than expected even the search guy who I would have thought would have been excited to finally have something to do just asked us what was in our bags and waved us on. Fray Bentos dare I say too loudly because someone in Argentina may hear is actually a very nice friendly and clean little town clearly benefiting from the wealth brought in by the pulp factory. Uruguay and especially Fray Bentos seems to be Vespa country with everyone from school kids to grannies shooting around town on them.



My back axle had given in again so now with plenty of time to spare I went off to find a local bicycle shop. After being sent from shop to shop I eventually found a service place which was a workshop open to the pavement with everyone inside covered in bicycle oil and grease, I now knew I definitely was at the right place. There was an old man sitting outside sitting in deck chair watching life go by and he quickly brought the fact that I was waiting to the owners attention. I explained what was wrong with my bike and before I knew it I had a team of people seeing to my axle but this is no conventional bike shop, here they either salvage a part from an old bike or you're sent to run off and get the spare yourself. The salvaged axle part he had to hand didn't quite fit so off I was sent on a spare bike to hunt down my new axle. I found the part in no time so once I had returned with my find the bike was back in top order but it wasn't going to last long as the chamber on the back hub was now quite worn and the problem would only happen again in the next few hundred kilometres, yet at least it would get me to Montevideo.

Km340 to Km297: Down by the river
Montevideo was now 340km down the river and little did we know we would get to cycle through some very cool little towns with river side white sandy beaches along the way that are just like seaside beaches except sans the waves. The first one we came to was Meredes and again here everyone was whizzing around on a Vespa but they had something extra with them, a deck chair slung over their shoulder as it was Friday lunch and everyone was off to the beach! Later that evening we arrived at Dolores the next little beach town and they even had a free camp site down by the river so after being spotted and interviewed by the local rag we enjoyed a pleasant evening down by the river.



Km297 to Km197: Free laptops and Internet


We spent most of the next day in the next beach town along the road called Carmelo where they had a great big sandy beach. The road coming into Carmelo was one of the most beautiful I've seen, it was lined with huge old trees on either side for over 10km providing much needed shelter from the blistering heat and on the other side of the trees on one side a beautiful golf course could be seen and on the other some kind of well kept horse training track all beautiful and green. Once we had spent some time floating in the river I headed off to find some wifi. What is very unique about Uruguay is that it is the first country in the world to provide every school child with a laptop. All these laptops have wifi which can be used to access the free internet at the central plaza or at their local school any time of the day. Wherever you find a central plaza you will find someone sitting on one of these little laptops surfing the web, quite oddly though its often dad using the laptop not the kid!



That evening we camped on the side of the road and because the heat we decided ot to cook and rather just make a salad. We were trying to make as much ground as possible so we only stopped whn it was almost already dark so s we sat on the steep side bank of the road we made our salad while enjoying display of lightning crawling across the sky in the distance and a very unique display of dancing fire-flies just the other side of the road, who would have thought that camping on the side of the road could provide such great entertainment.

Km197 to Km186: Colonia
By midday we had arrived in one of Uruguay's most popular tourist destination, Colonia. Most of the boats coming from Buenos Aires dock here and then you can catch a bus to Montevideo from there. Colonia is beautiful ancient old city with a historic area boasting cobblestone roads and old buildings including an old light house. Unfortunately the bumping cobblestone roads proved too much for my bike and later I discovered that the bolt on my back rack carrying all the weight had snapped off. I didn't let that ruin my time in Colonia though as there is nothing that a cable tie can't solve, well at least for a while. I spent the rest of the day watching people go by while enjoying a beer in the sun.



Km186 to Km45: White Chocolate

We spent most of the day just trying to make ground so that we could get into Montevideo early the next morning. I was very much craving something sweet by the time we were coming to the end the day so when we popped into the shop to buy our dinner and they had white chocolate bars going for $0.5 for 2 I didn't stand a chance and bought 6! Of course now having 6 slabs of white chocolate melting in my bag when I was absolutely starving was not a good thing and by the time we reached the soccer field where we camped that night I had already polished off 5!


Km45 to Km0: Montevideo, a South African Embassy and a fantastic family
We had been looking forward to staying with a couchsurfing family who Jim and Denys, a couple we met way back in Montañita, suggested we stayed with if we could as they ha really enjoyed spending time there a few months prior. The family lived 30km on the other side of Montevideo in small suburb practically on the beach called El Pinar. We hadn't planned to spend much time in Montevideo itself as we figured it would be just another city set by a body of water. As we cycled into Montevideo it was overcast so we just went into the centre had a look around, had a bite to eat and then moved swiftly on along the coast towards El Pinar. Montevideo had a nice historic feel a bit like Buenos Aires just a little smaller and has a nice beaches running along the river front. The river here is so wide that it actually looks like an ocean and although there are a fell swells there aren't any waves to speak of. The most impressive thing I noticed coming into the city is the old railways station but unfortunately it no longer functions as a station and I believe the train network is in a pretty much similar situation. Train travel seems like such a pleasant and great way to see the country side but the reality is that railway networks are expensive to maintain where as road and bus networks are far cheaper and flexible to maintain which results in most developing nations opting for the latter leaving the old rail networks to decay.

The South African Embassy in Argentina had put us in contact with the Uruguayan mission who Ambassador Leon is also presiding over so we went in search of the South African Embassy to Uruguay. We eventually found the mission 15km out of the city in a wealth area, on the way to El Pinar, where all the foreign embassies seem to be located. Kaya Mbusi, the Charge D’Affaires, is currently at the helm of the embassy in Uruguay and had said she was ready to receive us any time that day. When we arrived at the embassy we were quickly welcomed in passing by another life size teddy bare version of Zakumi the World Cup 2010 mascot meaning ZA (South Africa's official 'code') and Kumi, the number 10 in many African languages. By this stage of the day we were very grateful for the air-conditioned boardroom we had been shown to while we waited for Kaya. We had a great time chatting to Kaya and the rest of her all female team sharing our experiences and equally just being in the company of other South Africans. Kaya's first language is Xhosa so we even asked her to give an example of a few Xhosa clicks for Nick, clicks which are quite often asked after by other tourists when they find out we are South African only to have to ashamedly admit we don't yet know how to speak Xhosa. After some tea and delicious cake it was time to make our way to our host family we had so been looking forward to meeting.

After getting a little bit lost following the admittedly pretty straight forward directions we had been given we finally met Rosanna and the family. The house was packed full with family and couchsurfers so we were incredibly grateful they still took us in. While we were there Rosanna, Nacho her husband, Santiago (Santi), Lara (just turning 3), granny, 2 Belgium couchsurfers and 2 Colombian couchsurfers! With us they now had 12 people dotted all over the house, absolute chaos in anybodies mind but all just seemed to work so well. Rosanna and the family are all just so easy to get along with and we were all never short of conversation. Rosanna is lawyer so the level of conversation was far above what we would normally chat to people about so it was definitely a strain on my level of Spanish but I absolutely loved it. The children were also just too cute and every evening Mom would take them down to the beach for a swim and a play in the sand and of course now we got to joined them. It was also great having the other couchsurfers around, every evening we took turns to cook dinner for everyone but I think the Belgians pulled the short straw when they landed up cooking spaghetti bolognese for 11 people plus an extra side dish for the veggie amongst us.



El Pinar itself is such a great place to be too. No one is allowed to build their house on the beach so once on the soft sandy beaches no houses can be seen. Just a quick walk back over the dunes and through the pine forests and you're back in the leafy spacious suburb only about a block or 2 wide running all along the beach. We loved being there so much that when my bike that had been sent in for service was delayed by a day and Rosanna had said we could stay longer we were only too happy to spend another day in such a great place with such a great people.



Km1818 to Km1778: Awesome service and tears of a 3 year old

Today was full of emotions one I got to get my bicycle back from its service all nicely spruced up but two this meant we would now have to bid farewell to the great family we'd been staying with. Under the cargo load of of calendars, booklets, pamphlets, t-shirts, caps and an assortment of stationery given to us by the South African embassy my back rack had finally gave in. The bolt holding my back rack up had actually snapped off leaving half the bolt now stuck in the hole so this was not something I was going to be able to fix myself. In addition, my back axle had given in too many times and was now beginning to wobble excessively causing the chain to keep jumping off whenever I pushed down hard on the peddle not only wasting my energy but it had also caused me to smack my knee on the handlebar one too many times. I had looked for a local guy to do the job but he just sent me to the big guys closer to Montevideo, the Trek bicycle shop in Canelones.

The Pablo and the rest of the guys at Trek had been super interested in our trip when I came to drop off the bike and they really did take a genuine interest in getting my bike back to me in top order. This had been a stark contrast to just about every big bike shop I had been to in the past, with the exception of Linden Cycles in Johannesburg, finding that they always very cold and disinterest in what we are doing. I don't know if its a super friendly Uruguayan thing but these guys were just so friendly and took their time to understand what I wanted done. So, it was now the day my bike was due to be ready and earlier that morning the guys at the shop had let me know the bike would be ready at 1pm just before they closed for siesta time. I should have been more careful and allowed time for delays but of course I left collecting the bike to the last minute so when the bus finally arrived I realised I was going to be at least 15min late and the shop would be closed. In true Murphy's Law style just as I had the bright idea that I should phone them I received a text saying please recharge your account as you are low on credit, damn he got me again!

Luckily I had enough credit to quickly ramble off in Spanish that I was on my way so they were waiting for me when I arrived. They had taken so much care of my bike and even got my rusty old bell ringing again but more importantly all the ailing parts had been replaced and the back rack repaired so he now looked and felt like new again! After talking them through the blog Pablo spotted my makeshift water bottle which was just an old buddy bottle with an old drinking lid screwed onto it which I had never bothered to replacing with a proper water bottle because I figured I would rather have had it come with some kind of juice in it if I was going to pay for a bottle, but now it had caught Pablo's eye so as a parting gift he gave me a spanking new Gary Fisher water bottle and even rushed off to fill it with some water for my cycle home. I think I have discovered the best and friendliest bicycle shop in the world!

It was another scorcher of a day so by the time I had cycled over 12km to get back to the house I was very grateful for my new water bottle! It was Lara's 3rd Birthday that day too so we had got her a little gift and couple of sweets for her to enjoy, I think she might just be the cutest little kid in the world! The gas was finished so lunch would only be ready later on once the gas bottle had been replaced so we took this opportunity to have one last stroll along the beautiful beach lined by pine trees and take a swim before returning for lunch. After lunch it was time to bid a sad farewell, it had been so great staying with and getting to know this wonderful family. One of the true gems on this trip has been getting to meet so many great people. We gathered all our stuff up which we had now managed to distribute all over the house and garden and gathered together for a photo. As we said good-bye to everyone a little tear rolled down Lara's cheek, this is the hard thing about couch surfing because you live in someone's home and inevitably you have to leave knowing full well you may never see them again. Fortunately though we come from such a great country and even this big family has promised to come visit, so hopefully one day we'll get to host them and witness them see their first wild African animal!

We are now 70km out of Montevideo sleeping in a forest hoping to tomorrow reach Punta del Este for lunch but we'll just have to see how it all pans out.


For those who don't know our story has made it into into the Buenos Aires Herald newspaper and the article can be read here.

You can see all the Argentina pics here and the Uruguay pics here.