The farmlands of Uruguay

Nov. 9&10

(We are sitting in the insurance office in BA as I type this portion of the blog, I will post it later when I have i-net connection. We are in need of moto insurance and it will take a couple of hours to process the paperwork. Might as well utilize the downtime. Now what happened in the last 48hrs?)

After a rather unorganized start to the day we finally get out the door and onto the road. The route is quickly messed up by some sort of marathon that has the Rambla closed to traffic and we had to find an alternate route down residential streets. This also allowed us to re-visit the downtown area where we stayed in March. The weather is already quite hot and although it is only 10am it is already above 20C and rising quickly. We had decided to follow along Rte#1 to the north-west of MVD along the river/inlet but were surprised to find that the highway did not follow close enough to the river to see anything, instead we were granted ample opportunity to gaze at the rolling farmlands that flanked both sides of the road. This is considered one of the main routes to Argentina but there was very little traffic, maybe because it was Sunday??  At one point we got passed by a R1200GS motorbike and within a mile he got pulled over at a speed trap, I don’t think he would have been able to talk his way out of a ticket as he passed us like we were standing still. Yet another advantage to the smaller bikes; less temptation to speed.

Aside from that the route to Mercedes was uneventful and made for a good first day to evaluate the new luggage and rearrange a few items for convenience. Oh ya, there was a small cattle drive along the roadside that caused traffic to slow in case one of the cows had the urge to commit suicide. 

Mercedes has a nice feel to it, not too big or small, and a nice central park as well as a riverside rambla. The river had flooded and part of the shoreline was completely underwater and some streets closed off. According to the city map there is an island park in the middle of the river but we could only see tree tops and no land.

 We did find a nice little hotel with excellent covered parking, we were not the only Canadians staying at the hotel, as there was a young lady from Quebec who was cycling around Uruguay. Cycling is quite common so we were not surprised by this until the next morning when we were saying our goodbyes and seen her bike. It is one of those little folding models, not exactly the greatest touring bike with the little tires but she said it was fast enough and could be packed on a bus if needed much easier than a full sized road bike.  When we left town we passed her about 5 miles out, she seemed to be making good time.

This portion of Uruguay is very different than the coastal area East of MVD, here there is only farmland and there it is all sand.

Today would also mark our first entrance into Argentina on this trip. We chose the bridge crossing at Frey Bentos as the best option as we would not have to wait for a ferry and/or make a large loop to the North and then back South to Buenos Aires. We really don’t want to go into BA but I need a new windshield for my bike (remember the duct tape since Bolivia) and the dealer is in BA. So after a short wait at an otherwise easy border crossing we are back on the move and now in Argentina. The scenery stays the same most of the way to BA, with the exception of more water, swamps and boggs. But with more water comes more large bridges which break up the monotony of the otherwise boring ride. I did manage to find one dirt route that shaved about 20km off route, and it was nice to see the reaction of the locals as we passed by. Pretty sure this was not the usual route for gringos on motos, and cutting through the meridian when we rejoined the divided highway was fun as well.

The fun turned into a long relatively straight road south into BA, the bike shop is on the North-ish side of the city so we do not actually need to go into the downtown area. Finding the shop was a little tricky even with the address punched into the GPS. It turns out they do not have a sign out front and the place looks like a residence and not a store.

After talking with Ricardo, the owner of W&N Curtains (their term for windscreens) he informs us that the Argentine folks have no problems finding his business, but then they are familiar with the system. He quickly installs a new windshield on Brenda’s bike and I put Brenda’s old one on mine. The new one is transparent and Brenda likes being able to see through it. I generally look over the top so the black one is fine for me. Ricardo says they make screens for every type of motorcycle made and after looking in his shop I think he correct. There are stacks of windshields and barrels of hardware waiting to be sent out around the world. I have bought 4 screens from him so far, not including the one he just installed, that one was a gift from him. Wow, this is awesome, free stuff. He is glad that we like his products and I suppose the kind nature of the Argentine people is starting to show.

Now that we have that sorted out, it is time to find a hotel, it is also raining now. We make our way to a hotel identified by the GPS, it turns out top be a romance hotel with hourly rates. A little early in the trip to experience the joy of one of these establishments. Beside the love hotel is and Auto-Bar, it is still raining quite heavily so we decide to stop for a coffee and figure out where to go next. The bartender is helpful in providing directions to a hotel and the waiter buys us a coffee as we wait for the rain to pass. We sit outside on the covered patio and enjoy our coffee while watching the goings on at the Auto-Bar. This place is the same as the love hotel except your car is the hotel. The waiter brings food and drink to the vehicle like at A&W, and the patrons make out in the privacy of their car. All kinds of entrepreneurs down here. We decide to have a bite to eat and then all we have to do is find a hotel after the rain passes, the food is excellent and we enjoy a few laughs with the waiter.

Yay, the rain has stopped and we can make our way to the hotel, the first one we stopped at was another romance hotel. Who is the programmer at Garmin? As we sit in the entrance and figure out how to get to the next place the receptionist come out and tells us to move off the entrance. I ask her where is another hotel in the area and this starts a comical exchange that ends with the receptionist and one of the girls for hire taking pictures with us.

You just never know what is going to happen next. We find the next hotel, a dump, and then the next which turns out to be suffice but not cheap at $50USD, in Canada you would not stay at a place like this. We have and expectation to pay under $30 for hotels, maybe we have to adjust that amount up a bit for Argentina. This also explains why many bike travellers tent in Argentina and Chile.

South America Round 2. We are in the wind!!...Almost.

Nov 7-8.

The last couple of days have been a blur. We made it to Montevideo as scheduled with a 2am arrival, this made it difficult to book a hotel for the night so we waited in the airport until around 8am when we jumped in a cab and made our way to our hotel, well Bed&Breakfast to be precise. The name of the place is Una Noche Mas (One Night More). At first we thought “oh boy, what did we pay for this time”, mostly due to the pungent aroma in the downstairs hallway, but after entering the main area of the B&B we were pleasantly surprised by an eclectically decorated, five bedroom two storey house.

The manager Eduardo said it was built in 1927, the only remaining original interior feature is the very narrow stairway to the second floor where our room is. By narrow I mean 12” across and steep, watch your head for the concrete beam that looks like it has claimed a few scalps over the years.

 Our room is barely larger than the queen size bed but is adjacent to a nice kitchen/dining area and rooftop patio and lots of windows with views of the city skyline. Oh ya, our room is octagonal in shape, Eduardo said it is supposed to be lucky or help you get lucky, my Spanish is not very good.

So after a quick nap, we decide we should get to Willi Motos and see if our bikes are still in one piece. It is a gorgeous day (25C) so we decide to walk and see some sights along the way,

 Children painting the wall of their school.

Wind chime art piece made of pop bottle bottoms.

it looks relatively close on the map and after an hour of walking we were looking at our bikes parked in Willi’s secured front lot. We look at each other and just smile, nothing to be said. We had been told that one bike would not start and the other had a flat front tire so a bit of wrenching will be needed before we can ride off into the sunset. We try to chat with Willi,but he speaks very little English and very fast Spanish. Oh how I miss charades. There are the usual topics like where and how long this trip will be, and the giving of gifts. Willi really likes Maple Syrup, something that a fellow Canadian got him hooked on, I also gave him a Harley Davidson t-shirt, something else he is fond of.

 He has a mid 80’s softail and another HD that he installed a V-8 engine into (can be seen in the background of photo above), both proudly displayed in his cramped showroom. Because we walked we did not have any tools or parts with us to start the repair process, I did manage to borrow a couple of tools and checked the air filters that I forgot to clean before we left in March. All clean upon inspection so no need to do anything yet. Next was the issue of my bike not starting, as you may remember I have had an electrical ghost in my bike for some time now so I am not surprise that it is my bike that won’t start. I remove the battery and put it on the charger for an hour or so, 2.3V, yup it is the battery. Senior Willi donde es bateria vendor? After a rapid fire answer that sounded like a one long word I gave him the deer in the headlights look, he then drew a map indicating there is a store 3 blocks down the street towards the water. Precio? $86USD. Wow not bad for a battery, I paid over $200 for the one that I bought in Calgary. Never heard of a Record battery though, I guess the main thing is it fits and the bike started right up. Well that is enough for day one and we take a quick inventory of what else needs to be done then head back to the B&B. Jet lag gets the best of us by the time we have a bite to eat, shower and get into bed, 10pm lights out.

I wake to the sound of my travel alarm clock. WTF? It is 5:30am, I guess I messed up when I adjusted the time and accidentally turned on the alarm. The next time I wake up it is to the smell of fresh coffee, ahhh that is better and so is the 7am time. The breakfast is basic, coffee/toast/apples and an assortment of jams plus dulce de leche (carmelized condensed milk), we both manage to refrain from having any dulce as it is too early in the trip to fall off the wagon.  We enjoy the strong coffee and conversation with our hostess Carla as she explains some of the art pieces in the dining lounge.

 No extra time to relax today, there is bike fixin’ to do. With that we fill a small taxi/race car with all our stuff, I mean all of it. The plan is to finish the bike prep then load them with all the travel stuff and leave all the extras at Willi’s. This has to be done today as he is closed on Sundays. Let’s see Brenda wants better heated grips, Rox risers installed on the handlebars to make standing more comfortable which also requires longer brake lines which means bleeding the brakes( ugh), and last but not least change both sets of tires so we can start with fresh rubber.  During all this we get to meet various customers that stroll into the shop and are wondering who the new mechanic is. Willi explains which leads to a few questions and comments directed our way. We meet Ernesto, who is the fella that owns the storage lot where the bikes are kept, he is very nice and buys us some lunch from the store next door.

 It also provided us with the opportunity to take the rear tire to the local tire shop for replacement, quite handy that there is one two blocks up the street away from the water, no map needed this time. $3 and 10 minutes to flip the rubber, it would cost $50 and take 3 days at home, unless you book in advance, then it only takes one day.  

Wow, 4pm already, well Brenda has been waiting patiently all day for her bike so she can load up her luggage. This year we got some new gear from Altrider so this is the maiden voyage. Maybe not the smartest thing to do but the gear look pretty damn good and the functionality should be second only to the big heavy aluminum cases we had on the 800’s when we did Central America. Stay tuned for more updates as we test them in real life situations. I quickly switch out the bikes in the shop and let her get at it. Meanwhile I too wanted Rox Risers and needed new tires, unfortunately I underestimated the length of my existing brake line and did not bring a longer one. The brake line is not long enough to accommodate the extra 2” of lift and thus I will have to wait until next year. The good news is that saved me at least an hour, now all I have to do is the tires. Rear tire back down the street, $3 thank you thank you, back on in less than hour. Front tire off and I will have to switch the rubber as the tire shop has two cars in line and closes at 5pm. No problem, the fronts are way easier to change than the rears and by 5:30 I have the front back on the bike. Now just throw all the luggage at it and get out of here so Willi can go home, which we have learned is upstairs. 6:30 not bad at all. Back to the B&B then down the street to the secure parkade, as I shower Brenda washes my clothes as they got very dirty in the shop today. Good trade, clean pants for and enjoyable afternoon working on the bikes. Tomorrow, we are in the wind.