day 360 - day off

buenos aires - day off
the tour continues under a new name.
so check out "the no records broken tour" blog
www.x-sound.at/nrb.html

day 353 – day off

buenos aires – day off

doing some extrem couching and updating blog / homepage….

day 352 – km 23059

colonia sacramento (uruguay) – buenos aires (argentina)

9,32km 45 alti meter

unbearable hot&humid during the night, so i didn´t sleep much and i had to get up at 4 o´clock anyway to catch the ferry to buenos aires (on the other side of the river)

day 351 – km 23049

colonia concordia – colonia sacramento

130,03km 744 alti meter

i survived one of the heaviest mosquito nights on this trip (while i was wondering how many mosquito-bites one person can take before dying or getting insane!?)

nice to meet julien&vladana (www.vladaju.fr) again, which i met 6 weeks ago on the carretera austral. (so i was not the only “loco gringo” riding a bike at 40°C)

day 350 – km 22919

tres bocas – colonia concordia

133,54km 649 alti meter

it didn´t cool down at all after the short heavy rainstorm, but i just love the smell of farm & grass land which gets so intense after a rain shower.

day 349 – km 22786

termas de guaviju – tres bocas

122,11km 671 alti meter

once again i have a long long lunch break… in which i got to see some of the friendly people and their habits…

besides 2 adults, 2 kids and groceries there is always space for the mate setup! even on a motorbike!?

streetlife

another “butterfly” i see along the road!?

day 348 – km 22664

rio arapay grande – termas de guaviju

117,66km 551 alti meter

i thought i will check a official campgound for a change. which was interesting in terms of meeting other people but not a good idea in terms of getting some sleep.

cultivated farmland of the area (wine,….)

it´s hot! dam hot! ;-) so instead of a sunburn i got blisters!?

day 347 – km 22546

bella union - rio arapay grande

86,39km 422 alti meter

2010 starts with a hot&humid day on the road. i try to adapt as good as i can and ride a little in the morning, have a extended lunch break and ride some more in the late afternoon.

waterpumps for the cultivation of the farmland

day 346 – km 22459

<25km barra do quarai (brazil) – bella union (uruguay)

38,89km 99 alti meters

i couldn´t get a exit stamp for brazil, because they don´t have that stamp at the border in barra do quarai!? (but they said it´s no problem) so i am standing in the long line infront of the only ATM in bella union where everyone seems to get ready for the party tonight (and i just look and wonder, as i don´t have a clue about the exchange rate for uruguayan money / prices…)

p.s. Man sagt, heute sei Neujahr. Punkt 24 Uhr sei die Grenze zwischen dem alten und dem neuen Jahr. Aber so einfach ist das nicht. Ob ein Jahr neu wird, liegt nicht am Kalender, nicht an der Uhr. Ob ein Jahr neu wird, liegt an uns. Ob wir es neu machen, ob wir neu anfangen zu denk...en, ob wir neu anfangen zu sprechen, ob wir neu anfangen zu leben. Johann Wilhelm Wilms

day 345 – km 22421

somewhere along the river uruguay (brazil) - <25km barra do quarai

120,63km 449 alti meter

on the carretera austral you just hold up you water bottle under the next waterfall, which comes up almost every couple hundert meters. here it is a totally different story and it´s a little more difficult to get the 10-12 liters!? i drink per day.

day 344 – km 22300

santo tome (argentina) – somewhere along the river uruguay (brazil)

139,33km 377 alti meter

i decided to try the brazilian / uruguayan side instead of the ruta 14 in argentina to avoid the heavy traffic there. nice farmland and not much traffic on this side so far, but the infrastructure with supplies is a little more difficult.

day 343 – km 22161

10km < cerro azul – santo tome

154,31km 874 alti meter

another hot & humid day on the road. the red dirt hills landscape flattens out slowly and the traffic gets more.

day 342 – km 22006

puerto iguazu – obera – 10km < cerro azul

45,96km 374 alti meter (300km in the car)

back on the bike again feels good, allthough it is so different from the cold & windy parries! hot, humid and lots of short steep climbs on this rolling hills.

day 341 – km 21956

puerto iguazu (argentina)  – paraguay & brasilian side of the itaipu dam - foz do iguazu (brasil) – puerto iguazu (argentina)

(100km in the car)

this dam is a quiet impressive project. not only the building itself, the ecological / economical impact on the area, the fact that it was realized in a time of 3 military regimes, the fact that paraguay uses only 7% of it´s 50% share on the “produced” energy (and has to convert the frequency to sell it back to brasil where it covers 20% of the “energy consumption”)

the waterfalls on the brasilian side are nice to see (as you get a good overview of the whole area), but it is more expensive the argentinian side and you are more in some sort of tourist machinery.

day 340 – km 21956

san ignacio mini – puerto iguazu

(250km in the car)

because of the holiday i could see the ruins for free. ;-) and checked out the amazing waterfalls of iguazu. (what makes it even more amazing is the rainforest surrounding jungle, butterflies in all sizes, shapes & colors, monkeys, iguanas, 2 cm ants, birds, fish,.... and of course hundrets of waterfalls!)

 

day 339 – km 21956

concordia – san ignacio mini

(600km in the car)

i passed some mate fields and checked out the jesuit ruins in loreto. the ruins in san ignacio were allready closed, so i stayed at hostel and witnessed a nice rainforest rainshower in the evening.

day 338 – km 21956

buenos aires – concordia

(500km in the car)

i met up with swen, kat and here cousin with family for dinner followed by some authentic tango dancing / music (which happens late in the evening…… very late in the evening….early in the morning….)

driving a car out of buenos aires is not much fun, as the traffic is quiet heavy. so i was allready thinking about alternatives for the way back, which i will do on the bike. (but the infrastructure is nice´, gasstations with free WIFI)

day 337 – day off

buenos aires – day off

i collected the other package which was sent here from cristian and kevin in la paz (bolivia) THX!

i found a good bikeshop, but the technician didn´t have much time. but they let me use their workshop under his supervision. THX!

old

new

back installed

new bearings for the front wheel

new bearings for the trailer wheel

old bottom bracket

new bottom bracket

day 336 – km 21927

algorroba – buenos aires

(750km in the car)

another long car ride in farmland, finally reaching buenos aires. (not to bad driving a car in the big city with a GPS) ;-) meeting up with kat´s uncle & cousin who were so friendly to receive my package.

day 335 – km 21956

puerto priamides / penisula valdez – algorroba

(900km in the car)

it´s quiet a detour but really nice to see and hear!?  sealions, pinguins….

darwin got really inspired when he visited this area and i have to say this parries have a real interesting fauna & flora, allthough it doesn´t look that way on the first sight.