Blubbery and bubbly creatures

Dear future me,

As the Patagonian gods had less and less grip on me while I was dancing my way up north, they found another tactic to keep me busy. They brought in the power of other weather divinities to target my weakest spot. By reading all my other blogs, you should know what that is: the heat! It felt like a punishment, although it did suit the environment that I was exploring. The Atlantic coast of Argentina is covered with steep and dramatic cliffs and beautiful beaches. After I left the marina wildlife reserve of Peninsula Valdes behind me, I also discovered that those animals regard the whole coast as their territory. So they don’t stick to reserves or protected areas. I also started to divers my attention from ruta 3, the main highway coming from Ushuaia and heading to Buenos Aires. Instead I started to take alternative roads that got me closer to the coastline and gave me more distraction than riding straight ahead on a paved road in the simmering sun.

My first piece of action was a nice off-road known as the Camino de la Costa. Seeing the ocean with its intense blue color and the wild and wide beaches is one thing. To compete with the sand dunes over what actually should be a road, is another thing. After I left the sandy community of Bahia Creek the dunes started to cross the road, only to stop in the middle to have a nice sleep. Concurring those sandy parts kept me quite busy, but I got rewarded by visiting Punta Bermeja, which keeps the largest population of South American Sea Lions. It is not the sheer amount of huge blubbery animals you see lying around, but the bubbly (cheerful) spirits they audibly show. The kids sound like little lambs and the bigger males are truck drivers using their horn to let everybody know that they are there. After this show, I found my little haven in a little town called El Condor to rest for a while and, (not so) voluntary, serve as dinner for the many mosquitoes on the beach. This was also my last station in Patagonia, as when I continued north the interesting pampa changed into very boring agriculture country. As if someone in prehistoric times draw a straight line to mark where Patagonia should end and where ‘civilization’ should start, so sudden was the change. From there on the heat started to accumulate, and my suffering ditto.

Via Bahia Blanca I started to follow ruta 11 along the coast of province Buenos Aires. This is where the Argentineans escape the big city to enjoy their holidays on the beach. By sheer chance I decided to go to a place called Necochea, because the famous Mar del Plata was just too far for a day ride from Bahia Blanca. Fighting the heat, I decided to stroll along the beach, trying to find empty spots to walk along the shore. That proved to be a challenge as Argentineans in the weekend overpopulated the beach with huge groups of families enjoying the sun, sea and their mate. I tried to walk over to the pier, but that took me more than 2 hours. Okay, I was a little side tracked when in between the lovely human bodies in tango slips, I found a large group of sea lions in the middle of the beach. Apparently for the Argentineans a very normal thing, but I was flabbergasted. The highlight of the spectacle however, turned out to be the pier itself. Thousands of sea lions use the pier to mirror the behavior of the people on the beach. Except they are all males and I couldn’t discover any sea lion drinking mate. But the rest was identical. And to top it off, the background was decorated by the dramatic panorama of a factory bathing in lights, as the sun already left this side of the earth. Wow!

My last stops before I would hit the big town of BA, helped me to slow down and embrace the fact that the temperature is mend for walking around on your flip flops and not on your motor boots. So I spend some nice days in Villa Gesell, the ideal place to lay back and enjoy life, in a beautiful little house in between the big expensive hotels near the beach. This whole town is set up to let you enjoy the summer, so the spirits here are marvelous. And the lady who owned the accommodation I stayed in, turned out to be a cook in an authentic Italian restaurant. So yes, life is really very tough down here. Feeling so blissful, I was ready to hit Buenos Aires and found that, despite the warnings, nobody was trying to rob me while entering the city center. With my motorcycle safely parked in a hotel, I tested my feet and legs in the last few days. As my family back home report that they all are crippled by injuries, this Nennie walks like a “Hinde”. I need to, because it is a large city with impressive buildings, coffee bars, mechanics with shops at an hour from where I stay and a beautiful boulevard. The only thing that slows me down is the 37 degrees Celsius that feels like a blanket. But hey who is complaining when it was snowing in Holland at the same time. Plus it is ideal weather to watch the tango from behind a pint of beer in an outdoor café. Unfortunately, I do notice that being in a city overwhelms me too much and I’m happy to leave again tomorrow. From here I turn back to the west of Argentina to follow ruta 40 up north. Ehhh, o no, I’m heading east to explore Uruguay with some friends who just arrived in Montevideo. Like the sudden change in landscape when I left Patagonia, I’m changing my plans in a heartbeat. Just to pick up my journey to the west later, as I still have 3 months on the clock and no pre-arranged finish line. That is freedom and I like it!

See ya later,

Annemieke