Dave and his Bike

Days 190 to 193

Day 190.

Exploring Rosario.

My first impressions were correct – Rosario is a lovely city. My hotel is couple of kilometres from the centre of town, but a nice walk. With it being Saturday, the pedestrianised shopping streets were busy enough, but I walked through them to the Monumento Histórico Nacional a la Bandera – a monument to Manuel Belgrano who is largely considered to be the founding father of modern Argentina, and the designer of the national flag.

There are also several squares with gardens and monuments all over the city, making it a great place to walk around. 10km later I found myself back at the hotel needing a rest.

Monday is a public holiday here. It is the Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice – the anniversary of the military coup d’état in 1976, resulting in the disappearance of 30000 people. It’s not a day that is celebrated per se, more a day of reflection. I’ve cocked up a bit, because I need to change some dollars but nothing is happening until Tuesday in that respect. My bad planning and lack of local knowledge. I’ll survive.

The rest of my afternoon was spent relaxing and watching TV (in Spanish), and catching up with family on video calls. Then some pasta at the restaurant.

I am now stuck with a big dilemma. I think it’s partly fuelled by me being ‘travel weary’ – the novelty of the expedition has worn off, and logistical challenges are becoming more of a strain: The weather forecast is rain for the next four or five days, meaning that the dirt tracks are going to be either much harder work, or impassable. The roads are the same as before – narrow and busy, so not a great option (only road for the first 75km – no tracks available). In addition I now have the fear of my back wheel deteriorating even further, particularly on the non-tarmaced sections of whichever route I take.

So that leaves me with options of: continue towards Uruguay, fight with the traffic for the first day then hope that the tracks are passable; or, head towards Buenos Aires on more reliable roads with more accommodation options, then take the ferry (without the bike) to Uruguay for a couple of days. The landscape for both options is the same – flat and not particularly inspiring, so there’s nothing to sway the opinion in that respect. My heart says the first option, my head says the second.

I have another day to decide.

Day 191.

I slept well, apart from being woken by a thunderstorm in the middle of the night. When I got up this morning I stood in a good sized puddle on my bedroom floor, the rain having somehow got in around the window (it was closed). Housekeeping came with a mop, and didn’t seem too perturbed.

Breakfast was good again, followed by a lazy morning of watching the China F1 GP, which, like Premiership football, is freely available here. It was then time for a stroll around the city again. This time I headed north towards the river bank.

The Paraná River itself isn’t overly impressive, other than its size. It’s very wide and very brown. I also got a view of the bridge out of the city – not one that encouraged me to take that option to be honest. Obviously at some point there was a port here, as there are still the remains of some gantries and a well decorated silo. I’m not painting a very good picture really; it’s acts very pleasant parkland area and was being enjoyed by lots of people out for a Sunday run, or a family walk and picnic. In addition there was a craft and antique market going over a large area, which added to the lovely atmosphere.

I stopped off at a food stall for an Argentinian lunch of spicy empanadas – possibly the best I’ve had so far, and had a steady walk back to the hotel.

More deliberation about my route followed. Much research of Google street view and satellite images, distance calculations and accommodation options. If the Uruguay route had some hills or more interesting scenery then it would be an easy decision. It doesn’t, therefore it isn’t. I have booked an extra night at this hotel so that I can procrastinate some more. It also means I can sort out some currency on Tuesday morning.

Early evening consisted of International football on TV. Not my favourite, but it whiled away some time before I felt like venturing out for food. Whilst out walking earlier I had seen a bar/restaurant that looked worth a visit. It’s a bit further from the hotel, but worth the walk. At 2000hrs when I arrived I got a table without too much hassle (a couple of groups of 3 or 4 were waiting – the joys of solo travel). When I left an hour and a half later there were queues down the street. Good music playing, good food, buzzing atmosphere – great place, but probably better with company (solo travel again…).

The chicken curry had as much grated carrot as chicken, and wasn’t really (or at all) spicy. It was tasty though, and made a nice change.

Rain forecast all day tomorrow, so TV boredom in a hotel room will probably have to do. I will also actually have to make a decision on where I’m going next.

Day 192.

Another good sleep. I think the break here in Rosario is doing me some good. It had rained overnight and the sky was battleship grey, so it looks like the forecast is right. TV weather reports during breakfast showed it raining properly in Buenos Aires, so not much inspiration to walk far today.

Not long after breakfast the rain came again, heavily enough for me to be glad I wasn’t riding in it. So the morning was spent talking to Jane and wasting time surfing the internet, whilst avoiding thinking about routes and hotels – although a plan has sort of come together. Once the rain stopped (coincidentally at lunch time) I took the opportunity to walk to the nearest McDonald’s for some cheap (but not very healthy) calories. I did buy an apple on the way back.

More junk TV (England v Latvia), and a walk to the supermarket for a quiche (more cheap calories) just about sums up my afternoon and evening. The main road through town was again bustling in the early evening, particularly with middle aged women in Lycra shorts power walking in the hope that they will get fit. At least they are doing something.

I’m back on the bike tomorrow. Despite my indecision and recent lack of enthusiasm I am actually looking forward to riding again. My legs feel rested, my back is ok, and I think my ribs are just about sorted. It shouldn’t rain tomorrow – probably will the day after – so I’ll see how I get on with the gravel paths. I’m heading south towards Buenos Aires (at least that’s my current plan), after finding a currency exchange in the city.

I didn’t take any photos at all today.

Day 193.

I delayed setting off a little while, so that I could visit a currency exchange to swap some dollars for pesos when they opened at 0900hrs. Imagine my delight when I got there and they said they can’t exchange money until 1000hrs. Marvellous. I hung around until they saw fit to serve me, and took my bike in the bank. I was told I couldn’t do that, so I smiled and ignored the comment. They didn’t throw me (or my bike) out. To top it off I got a rubbish exchange rate.

Navigation out to the suburbs was relatively easy, and a reverse of the way in with the affluent centre gradually fading away to potholes, graffiti, ramshackle buildings, and Renault 12s (with the occasional tatty looking Peugeot 504). I managed to miss a turn whilst concentrating on the traffic (good excuse), but duly worked around it and got to the beginning of the gravel path after 15km. It had turned to mud. I sighed and turned back towards route 21. To be fair the road was actually ok. As the main dual carriageway follows a similar route there weren’t too many lorries on it, just lots of road works and traffic lights.

At around 30km I stopped for a petrol station coffee, then tried the track alongside the railway again. This time it was much better, and for the rest of the day I flipped between the road, tracks, cycle paths and footpaths with varying degrees of success. The wind had predictably moved round so that I had a headwind again, but it didn’t rain, and in the afternoon the sun came out.

Today was again not very photogenic, with just straight roads and tracks in my field of vision. Unfortunately I don’t think it will change before Buenos Aires.

I stopped for the day in Villa Constitución where there was a choice of hotels. I opted for the Hotel San Martin; cheap and cheerful, and centrally placed. After a shower and a bit of bike servicing (brake block check mostly), and a healthy dose of resting with my feet up, I ventured into town. Not much of a walk as I’m in the centre. It’s another town that seems almost abandoned on arrival, but comes alive at night. I love these places. I picked a bar that served food (cheaper than a bespoke restaurant), and the horrified look on the waitresses face when I said I don’t speak Spanish made me laugh. The grilled lemon chicken was really good, but when you dine alone you don’t spend much time in a restaurant without looking either really sad or very weird. I headed back to my room and watched the first half of the Argentina v Brazil local derby. It was enough to help me sleep.

Distance cycled so far: 9655km