There is not much to see on Ruta 3. It is the small detours a long the coast, that made our journey to Buenos Aires much more than just killing 3094 kilometers. Including the detours we probably did closer to 4000 kilometers. For us it was not about going as fast as possible towards Buenos Aires, but finding interesting detours and nice places to camp on our way. Using www.ioverlander.com we found this area with free camping at “Playas Doradas”.
Going for at walk on the beach at low tide
It is much more interesting gong for a walk on the beach at low tide, because there is much more to see on the beach. In this area we could walk on rock formations, that were covered with tiny mussels (left picture). We also found this fortified print of a giant seashell in the rock (right picture).
Close up photos from the beach and an armadillo, that was living in the sand dunes
Making dinner: steak, corns, twisted bread and beer
Before leaving Denmark we lived in a two bedroom apartment in the third biggest city in Denmark. We had been living there for 12 years, and it was time for a change. Living in a city you barely notice sunrise and sunset, because of all the artificial light. Since we started our travel we have seen so many beautiful sunrises and sunsets, but we never get tired of watching one more. The sunset and sunrise are different every time, and we enjoy every one of them.
Ryan and Camille also came to “Playas Doradas” in the Ford (upper picture), and together we headed towards Buenos Aires. Next great spot to camp was at “Laguna La Salada”. To our surprise the lake was occupied by flamingoes.
We found a great spot between some trees by the lake
The area with free camping covered most of the lake shore, and had disgusting pit toilets, but with fire pits and first row lake views. We bought 2.7 kilos of meat in the nearby town and grilled the whole afternoon and evening. As we go further north the days gets shorter and shorter, and the sun is setting around 7 pm.
Enjoying the fire
As we go further north the climate is also getting warmer, and it is really nice, that we can now wear shorts and t-shirt again during the day. The downside is all the flies we have to kill before gong to bed. In the southern part of Patagonia the climate was so cold, that there was almost no insects. Using a fly swapper and an electrical fly swapper it is a shared task to get the job done.
Grocery shopping is also a part of being on the road. We have two ways of doing it (1) going to a supermarket or (2) go to specialized stores like the butcher and a store with fruit and vegetables. Going to the supermarket is convenient, when we need more than meat, vegetables and fruit like toilet paper and toothpaste. At the same time the supermarket is also more expensive, so when we only need fresh produce we try to shop in the smaller specialized stores. While traveling in Patagonia we mainly shopped in the supermarket, because there was not that many smaller specialized stores.
The supermarket
As we have traveled north again the smaller specialized stores and the local markets are returning. We store fruit and vegetables in a plastic tub made for doing the dishes and little bit in our electric cooler (like lettuce and pepper fruit). We have on rule, don´t buy more than we have space for. If we buy to much, we are not able to eat it before it goes bad. As we travel further north is gets even more important, because as the temperature gets higher, the fruit and vegetables goes bad more easily.
Who doesn’t always have room for cake and ice cream? Here in Argentina you can buy cake by the weight, 220 pesos per kilo (11 USD or 66 DDK per kilo). Just saying that we got more cake for our money at a cake and ice cream store “Nilo” in San Antonio de Areco, than we did at the Welsh tea house, Ty Gwen in Gaiman. No problem eating this before is goes bad .
This day was just one of those days where we stopped in a small town to buy some fresh fruit, when we met Mona
Yes, Mona is a monkey. Usually, monkeys don’t live this far south, but in the most northern part of Argentina and across the border into Paraguay. Mona was owned by an elderly gentleman, who run a local restaurant. Mona was used to people, and she also knew what she wanted.
How to experience Buenos Aires? Well one thing was sure, that we didn’t wanted to live in our van in the middle of the big city with 15 million people. Together with Ryan and Camille, we decided to book an apartment in the San Telmo Area in Buenos Aires. Through Airbnb we found an apartment, that had two bedrooms with each their bathroom. We would share the kitchen and living room. The apartment also had a roof terrace with a BBQ and a 2 person hot tub. The price was 287 USD for 6 nights, and by sharing the apartment we would have to pay 24 USD per night.
We have started our count down for Buenos Aires
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