13-15/4/2014 Apóstoles to El Progreso

13/4/2014 Apóstoles to Caá- Yarí

D88, t5, Av 18.70, Max57 1177, 26,674

Fine crystal clear day about 22° no wind

In a cell at the Caá- Yarí Police station

Arising early but falling back sleep, breakfast was in the dining area about 0830.

The owner kindly changed some US dollars for me.

Whilst in Apóstoles, I went to the Freestyle Bike Shop bike shop at number 4 mitre, here Christian the owner cleaned all the gears and derailleur . All the sandy roads south of here had taken their toll on its ability to work smoothly. He also loosened the ring that holds the cassette on. This way if a spoke on that side fails I can remove the cassette without the special locking tool.

Kristian really knew what he was doing. If you need repairs here, he is the guy to see. T: (035758)423068 E: Kristianbarroni@hotmail.com.ar

Riding away from the shop everything felt a lot smoother.

The Casa de Mate was visited, here were displays relating to the history of cultivation of the plant.

As soon as I rode from the motel it was great to have the gears changing oh so smoothly again. Importantly the grinding noise had gone.

The day was a perfect autumn day after 2 days of rain, everything was crisp and fresh.

Fruit was bought on the way out of town .

It was such a buzz to be in rolling lush hill country, mate plantations were on both sides of the road for some way.

I stopped to take a closer look. They harvest them very heavily.

The road was free of trucks most of the time.

A good shoulder was present though occupied by judder bars at an angle. I had to concentrate on these, riding over them occasionally was annoying.

I couldn’t believe how pleasurable the riding was. The temperature was about 22 degrees and the scenery was so interesting.

That of hills, natural forest, mixed with farming activities. It was great to be rolling down some decent descents for a change.

There was no wind.

Coming up to a small chapel off the road, I pulled in for lunch.

It was great, running water, shade and a peaceful feeling about it.

Here coffee and crackers with salami, onion and tomato were enjoyed.

These places, quite common here in South America and especially Argentina are for people to come and pray for safe passage on the roads. Each has a patron saint.

People there during my lunch break lit candles and placed them through the grill to burn

The road from here was similar with some good downhill runs todays max speed indicates this.

Arriving at the outskirts of Leandro N Alem, time was spent in the gas station drinking milk and using their wifi.

From there, I went into the town centre to get access to Ruta 225, a secondary road to San Martin.

It took a few questions to find this unmarked country road.

Once on it the riding just got better, it was late afternoon with the sun low in the sky, it was just a perfect temperature.

Probably about 10km on this road another cyclist passed me going the other way.

Soon he was, unbeknown to me, alongside, riding in my direction.

Mario was a bit younger than I, he accompanied me chatting till we got to Caá- Yarí, he had asked me to stay at his house back in town, I kindly turned down his offer.

In the small village he asked the local police if I could camp out the back of the station.

They said there would be new officers on duty later.

I was setting up out the back under a roof by a huge asado.

Two officers who I had not seen in the station came out to see me and told me to pack up and come with them

The next thing I know, I was locked in a cell, they used handcuffs to lock the latch.

I could not believe they were serious, they were! I followed them from the cell that was closed but not locked, he went to the car and got handcuffs and used them to locked me in the cell.
Interestingly they were made in Argentina and had a brand name, "Alcatraz"

I stayed calm, as ranting and raving could have easily turned this situation into something even worse .

They frisked me for weapons, took my ID and took my hand woven belt from Peru that I was wearing.

Presumably, I looked like I might hang myself.

So here I was, locked up in a cell. Mario had bought me here and I end up getting locked up, if only he knew.

They told me I had to stay in the cell till their boss came in the morning.

I was just left there at the back of their office in the cell block.

Calling out to them a couple of times to explain the situation, get water and use the toilet. They came and tried to explain .

I kind of got the drift .

They were using a bunch of words outside my vocab

It turned out that at a small Kiosko on the road 15 km back where I had stopped the woman there reported my stopping there.

Someone had attacked a woman with a machete on a bicycle.

They were holding me on that account.

They told me they were going to hold me till they had made some phone calls.

I kept explaining I was just a cyclist and had pulled in there for a coke but she had none and I spoke to her son on the way out, putting music on as I left.

They bought me bread and let me out to use the loo.

I asked them to write down the problem as I would be able to understand better.

Come 2000, they came and saw me and surprisingly said all was good, they filled my pot with hot water for mate and we started chatting.

They had sorted out the machete issue.

Some phone calls had been made.

The cell was unlocked. I got all my gear and put it in with me.

I gave them one of my cards so they could see my blog.

So after two hours of not really knowing what was going on, all was good .

I had great shelter for the night, as safe as could be.

Though the guys, said I had to be out of here at 0530 before their boss arrived to work.

I dared not ask why!!.

As said you just never know where the day will take you.

The day started out perfectly and it has finished up perfectly.

Thanks to the mixed hospitality of the local constabulary at Caá- Yarí.

14/4/2013 Caá- Yarí. To Sth of Santo Rita

D75, T5, Av 15.13, Max 58, 1252, Tot 26,749

Cool clear day

Camping on the Rio Uruguay

I had set the alarm for 0500 and was up not long after it sounded.

I had to sleep with my raincoat on, as it was so damn cold even inside.

My tropical sleeping bag is not much more than a couple of sheets.

I woke the guys up at 0600 and headed off.

The boss shook my hand and wished me well. It was still pitch black and quite chilly. In the end I guess they were just doing ther

I had longs and shoes on with my raincoat.

Both lights on the bike were used.

Lots of people were on the roadside in the dark waiting for buses to get them to work I guessed.

Soon at the intersection.

The road got busy and very hilly. I soon arrived at Oberá, here I had coffee and sandwhiches as only an orange had been eaten before leaving the police station.

I was not keen to hang around there any longer.

Bread and other things were also bought in town.

From here it was a pleasant cruise in the cool air.

It was so cold last night as I had ridden from 70m to over 200m, Oberá was at 300m so it was quite cool.

Just out of town there was a lot of English tea being grown in near blocks with narrow alley ways for the wheels of the mechanical harvesters.

I stopped and chatted with some guys that were loading freshly harvested leave into a truck.

School children were lined up and walking the road. The scenery was a great mix of many rural activities including sawmills, Yerba, tea, forests, animals and small rural holdings.

Come 1400, I descended rapidly to Panambí on the banks of the River Uruguay, at the ferry, was my first glimpse of Brazil across the flood swollen brown river.

It was huge, Almost a kilometre wide.

At a little kiosko nearby some Pepsi was drunk whilst trying to work out my internet plan on my Samsung with a couple of young girls.

You need kids around to get these things working. It is second nature to them.

From here, I took Ruta 225 along the river. It had great scenery , always following the river.

An early stop was needed.

So about 1500 it was time to look for a camp.

Most accessible areas to the river were on private land. One farmer was asked, if I could camp on his property, he said no.

Riding on, coming up to bridge, there was a crude boat ramp near it into a tributary, the Ramon Arroyo. I pulled in and inspected this.

A rough muddy track lead to the point where the rivers met, it was perfect.

All my energy was consumed to manhandle the bike half laden into the campsite.

It was idyllic, a grassy area looking up river and across to Brazil. An early dinner was had with many drinks of coffee, milo and mate.

I’m writing this in the early evening .

It would be so nice to have a hassle free night camping here in Northern Argentina.

A near full moon rose above the ranges in Brazil and cast its beam across the huge timber carrying River Uruguay.

The riding is getting more interesting as I get further north. Presently a route from a magazine article for cyclists is being followed.

15/4/2014 Arroyo Ramon to El Progreso

D76, T9, Av17, Max 63, 1327, Tot 26,824

Perfect day, no wind about 25°

Camping at Christian Assembly church

The night was hassle free except for a dog rummaging around at some ungodly hour. Some firm words saw him scarper.

The early morning was shrouded in heavy fog. Everything was damp.

Surprisingly the river had receded at least a metre over night. People told me it rises and recedes very rapidly.

It was a fair effort to get things back out of here. I wonder how I ever got the loaded bike in. A keen desire to rest !!

A few trips saw everything together at the gravel boat ramp.

Again I had to sleep in my raincoat, it was quite cool.

Once on the road the fog started to lift.

A beautiful autumn day was in the making .

The road was such a pleasure. All sorts of rural activities again only more now. Many people growing what they eat.

Yesterday I saw signs up warning about dengue, so I am back in the danger zone again.

A common sight is Brahman cattle tethered on the side of the road grazing.

Lunch was had in a cafe in Sana Rita, here the tent was strung out to dry.

The river views along this road are fantastic, it is such a huge river with quite large islands mid water at places.

The perfect natural boundary for Brazil and Argentina.

There were now some reasonable climbs though a good descent always awaited at the top.

Mandioca is now a common crop, it is like yucca, boiled and eaten with meat.

At the turnoff to Pt Aurora, I stopped at the local mini market, had yoghurt and spent time here chatting with the family that owned the business.

On the way into Santa Rita there was a police road block.

Here I stopped and talked at length with the officers. They gave me some good local knowledge about locals here.

They also said there are no crocs in AR, though a smaller species of caiman is present in lagoons. The river is apparently free of the predatory reptiles.

After the minimarket and now carrying a full water bladder and a 1.5 litre bottle of water, the need for a camp was on the agenda.

A keen eye was kept out. Most places were occupied by houses.

There were many small holdings here.

Coming to Colonia el Progreso I stopped and asked a guy building a new gas station if i could camp out the back. I spotted a church next door and headed in there. In the house at the back the owner and caretaker said it was fine.

It was a great spot, a big common area out the back had a roof.

Great, no wet tent in the morning.

I helped him carry a few bags into his piggery.

In here was the largest pregnant sow i have ever seen.

She was like a queen be.

Nothing more than a reproduction machine, she was in a straw filled pen just filling in the days till the 16 or sow babies arrived in a month and 10 days he told me.

I said goodnight and headed back to my spot for the night.

It was great to be under shelter.

All will be dry in the morning. I hope.

I have to say South America is the continent of dogs.

They are everywhere, as I go to bed there are dozens of them barking in this pueblito.

You tend to get used to it. Just like the roosters crowing in the morning. That is any time from just after midnight onwards!

Argentina truly is a diverse country, from the Andes to deserts, to the deep south, glaciers still shaping young mountain valleys, the pampas, the rich hinterland and now this lush tropical world. It will only get lusher as I progress north.