September 4-7, 2017
Overview
Renee had to go to Buenos Aires for work and Tim was invited to come too, so we decided to fly there early and do a short bike tour. We didn’t really have a plan. We just looked at Google Maps quick to find a city accessible by bus from Buenos Aires that was a reasonable distance away. We ended up biking 250 miles in four days from Rosario to Buenos Aires. The terrain was flat with lots of farmland. We saw many beautiful birds. There was lots of traffic on the main roads, so we ended up sticking to gravel roads. We passed through tiny towns that were not accustomed to seeing tourists like us. It was tons of fun, and everyone we met was really nice.
Day 1: Rosario to Seargent Cabral
Flat & windy today! We made it to the town of Seargent Cabral right as the sun was setting and realized there were no places to stay for miles around. We talked to some people at the gas station, and they talked to some people, and we ended up pitching our tent in the town park next to the soccer field. We were in our tent after dark drifting off to sleep when a bunch of mopeds pulled up next to our tent… Soccer practice!
Day 2: Seargento Cabral to Salto
It was a cold morning to start today. We went in search of coffee. The small town we were staying in had no coffee shops. In the next small town a woman invited us into her house and served us coffee after we asked her for directions to a coffee shop, which her town didn’t have either. We have met so many nice people in Argentina! We biked on a lot of dirt roads, past farm fields, and through small towns. We ended the day in the larger town of Salto, where we spent the night in a hotel.
Day 3: Salto to Luján
More wind today! Also more farmland and more cattle. We ended the day just outside of the city of Luján at a campground. We were the only people there, but they were getting set up for some groups that were coming over the weekend. We grilled pizza for dinner at the campsite while enjoying a bottle of wine.
Day 4: Luján to Buenos Aires
This morning we biked through the city of Luján and enjoyed a coffee with a view of a large neo-gothic Basilica. The church was built in honor of the Virgin of
Luján, the patron saint of Argentina. We have seen numerous virgin statues on our tour so far. We spent most of the day biking through the sprawl of Buenos Aires. It was neat to see the change from farmland to big city.
