3354 km Buenos Aires

A new milestone has been reached, so it's a good time for another update. After arriving in Salto I took a day of the road and enjoyed the thermal baths in Salto. It's nice to give the legs a little bit of rest sometimes. after a nice relaxing day in Salto however, it was time to get moving again.It seems the weather respect borders here in Latin America, because the moment I crossed into Uruguay it has stopped raining. It's been dry since I crossed the border. Uruguay has been a delight for cycling. The roads are of excellent quality and very quiet as well. Uruguay does not have a large population and most of the people that do live here, live in Montevideo. The landscape is actually fairly similar to the Netherlands, but just a lot less people and more nature and animals around you at all times. Lots of cattle, mostly cows and horses.

It took 5 days before I reached the capital. There I found a nice hostel and did some sightseeing. Montevideo has a nice boulevard along the Rio Plata and an interesting cathedral to see. Of course there are also squares with statues of important men on horseback. The squares are usually called, plaza mayor or plaza de revolution.  These statues seem to be mandatory in all South American towns. In Uruguay, the statues Are mostly of Gervasio Artigas, who established the Uruguayan independence from Spain. After a nice visit to Montevideo I headed to Colonia de Sacramento. An old colonial town and popular daytrip for Argentinians that like to get away from Buenos Aires busy life at times. From Colonia, Buenos Aires is just a small boatride over the Rio Plata away. 

So here I am now in Buenos Aires. I walked around the city a lot, since I always  feel you get a much better vibe of a city this way compared to taking, busses or metro's. I tend to not use the bicycle much in these situations, since I don't like to park it on the streets while going into musea or other sites worth seeing.

I went to Recoletta cemetery, the famous cemetery where the rich and famous of Buenos Aires have their graves. One of these is of course Evita Perron. I also visited the Casa Rosada, the parlement building and visitited a number of different areas which all have their own 'feel'. Boca, Palermo, San Miguel.... The  architecture here is quite impressive. It feels a little bit like a mix of Paris, Italy and the Victorian style you see in England. It's certainl a bustling and pretty city and I can imagine myself staying here longer. But as is the faith of a traveller, there is always more to see and do and there is more out there which needs to be discovered. Soon I will leave out of town and head West until I reach Mendoza. There I plan to enjoy myself with some nice steaks and Malbec wine. That's all still pretty far away though. Argentina is large and there is quite some cycling to do before I reach Mendoza. Pampa's here I come.....!!!

All the best and untill the next update.