Two Fathoms Deep

But what I don’t love is when I can’t get on the internet in an establishment that promises Wi-Fi…  Third night in a row!  I should be FedEx-ing these in.

I’m staying in a place called Hostel Viedma in…  Viedma, Argentina.  The bathrooms are much better than last night (not pictured out of consideration for Dear Reader), even though the toilet is essentially in the “shower stall.”  I just had an epic buffet after another epic drive today (about 12 hours).  We’ll be staying here one more night, and the following day should entail a much shorter driving time to Puerto Madryn.  I’m very excited about that, as well as the fact that I know where we’ll be for the next few days.

Today marks the second time that I left my iPod behind, but it keeps finding its way back to me.  Perhaps next time I should put it in a bag and throw it into the river.

If the U.S. government ever invites me to find somewhere else to live, I may look into San Miguel, Argentina.  It didn’t look like much last night, but after driving around in the Centro area, I was incredibly impressed.  Beautiful Spanish architecture along perfect little streets with inviting shops and generally appealing citizens…  It makes me wish I were spending more time in little Argentinean towns instead of just driving through them. 

I can’t believe how straight some of these roads in Argentina are.  Mile after mile of a razor’s edge.  The monotony is unbelievable.  At least the roads were significantly better today.  Even the unfinished portions were exponential improvements over Route 6(66). 

We waited in line for over half an hour to buy gas today in Azul, Argentina.  We were told it’s because they were running out of gas farther west, but a quick drive through the town revealed that it’s because gas was a full peso less there than at other local stations.  The line was outrageous, but I didn’t mind since it was my turn to pay.  Funny how we couldn’t find an open restaurant in a town of that size…  it was well after siesta.

Far fewer policia today, and faced what was probably the last of the toll roads until the return trip.  However, we were stopped twice for vigilancia sanitaria.    

And if you have to choose between a hole in the floor and refilling your own toilet…   why not just use the side of the road instead?