Bikes..... 3 days after .
Woke early and got a taxi back to the 'Express' office where we handed over our sheet of paper. To our relief he disappeared around the back and wheeled our bikes (not Barbie bikes) over piles of boxes, with no concern for their contents. We took them off him and lifted them over, checking for damage….they had been knocked about quite a bit but were still in one piece. We were too relieved to complain about the service (3 days to bus 2 bikes 900km) and even said ‘Thank you’ before we realized what we were saying! We dashed across to the bus station to book the 12.00 bus but were told the last tickets had gone and we would have a 9 hour wait until the next at 6.00! We put our bags in a storage cupboard and rode into town. It hadn’t improved much since the night before and a seriously strong wind had suddenly developed which blasted little rocks, grit and large cardboard boxes into our faces. We looked a right pair…John with his seat fully lowered (no quick release.....tools within the holdalls somewhere) and me with a bent mudguard which made it sound like a moped! The low saddle was a blessing for John as he used his legs to scoot safely along when the bigger gusts blasted across and forced me to stop. Hair full of grit and cardboard we arrived at a Café in town and lashed our bikes outside with bungies to stop them blowing away. We sat in the window watching plastic bags, boxes and at one point, a small child, blow down the street. Our bikes shook and vibrated but didn’t blow away. We spent the day drinking coffee very slowly and sitting in a lovely green plaza packed with low trees which made an excellent wind baffle. The noise of the wind through over head cables and street furniture was quite scarey at times……a sort of high pitched shrieking/howling with the occasional deeper rumble as it forced its way through the trees. Our skin, hair and eyes were impregnated with dust and grit and when we closed our teeth together they would crunch. We looked at each other with horror as we suddenly realized it would probably be a lot worse in the mountains. It could be a case of leaving them somewhere and walking for 2 weeks instead…once bitten, twice scaredy cats! The cycle back involved a bit of tacking into the wind but we got back in time for more coffee! The bus arrived on time, the driver was very nice and lashed the bikes inside himself! Although it was a single decker, the bus was still pushed around in the wind…the landscape of the Pampas is relentlessly flat so distant objects that stick up become objects of intense fascination until you realize it’s a particularly tall shrub or a road sign on one of the few bends in the road ahead!! We arrived ½ hour late and in the half light unpacked our holdalls and attached our panniers for the cycle to the campsite. The reception and restaurant was still open so we put the tent up and (when in Rome) ate a meal at midnight.
Another Eva statue
