For the most part most of the driving was very similar to
driving through the Black Hills of South Dakota. The nearer I got to the Paso Mamuil
Malal 3960 Feet / 1207 Meters the more visible Volcano Lanin became. It’s a
snow capped mountain that’s 12,231 Feet / 3728 Meters tall and has not been
active allegedly in the last 10,000 years. I will leave the rest of that
statement up to scientists to sort out. I took several pictures of the mountain
as I neared the border, the last when I arrived at the border and some border
pictures.
I drove up to the actual border and took some pictures. They
actually had a real border marker. I took some selfies of me on each side of
the border. They look kind of goofy. So, I took selfies with my glasses on and
off. The pictures still looked goofy. I finished up with my picture taking and
a guy rolls up on his Suzuki DR400. A young lad, I could tell by looking at his
face. I introduced myself and told him I was from the U.S.A. He said he was
from Israeli and his name was Noam. We shook hands. He asked if I was going to
Chile or Argentina? I told him I was going into Argentina and on down to
Ushuaia.
He was riding into Chile with intentions of ending his ride in Prudhoe
Bay, Alaska. I had to smile and told him to keep up the good work. We talked
about our motorcycles and he said if he could find one he would like to
purchase a Kawasaki KLR650. He had heard they come with a good reputation. I
finally asked him how old he was and he said he was 23 years old. When I was 23
years old I was still in the Air Force and was only thinking about
Harley-Davidsons. I had never heard of riding motorcycles in foreign countries
and here is this kid riding around in the Americas like it was his back yard.
He said he needed a new front tire and he sure did. I could see the chords /
canvas showing through his tread. He said he was going to change tires in
Santiago, Chile. I gave him a telephone number and name of a guy I met in a gas
station who lives in Santiago who might be able to help him out. I forgot to
tell him he speaks good English and I forgot to take his picture. Blasted.
Anyway, we separated ways and he headed into Chile and I into Argentina.
I continued on to the Argentine Border. I took some more
pictures of the Volcano Lanin and some border signs. I grabbed my paperwork and
headed inside. I entered the wrong door for Immigration and everybody knew it.
Anyway, Immigration requested my passport and my Carnet. I told them I didn’t
have a Carnet de Passages en Douane and the whole
place blew up. After the ruckus subsided I realized they wanted the title of my
motorcycle. Maybe that’s the word used in Argentina for the title of your
vehicle. I don’t know. I believe Carnet de Passages en Douane is a French name
for a complete list of all the belongings you have on your motorcycle and the
motorcycle itself. It’s used by Customs and Immigration. It basically says that
when you leave the country, everything you entered the country with will leave
the country with you. You can’t sell your motorcycle or anything else like
cameras, tools and computers. You can be fined severely for that wrongdoing. It
cuts the paperwork to a minimum and also allows you to get through Customs and
Immigration much faster. That’s what I was thinking when they asked for a
Carne. Anyway, we all survived that and my passport was stamped and my title
returned. The passport lady folded up my title, which ticked me off. You can’t
fold and unfold the title without wearing out the title. I asked her not to,
and all she thought was “you dumb American.”
I went over to Custom / Aduana and they typed up my Motorcycle
Ingress Paperwork. That all went smoothly. I got copies in case the police
asked for paperwork on the motorcycle and I was good to go. Guess what? The customs guy folded up my title just like
the immigration lady did. I was glowing in the dark. All through Mexico,
Central America and South America no one ever folded up my title. It’s not a
big thing but I don’t like it.
I was cleared out of the border and continued on down the
road. The road out of the park was gravel and washboard for 6 Miles / 10
Kilometers. It about rattled my teeth out. Once out of the park I was back on
black top or pavement again. Yeah. I wanted to drive to San Carlos de Bariloche
today but that was not happening so I will stop in Junin de Los Andes.
The hotel I found is my kind of a hotel. Motorcycle is at the front door, no stairs, no elevators, no security, no computer run reception, no parking ramps, clean and cheap. It’s a really nice place and the bathroom even has a bidet. Look it up. I got checked in and my motorbike unloaded. It still is a novelty to see green grass and trees and this place is all green. I decided to walk in the back yard and check the place out. I see they have water running into two small water troughs. So, they must have critters running around. I have seen a rabbit. They also have stick in each trough in case a critter falls in that he / she can climb back out. Lawrence and Eddie Strobach, the bachelor farmers who lived near us when I was growing up, used to have a floating stick in their water barrels which the squirrels used to get out if they fell in. It was mostly red squirrels that fell in. If you can believe this they also have dandelions down here to.
So, I was in the backyard snooping around and walked past a
brick pile and stepped on a nail. It went through my shower shoes / flip flops
and into my foot. I was standing there saying “what the hell?” I picked my foot
up and the board came with it. I couldn’t get my foot out of my shower shoes
because the nail was stuck in it. So, I stood on the board with my right foot
and lifted my other foot off the nail. I know you all know this……..there was a
little blue cloud hanging over my head while this was going on. I also know
what the implication of stepping on a nail are. 
I limped back to my hotel room and took a look at the
damage. It was bleeding which was good. So, I decided to ask the hotel
receptionist if she had a pan so I could soak my foot. I explained that I stepped
on a nail in their back yard and showed her my flip / flop and the hole in my
foot. She immediately ran and got some alcohol to clean the puncture. She found
a pan and I soaked my foot for about a 1/2 hour. I tried to keep it bleeding
hoping it would flush out any potential infection. I don’t know how successful
I was. The hot water wasn’t as hot as I would have like it. I would have liked
to have had some Epson Salt or a plant leaf. None of that was to be found. So,
I went to bed saying if my foot is swelled up and red in the morning I’m going
to have the hotel staff help me find a doctor. The puncture was about 1/2”
behind my 2nd smallest toe on my left foot. It hurts if I stand on it but with
the weight off it was pretty much painless. Thank goodness I got a tetnus shot
before the trip. I continued working on my tomorrows plans thinking I would be
leaving in the morning. That all depends on my foot.
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