Sad Goodbye - 23 March 2018

23 March 2018 – I ate breakfast and packed my motorcycle. I was leaving Ushuaia, Argentina. It was kind of a sad feeling. It took a lot of work and planning to get here and now I’m leaving. I filled up with gas which took a half hour. Gas lines……there were six cars in front of me. I put my rain suit on just in case of rain and also to keep warm.

When I finally left the city limits I passed the Ushuaia signs announcing the city. I stopped and took some pictures. As I continued into the mountains I noticed that all the road construction I passed through on the way into the city was mostly completed. That kind of tells you how long I stayed in Ushuaia. I arrived on the 16th of March and departed today the 23rd of March. I stayed 7 nights in Ushuaia. The time went really fast.

I rode into some rain thru the mountains and I was very glad I had my rain suit on. I rode past the city of Rio Grande and crossed the border in to Chile. For whatever it’s worth……..I sure wished all the borders worked like that. Fast and simple.

I then rode about 32 Kilometers of dirt road and stopped for the night in Cerro Sombrero. It was a very expensive hotel and their restaurant was equally as expensive. Besides pumping sunshine into the place I guess all their food has to be trucked in. It was a nice hotel. I can’t complain, but I didn’t need a key to get in and out of my locked door. Pull it closed and push it open. I know management knows about the problem and just figures the tourists are here for one night, complain, and are gone the next day. I watched a good show in English on TV. It’s been a long time since I did that. I could tell by the weather it was going to be a cold night. It was a clear sky with a bright crescent of a moon and already in the low 40’s.

Ushuaia Prison - 22 March 2018

I took a tour of the prison.  Personally, not a place I would like to be locked up in. Some pretty basic latrine facilities if you look at my pictures. The little guy with the big ears was pretty nasty from a young age. He was beaten to death by his fellow inmates for throwing their pet cat into a burning stove. He got what he deserved.

Another picture I thought was interesting was the wrought iron work on the railings. Look at the picture with the railing. Look how the round bar passes thru the eyelet. Then look at how this 1” Inch diameter / 25.4 Millimeter rod is wrapped around the 2nd lower bar. All this work was very nice, neat and close fitting. Not bad blacksmithing.

Playing Tourist in Ushuaia - 22 March 2018

22 March 2018 – I had to switch hotels today. I was booted out of Hosteria America when I asked to stay another night. I waited too long to tell them and they gave my room to an incoming bus load of Koreans. I was out. There was no happiness about this. They recommend another Hostel about 500 Yards / 500 Meters away. I packed up my stuff and moved to the other hotel.

After I was moved in I walked downtown to do tourist things. I found an ATM and shored up my pesos for my trip North to Brazil. I took a tour of the prison. I’ll put those photos on a separate blog post because there are so many. Personally, not a place I would like to be locked up in. Some pretty basic latrine facilities if you look at my pictures. The little guy with the big ears was pretty nasty from a young age. He was beaten to death by his fellow inmates for throwing their pet cat into a burning stove. He got what he deserved.

Another picture I thought was interesting was the wrought iron work on the railings. Look at the picture with the railing. Look how the round bar passes thru the eyelet. Then look at how this 1” Inch diameter / 25.4 Millimeter rod is wrapped around the 2nd lower bar. All this work was very nice, neat and close fitting. Not bad blacksmithing.

I took a walk into the souvenir shop and bought my usual commemorative pin. I left the prison and walked down to the water front. A nice place to walk around and to sign up for tours. You also can check out the Argentine Navy Ships and the different cargo ships dropping off their cargo. I asked one tour person to take my picture by the Ushuaia sign. When I opened her booth, her hound escaped. It wasn’t a big deal that he wanted to get out of that small booth and she really didn’t care.

I took more pictures of a monument about the people who settled Ushuaia. It mentioned all the ethnicities who settled in this new land and called it home. They are listed on the round object in one of the pictures. I was finished with that tourist area and walked back to a hamburger joint for supper. It was the 3rd time I had eaten there. I stopped by another store and purchased water for on my motorcycle. I didn’t want to go to the grocery store, find my water, then wait in line for 30 minutes again to get checked out.

When I got back to the hotel the wind was picking up again. I moved my motorcycle off the street because I was afraid the strong winds would blow it over. I wedged the front tire into a corner so the bike virtually couldn’t be blown over and put my supports sticks under it and covered it. It was good for the night. I asked Mary to make a reservation for my hotel tomorrow night. It went to bed knowing I would be leaving tomorrow.

I've Got Good News and Bad News - 21 March 2018

21 March 2018 – Yesterday I sent about thirty-five pictures to Mary. I started sending pictures again today about 8:00 a.m. and continued sending them till about 5:00 p.m. It was a real thrill once all those pictures were sent. The wi-fi here in Hosteria America is marginal. It seems like the wi-fi signal is strong and then it suddenly gets weak. It’s always a mystery. I’ve been in way cheaper hotels where the wi-fi was excellent. Anyway, Mary e-mailed me back saying she received all 100 pictures and the Word document talking about my travels. It was a good day until I went downstairs to eat supper and the restaurant was closed. No joy here.

Ring Around The Collar - 20 March 2018

20 March 2018 – I worked on sending my pictures to Mary and had my clothes washed. I had 100 pictures to e-mail to Mary and the wi-fi was not working that well or didn’t have a strong signal. Sometimes I had to send some pictures 3 times before they were sent. This was time consuming so I never left the hotel. My whiter clothes were grayer when I got them back. I hate that. The overall appearance of the clothes suggested they were washed with other extremely dirty clothes or washed in dirty water that was used at least twice before my clothes were washed. Then of course you scent them to make them smell fresh. I was not happy with the outcome of my washed clothes.

I Got The Boot - 19 March 2018

19 March 2018 – I was booted out of my upstairs suite because I didn’t book another night soon enough, and took a cheaper room on the first floor. I lost my view of the city but this is my kind of room. I didn’t need a jacuzzi, a shower, a walkout balcony with a skyline view of the snowcapped mountains and sky lights. It’s nice, but I’m used to a much simpler room and this room is just fine. I decided to stay another two days to see if I can get this blog sent to Mary. I’m almost up to 17,000 words. I now have to keep in constant contact with my Brazilian friends so they know my whereabouts. I don’t want to just drop in on them unexpectedly. It might not be appreciated. It’s getting time for supper. A cooking smell is wafting through my open window and it’s making me hungry. So, I think it’s time to go eat.

Man About Town - 18 March 2018

18 March 2018 – It was a kind of a lazy day. I spent two or three hours e-mailing people who think I’m lost or have died. Russ and Neil went on a penguin watching tour. I needed to get downtown and find an ATM machine and shore up my Pesos for the run North to Brazil. I can’t get caught short of money in those non-tourist areas. They more than likely won’t have ATM’s that will accept my cards.

After I finished with e-mailing the different people, I walked downtown and kept a closer eye on where I was going so I could get back home. I also put Blanche into my pocket just in case I got lost. After a long walk I did find two ATM machines and was able to withdraw Argentine pesos with my cards. I also walked around looking for commemorative pins. I would like to get an Argentine Flag and Ruta 3 pin. All the best souvenir shops were closed because it was Sunday, so shopping for pins proved to be a waste of time. They’ll be my prized possessions.

As I was walking on San Martin / Main Street I spotted a hamburger place. I went in and ordered up a hamburger with fries. It was just the right size. Not too big and not too small. Like Goldilocks, I walked out feeling just right.

I kept walking toward my hotel and I Spotted Russ’s and Neil’s motorcycles. I thought they were parked in an odd spot, but whatever. I kept walking and I spotted Russ working on his computer through his hotel window. I sat and stared at him till he looked up. I was being weird. I walked in, sat down and talked a little. I went upstairs and talked some with Neil because I had some info on storing a motorcycle in Uruguay and I wanted to get it to him by e-mail. I got his e-mail address and gave him one of my cards with my e-mail address. We went downstairs and talked some more. Well, it was getting later in the day and those guys were leaving in the morning for Buenos Aires, Argentina. They had a rather short timeframe to get there and I know the road they have to travel. Not all portions of it are so great. They will work to make a 620 Miles / 1000 Kilometer day. I said my goodbyes, shook everybody’s hand and was off to my hotel. I stopped in the grocery store / Mercado again and got another pint of ice cream. You guessed it, it was the same slow, friendly lady at the cash register and it was a repeat of two days ago. It only made the ice cream taste better.