March 3/5 – Argentina
Day 214/216 – We ventured to the south, on to the next border crossing, to Paraguay. There we will visit a city to get the van patched up. Our departure from Puerto Iguazu was delayed, due to a long wait while the gas station got refueled, and then waiting in line since there was only one pump to fill up all of the cars. The fuel prices are not bad in Argentina, and much better than in Uruguay; prices in Uruguay have been the highest for us, about $5usd per gallon.
Paraguay’s border put a damper on our day; and a few days later, embarrassment. It is a bridge crossing, so we exited Argentina and drove over the bridge to enter Paraguay. We parked on the side of the road, in front of the immigration building. I went up to the window and asked for entry from the immigrations officer, who looked younger than me, barely old enough to be in college. After a few questions he told me I need a visa before coming to the border. What?? From the information I read, there is no need for a visa for a person from the States visiting for tourist reasons, and it is also at no cost. He said no again and with a smile told me we had to go back to Argentina to obtain our visa. Frustrated, I went back to Jason and asked him to talk to the guy. The officer seemed to be using his power of authority a bit strongly. Jason went to talk to the officer and asked if we needed a visa. He told Jason yes and that they cost $130usd total, $65usd each. Jason asked if there was a way to get the visas here instead of going back to Argentina. The officer asked him to wait, and went back to his boss. He came back saying yes, it will cost $130; $65usd each. Jason, shocked by the price, laughed, and said no. The officer went back to his boss again, and came back offering $65USD; a two for one deal, since we were only going to be in Paraguay for a few days, and would be leaving by this border. Trying to barter a lower price, Jason offered $20USD. The officer said no and handed back our passports. We drove back over the bridge and went through the process of re-entering Argentina. Even got our van sniffed by a dog; that was a first – and he was a cute dog 🙂 We decided to move on to Buenos Aires, because we were told they might have car parts there, since it is such a big city. A few days later we found out that the officer was correct and we needed a visa before coming to the border, and it does cost $65USD each. The travel book we were using was outdated on the visa information, oops! And Jason thought he was being taken, when really we were bribing them. Always check on line first before going to a new country!
We decided to take a different route from Posadas. Instead of going the more direct route south along the Uruguay River, we went west towards Corrientes, crossing the River Parana, and then headed south to Buenos Aires. We couldn’t find a resting place before night fell, so we kept driving until we did. The roads in Argentina are very nice, so it was no problem. We also got to meet the beetles of the night. In the area west of Posadas, during this time of year, these black beetles come out and swarm the lights. It was crazy how many of them there were! As we drove they were hitting the van like they were at war or something. We drove into one town to check it out, and they were flying around the top of the street lights – tons of them. The part of the road that was lit by the street lamp was saturated with beetles, just hanging out in the luminosity. It was a pool of crunchy blackness that spilled over the whole road, pretty crazy to drive through. A bit gross, and this happened at each street lamp. We finally stopped at a gas station to sleep. It was pretty desolate countryside. The gas station attendant was sweeping up all the dead beetles in the morning before we left; the driveway was covered in them. After that night our van was the nastiest it has ever been, it wasn’t just bug splatters – there was bug goo all over the windows, even the side windows.
We drove for another day, and as we were passing through Corrientes, we got our long overdue gringo driving fine. A traffic cop wanted payment for us running through a red light – all I can say is that miraculously, no other cars hit us as I “ran the red light, 20 meters back”. Jason gave them a run for their money and tried to get them to take us to the police station. Funny enough, they said since it was Sunday the office was closed… well it was fun to make them squirm a little, trying to keep up their side of the argument. We gave him $15 pesos ($5 usd). That night we stayed at a true truck stop behind a gas station. We paid $3 Pesos ($1USD) for full use of bathroom, showers, and could comfortably pop the camper top up. We did a little cosmetic work on the inside of the van and ate at the restaurant at the gas station. It was one of the best meals I have had on the road, I had veggie crepes and Jason had some pasta, while we watched a soccer match on the TV. What more can you ask for. 🙂
Drove into Buenos Aires the next day and found a great garage to park the van, and a hostel to park ourselves for a few days.
Tags: 16 - Argentina, argentina
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