| Submitted by: Edward Unruh , United States |
| Submission Date: 28 March 2005 |
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Vina Del Mar has a confusing road system and it finally caught up with me, on February 6. Planning an early exit to beat the rush hour traffic was a good idea, but getting lost turned out to be a stroke of luck we actually never expected.
Pulling into the resort community of Renaca-we actually forgot about being lost-thanks to the spectacular, coastline scenery.
The immense surf aggressively smashed into massive shoreline rocks, forcing torrential geysers high into the air. Fine Mists of saltwater spray, incessantly drenched the narrow winding highway. My desire to keep the motorcycle upright and under constant control was challenged, and I slowed down as I abruptly maneuvered around the deep puddles. These conditions made it difficult for me to entirely view this magnificent coastline, so I had no choice but to pull over. If only we had known how beautiful and scenic this area was, just 10 miles north of Vina Del Mar. We could have stayed here instead! Oceanside homes, resorts and condominiums abruptly climbed the mountainside, providing a commanding seacoast view for the many inhabitants! We could see stretches of golden sandy beach in between the rocks, enlivening our view even more. It was a breathtaking experience that morning, traveling along the seaside of Chile. Truly an experience we shall never forget!
My anxieties overpowered my contentment of the moment and I dug out the map to try and figure out where I missed the connection to route 60. We ended up making a complete circle right back into the crowded streets of Vina Del Mar before I could figure it out.
Finally-with a lot more traffic by this time-we made it onto route 60 and out of the city.
That evening found us in the quaint agricultural town of San Rafael, a little bit later than expected but none the worse for wear. San Rafael was a rather large town and we rode all over town trying to find a decent hotel to stay for the night. Eventually we pulled over and asked a local where a good hotel was. We were guided to the Hotel San Martin.
Of all the towns we stayed at, San Rafael was the friendliest by far. It is the kind of place where I could see myself wanting to possibly retire at.
Thulma was the desk clerk (she spoke broken English) and was persistent in giving us the best treatment she possibly could. The room was only 40 pesos. Once again the people of Argentina notably displayed their unrivaled kindness. She also provided a safe place with security to park the scooter! Thulma really enjoyed the chance to use her knowledge of English on us, and we bared with her as she struggled along with limited English, which was much better than my Spanish, but it was still hard for us to understand what she was trying to say. Thulma guided us to a close by pizza restaurant for dinner that night, and the food was excellent.
The following morning after coffee and croissants, we packed the bike with Thulma staying very close. She attended to our questions like a press secretary would a very important person. We certainly enjoyed all of the pampering she continued to give us.
Thulma gave us specific information on several wineries in the region, and we were able to find one that was on our chosen route for that day.
Goyenechea (pronounced "guy in a chair") vineyards were taking siesta (usually between 11a.m. and 2 p.m.) when we arrived.
Stone buildings-built in the 1800's-comprised the primary office area, but nobody was to be found anywhere. By this time we thought for sure we were out of luck for a tour. I decided to knock on the huge ornate wooden doors, not very optimistic at this time that anyone would answer. I did here voices inside, but no one came. Giving up, we turned toward the Shadow when all of a sudden the door opened and two young women came out. They explained that there were no tours for now, but sympathized with our disappointment. Then for a brief moment they began talking back in forth to each other in Spanish, leaving us wondering if they were possibly trying to figure out a way to grant us our request for a tour. You know how you can almost tell what someone is saying even though you can't hear or understand them? At that point we thought we had a good chance of at least getting a mini tour.
Next thing you know, Angeles and Soledad Goyenechea were taking us on a personal tour of the entire Bodego Y Vinedos!
We enjoyed a taste of one of Goyenechea's premier wines that was drawn from one of several 5000 gallon fermenting tanks. It turned out to be a fantastic experience, enlightening our senses to a level that was not ever anticipated.
After sampling a variety of wines, tasting fresh grapes off the vine, the women gave us a couple bottles of Cabernet and Chablis, that I carefully lodged into our tourpak. All in all it was a fantastic illustration of what wineries in Argentina are all about!
Back on the road, feeling a bit lazy after our remarkably satisfying time at the vineyards, the pothole ridden route 188 appeared to be a perfectly ironic anecdote to continue an extraordinary day.
The challenging highway stretched eastward for mucho kilometers across the semi fertile plains called pampas. The pampas-extending for miles-is serious cattle country, and this part of Argentina boasts a legendary past where gauchos roamed free. The beef coming from those expansive ranches (estancias) is of absolutely excellent quality and the parrillas (grills) that serve the tasty beef are everywhere. The local people should, and do take great pride in their thick steaks.
Later that evening we decided to stop at Realico in Corboba province. As had become customary procedure, we asked the local gas station attendant for a good place to stay.
Realico was a small, poor town and the motel was dirty and gross. For 44 pesos ($25.00) the motel wasn't even worth it. A young man who also was staying there, understood our discontent and trying to help us, told of a parrilla in town that was suppose to have good food. We walked through town on what turned out to be a lovely summer evening. We ordered Bife Lomo (a type of steak). Considering that day was our anniversary, we were kind of dissatisfied with our choice of motel.
The next morning after sleeping rather miserably the night before, we made the quickest exit that we had ever done before. Our days plan was to deliver us to the more tourist-like town of Lujan (pronounced lukan). The only thing that was a bit unusual about that day was when we stopped to try and exchange some more cash for pesos was to see another enormous protest in the city of Junin. We managed to get to a bank even though most of the city center was cordoned off. Every major town was organizing public protests that were responsibly well-behaved!
Lujan has the Basilica as it's main attraction. It dominates the skyline with its spires reaching to the heavens! We motored down the broad boulevard, past the Basilica and through downtown, looking for a nice hotel. There were plenty of choices, but we wanted to make up for the previous night and find something nice, so we could consider it to be our belated anniversary celebration.
Delightfully, we ended up at the "Hosten Hotel" in the V.I.P. room for 90 pesos ($48.00). The hotel was exceptionally clean and our room was enormous with a super comfy queen size bed. It was just right for our last night in South America.
We only had to ride about 90 kilometers (50 miles) back to Motocare the next day, so we decided to go back into the center of town and find a decent restaurant or lounge to relax at for the evening. We hung out at a couple different establishments, enjoying a couple of cold brews, and then we headed back towards the hotel, hoping to find something to eat. A pizza place called "Loco Todos" happened to be along the way, and since it was so crowded with people, we decided to give it a go. The pizza was a little bit different for us, but one price was good for as many slices as we could eat. The waitresses kept bringing pans full of various pizza's around and we would just help ourselves, sampling every single kind.
That last morning as we motored toward Buenos Aires, rain moved in and we were forced to pull over and put on our rain gear the first time on the entire trip. The worst part about that was that when we got into Buenos Aires, the rain made for more difficult vision, considering how big and busy the city was. We did however, make it safely through town, back to Motocare, after stopping for a moment to get one last picture of the obelisk.
Mariano and Peter were glad to see us back in one piece, none the worse for wear, even though we were soaked and wet. I would suggest renting a moto from Motocare to anyone. Totally reasonable-especially now with the exchange rate, bikes are going for about $60.00 per day! Check out Motocare and their rental site on the web.
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| Copyright © - "Edward Unruh" |
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