Jan 21, 2005
I left Uruguay yesterday and clipped the corner of Brazil before someone told me I needed a $100 visa and to be fingerprinted, because that´s what we now do to all foreigners, so Brazil does it to all Americans, and sent me packing to the Consulate, which was closed. I didn´t really want to see Brazil that much this trip, because of the time limits I´m hitting, and the distinct lack of funds that is becoming something to contend with, so I headed north and spent the night in Santo Tome, Argentina.
But I did get to ride 49 miles in Brazil, without a visa. And I did know beforehand that I needed one.
Santo Tome is less than ten miles from Brazil, and a great place to sit outside and watch the nighttime traffic go by. Young girls in pants too tight and heels too tall stumble past guys too interested in talking about football to pay them much mind. The same people pass by in cars and on bikes every fifteen minutes. Yes, they are cruising. It´s like American Graffiti all over again.
Take a big bun, put a slab of beef, fried egg, ham, cheese, lettuce and tomato on it, and you have the basic Argentine complete sandwich. They sell for a dollar in Santo Tome.
From Santo Tome I headed north to the Cataratas, which is said (byArgentinians of course) to be one of the wonders of the world, a waterfall that separates Argentina and Brazil. They claim it is better than Niagara Falls (It is), which I have yet to see. It is impressive,water roiling over the falls as if boiling, in a part called The Devil´s Mouth. I dropped the lens cover to my wide angle over the side of the catwalk, then promptly stuck my finger on the glass.
As I was riding north, I kept passing giant mounds of mud on the sides of the road. My curiosity got the better of me, so I stopped and gave one a big kick. Nothing happened. Then I threw rocks at it. Still nothing happened. I'm sure it's some sort of insect mound, and it is strong.
Everywhere you go in Argentina, there are these signs about the Falkland Islands, saying the Malvinas belong to Argentina. Next time I'm coming back with Union Jack stickers and putting them on each one of these signs I come across.
I realized yesterday that I have shot 49 hours of tape since leaving Ohio in November.
To give you an idea of the distances I have covered in Argentina alone, if you were to cover that same distance in North and central America, you would have to drive from Toronto, Canada to Panama City, Panama.
And now it´s finally time to head home. The bike could use a little TLC, and I have done most of what I set out to do. So I´m going to baby it back to Buenos Aires and put it on a plane home.
This part of the trip is called ¨visit places who´s money you still have¨
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