On the Road Again

23.12.2014 – 24.12.2014
Route: Buenos Aires – Behind Esso Petrol Station in Laboulaye - San Luis – Park National Sierra de las Quijadas (895 km)

Driving out of the city of Buenos Aires was experienced before – at first one has to get to a larger road and then try to take over to the motorway. It takes almost half an hour to reach there. Getting used to the traffic again takes some time, as many things that are not practiced in the meantime.

But in the long run having had the right feeling the car is on motorway and I can drive to the right direction. This time the right direction is towards Mendoza,

Down the motorway in a traffic jam. In 100 meters, it is necessary to make a left turn and then there is a theoretical possibility to gain access to the motorway again. Succeeded. And the further from the town the sparser the traffic.

Museo Beatle

18.12.2014.
Buenos Aires.

The information about The Beatles Museum caught my eye first of all in Argentina Lonely Planet book. According to the book it was supposed to be the only one of this kind in South America.

Looking for additional information it turned out that because of its largest collection of items the museum belongs to the Guinness Book of Records. And it is situated in the center of the city.


The ticket office has the theme of the yellow submarine. The visit hours are a bit unusual - as always - it opens at 10 am in the morning, but closes the doors at midnight.

El Zanjon

18.12.2014,
Buenos Aires.

To begin with - a practical guidance on - "How to extend the temporary license of bringing the car to Argentina."

Searched the internet first for information but- no luck. This means that no information about Argentina. There was certain information for the regulations about Peru and Chile but this kind was not necessary at the moment.

 Christian - the owner of Andean Roads (current accommodation facilities) mentioned that there really should not be any problem concerning the extension and would take perhaps only a day. And phoned to the customs to be sure of the information. In short, the next morning I was back in the center of the familiar 25 Plaza Mayo square, as it was located just opposite the office.


At the customs everything worked extremely well and all the process took less than half an hour. No byreaucracy whatsoever. Very friendly attitude and perfect service.

Some Technical Issues, Dec. 2014

So a bit of technical talk for a change. Surprises usually appear from totally unexpected places. This time – the new radiator, made in Salta, was the source of surprise.

The first story is the following. On the day of the arrival of returning to Argentina I started the bus and let the engine work for about twenty minutes in order to charge the batteries. The seats were moved up to have a good look at what was going on by the engine.

At first everything was ok, but then I noticed that the area by the censor of tosol level was wet. Freshly. At first it seemed that the sensor had come loose although while standing in the same place this should not have happened. Having switched off the engine I tried to fix it back, but for some reason the sensor was only moving around in the socket.

Here`s the picture. Says more than a thousand words.


In short – a kind of reaction had influenced the different kind of metals. The upper part of the radiator is made of copper and this sensor – probably bronze and the place of the thread was made of unknown material.

Teatro Colon

15.12.2014.

On the list here The Buenos Aires Opera House has got the third place. http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/opera-houses/.

Buenos Aires, La Boca

12.12.2014

La Boca, now an Italian style district of the city with colorful houses, was once the first port of Buenos Aires. A legend says that the houses of the Italian immigrants were built from old boats and oddment of the shipyard.


And the houses were decorated with the overage of the paint.

Buenos Aires Bus Tour

12.12.2014
Buenos Aires, Argentina.

As I hadn`t joined in any Bus Tour of Buenos Aires earlier, I decided to take one now.

Although I had driven around in the city quite lot, it is not the same. While self-driving - the main attention is paid at traffic and traffic lights. And to enjoy a real view of the city – the tourist bus is a good solution. And simple. A map of the city is given to the tourists as a present as well.

Another option toobtain an overview of the city would be to climb somewhere high, eg the local television tower, if there is one, and there is a viewing platform too, or choose just some higher building. My previous experiences with different coaches confirm that one should plan for the tour a whole day, as only one round lasts for more than 3 hours.

Buenos Aires, Déjà vu

04.12.2014

It is always interesting to visit new places, but sometimes it's nice to come back to some of the familiar one. To this kind of a place which – while visiting it for the first time  you could not have a thorough review.

Buenos Aires is one of these kind of places. You walk in the center, and the overall picture is familiar and already comprehend which is the next street and square.


Plaza de Mayo.

Season 3 - South America

30.11.2014– 01.12.2014
Journey: Tallinn – Amsterdam – Buenos Aires (KLM).

At first just a sentence from Woody Allen:"If you want to make God laugh, tell him your future plans." 11/30/2104. It is 4o`clock p in the afternoon. Checking in. I will give over one suitcase as my baggage , and hope to see it soon. Or just plan to get it back soon.

 
Last hour at Tallinn Airport. This time this is only one -stop flight. Leaving at 6 pm Tallinn and arriving at Amsterdam two and a half hours later. And then proceed immediately, so that the next morning at 7 I should be in Argentina. All together 16 and a half hours of flight time and a half hour for changing the flights.