Another great sleep, despite trucks moving during the night. Importantly the wind died down and the Caranex was still.
Wifi was very spasmodic but once most of the trucks had left by 8.30am, it became good enough to get Jen’s blog from yesterday, posted.
It took the claw hammer to get some of the tent pegs out!! By 10.30am we were ready to roll.
The petrol station was on the main road a couple of k’s outside the town, but we took the diversion into the town to try and buy a SIM card for Jen’s phone. What a performance! After spending 20min looking for a shop that sold them, thanks to a passer by’s guidance, the shop wasn’t far away.
Over an hour later Jen emerged from the shop with a SIM card but no wifi!! It seems the shop assistant could not get Jen’s credit card to register with their system. We are only going to be in this part of Argentina for a coupe of days, but then cross back into it, to get to Ushuaia, where we’ll be for a few weeks. So the card will be important to have.
Giving up, we decide to head for the coastal town of Puerto San ta Cruz, just over 100 miles away, in the hope that we can find a more able Claro dealer.
The drive to Puerto Santa Cruz.
Not a lot to report about the drive, except that it’s straight and boring. The landscape fascinating. The following passage is taken from Captain Robert FitzRoy’s diary.
“Is it not extraordinary, that sea-worn, rolled, shingle-stones, and alluvial accumulations, compose the greater portion of these plains? How vast, and of what immense duration, must have been the actions of these waters which smoothed the shingle-stones now buried in the deserts of Patagonia!”[8]“
While driving I got to thinking about the journey so far. The good bits and the more difficult ones. Thinking about the many people who are following us, one way or another. Thinking about the perceptions and little understanding about the countries and terrain we are driving over.
We are so very lucky to be having these experiences and I have to say a HUGE thanks to my companion and partner, for her staunch perseverance in sometimes, difficult times. Thanks also to the many who have commented on the blog, or by email, offering support or, derision..:) and as I said, are following our progress. To Norman, who has just made his interest known. To family and friends on both sides. We love having you along with us. You too are inspiring us.
Musings
I also got to thinking about the explorers of the past who’s names are on statues in parks, or with towns or parts of the country named after them. Captain Robert FitzRoy, Ferdinand Magellan, Francis Drake, Commander Wager, to name just a few.
The aforementioned Captain FitzRoy, is a favorite of mine. I have written about him in the past but driving through a small settlement yesterday, that bears his name, bought to mind his sad ending. After contributing so much to so many facets of life and society, not least my own country. As second Governor of New Zealand. Being a defender of Maori rights, at a time when the country was being settled by so many land hungry new arrivals.
Captain Stokes, the captain of the Beagle, on FitzRoy’s first journey to Tierra del Fuego, committed suicide during the journey, as a result of, and during which, FitzRoy was given command. FitzRoy ultimately ended his own life in suicide. Like his uncle, Viscount Castlereagh, by cutting his own throat, due to severe depression. FitzRoy is interred in Upper Norwood, South London, a part of the city I lived in and married, in the 1960’s.
There are some wonderful books written about the life and achievements of Captain, later Vice Admiral Robert FitzRoy.
Just short of Puerto Santa Cruz we were stopped at a military style road block. One of the three officials, a young man, came to question us in a friendly and self interested way. Where are you going? Are you married? Do you have any children? Is that your father you are traveling with!!! That made Jen swell with pride and had the opposite effect on me…:)
Puenta Santa Cruz.
Mural of the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, when entering Puerto Santa Cruz. Did he call in here on his ill fated journey into the Pacific.?
Located on the banks of the Santa Cruz estuary the town has a population of approx. 3500 people but it is very well appointed and has a feeling of permanence about it, with very few dilapidated or temporary buildings. After inquiring at the Tourist Information office, no less, on the foreshore, which also offers free wifi, Jen was directed to one shop, then another, to finally have the new SIM card loaded. With what, we are not quite sure..:)
From there the next objective, find the Municipal Camp. It has the best write-ups on iOverlander, and we are not disappointed. The office is open and staffed, but not another camper in sight. The camp perfect, and we have a nice grassy spot to erect the Caranex on. Surrounded by trees to offer some protection from the fierce winds of these parts. We have booked two nights. Originally concerned about getting to Ushuaia in time, we now need to burn some days as it’s now only 3 days away.
As I write, there are perhaps 30 young children and a couple of adults, walking through the camp. They are raucous and clearly having a wonderful time together, despite the light rain. So rarely do you hear kids laughing and playing in groups outside these days. It’s 8.25pm and they are now racing around the camp site looking to pick up any scraps of rubbish and putting them in a bin. Community pride, I love it..:)
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