43: Gobernador Virasoro to Mocoreta to Gualeguaychu, and finally back to Buenos Aires

Days 133 – 135

Day 133 (6th April) Gobernador Virasoro to Mocoreta
Last night we had a knock on our cabin door – an English guy staying in another cabana had seen our bike and invited us over for a beer and bike talk (he had a Suzuki DR800 and a BMW K1100). We chatted about our journey and he – being married to an Argentino – told us a bit about local customs, Argentinian politics, and interesting places we should visit if we had had more time!
Today, after 250 miles, we stopped at a town on Ruta 14, Mocoreta, and found a small hotel to stay overnight. Just like many places we’ve stayed in, it would have been so much nicer if it had been well-maintained over the years. The power and light sockets/switches were sellotaped to the wall and the ancient shower had seen far better days!   However, the cost was the equivalent of £17.60!

However, we really enjoyed our short stay. The proprietor was friendly and there was a small shop in the reception area, so we bought a litre of local Quilmes beer and sat at a table in the pretty garden before heading into town to get some supper.

Day 134 (7th April) Mocoreta to Gualeguaychu
We woke up to a slightly overcast day, with rain forecast for later. Indeed, as we headed along Ruta 14 towards Buenos Aires, we had to stop and put on our waterproofs when it started to pour with rain. We also decided to stop off at a hotel earlier than usual because of the miserable weather and found a quirky place to stay in Gualeguaychu. The old building had previously been as a tannery, and had more recently been converted into a hotel using reclaimed doors, fittings and furniture which made it a very interesting place.

The river Gualeguaychu was very near to us, so we enjoyed a walk into the town centre along the pleasant riverside.

Day 135 (8th April) Gualeguaychu to Buenos Aires
We sat at a large communal table in the kitchen for breakfast with the other guests and enjoyed croissants, Danish pastries, tea and fresh coffee. As we packed up, we thought we should have maybe stayed another night as it was so nice here, but we need to get to Buenos Aires with a couple of days to spare before the bike is crated and flown home.

The bike has been very reliable over the 15,000 km we’ve clocked-up, but we thought that if we delayed our return and anything happened to it, we’d have less time and we must be at the airport cargo area very early on 12th April. We also want a couple of days in Buenos Aires to sort out our stuff and do a bit of shopping and sight-seeing.
We had another day of heavy rain, so the ride to Buenos Aires wasn’t that much fun, but we made good time and arrived at our hotel by 4pm. We decided to stay at the same hotel as when we were here a month ago, as it’s an ‘apart’ hotel complete with small kitchen, plus secure underground parking.
We can only have bike-related items with the bike when it’s crated at the airport, so will have to unload and take all our camping equipment with us on our own flight. Any hazardous items, such as camping gas, are forbidden as well as anything with a toxic or flammable symbol on it. So, today we used most of the petrol from our jerry can, which will provide enough fuel to get to the airport, with a couple of litres to spare – any more than this and the tank will need to be drained before the bike is accepted for transit.