December 20: On the Road Again
Woohoo! I never thought my South American biking adventure would start with me pushing my motorcycle out of the airport. But I’m so excited to finally be reunited with Adventure Baby and on the road in my sixth continent.
Because the customs process for importing a bike to Argentina is fairly involved, I hired Javier and Sandra from Dakar Motors to walk me through the appropriate intake procedures once Adventure Baby was unloaded from the United cargo plane and transferred to the Buenos Aires Airport warehouse.
After several hours of signing papers, making cash and credit card payments, and handing over my passport and other documents, I was allowed to unpack my bike, connect the battery, and leave the facility. However, since my shipper in Australia drained all the gas out of the tank, Sandra and I ended up pushing the bike to the airport exit. From there, Javier was able to add gas and fix a power source that was not properly connected.
Adventure Baby and I headed south immediately, traveling along route 205 instead of route 3 to avoid some high-risk areas Sandra had warned me about. Apparently, the last biker she worked with who took route 3 out of the city was robbed and is still in the hospital.
Traveling along route 205 and then 51, I passed bucolic farmlands with cows grazing in their fields and horses walking in their pastures. Roadside restaurants featuring grilled fish and meat popped up everywhere, with the smoke from their kitchens tantalizing travelers driving by.
With no visible median in the road most of the way and plenty of potholes, traffic was light and the pace pleasant, making for a wonderfully relaxing ride after the busyness of the airport processing.
Arriving in Azul, I was warmly greeted by the hotel receptionist who cheerfully let me park right out front, helped me carry my bags to my room, showed me how to turn on the air conditioning, and gave me a recommendation for a restaurant nearby. Even though I arrived at the eatery at 9pm the place was in full swing. What a great day on the bike!
