Last night we walked around looking for a place to eat, we did not want to eat at a restaurant next to the river as we thought it would be too expensive, we found a Town Square, a few blocks behind our hotel, but no restaurants. Then Peens found a policeman and asked him, via Google Translate, that we are looking for a “Nice Restaurant.” The policeman directed us to a very nice romantic coffee shop with chairs strong enough to hold the weight of a teenager. Then we asked another policeman for a suggestion to a “Nice” restaurant, again we were directed to a very nice Pizza Take Away. So then I asked the next policeman to direct us to a restaurant where we can eat meat and drink wine, he directed us to the river, and it turned out to be a very “Nice” restaurant with a very efficient waitress. We ordered some Cesar Salads and Steaks to share. I was still craving vegetables and tried using Google Translate again and asked her for Spinach, Butternut, Carrots or Beans, she said they did not have the others but that she did have Calabash, which she described as pumpkin. We said we would like two portions. Then she wanted to know how I wanted it prepared, and then she said a word which I heard as “Puree” and then confirmed we would like it Pureed, she nodded and understood and told me the word “Mash” so I was licking my lips for the mashed pureed pumpkin when this arrived:

Probably mashed Pumpkin Bread ????

Luckily we only ordered 2 as I was trying to order 4 portions, but thankfully Rocky talked me down, rather order more wine than pumpkin he suggested,  you can’t argue against that logic. The wine was from the region where we were now traveling in, next to the Rio Negro. You might remember that in a Blog Post on Leg 20 I spoke of the Rio Negro river which we crossed and got close to the source, which is in the Amazon Province of Ecuador, that Rio Negro is not the same as this one, that one I spoke about on Leg 20 joins up with the Amazon River and then it still flows 1600km to the Atlantic Ocean, this Rio Negro is only 650km long and its source is in the Andes Mountains in Argentina. Any-ho, the wine from this region is very good. We have yet to taste a bad Malbec, even though we order based on the lowest price:

We had some heated discussions last night about our plan, some wanted to continue on my route and get to Buenos Aires in 2 days, it is only 900km away. Others wanted to mess with my menu and slow down and do it “Play-Play” like at Kindergarten and take 3 days and Meander and find some interesting terrain and mountains and some Kronkel Padtjies and only arrive in BA on Sunday, as they can only load their bikes into the container on Wednesday and dont want to be in BA for too many days. I silently laughed as it is almost impossible to find a twisty Kronkel pad if it is flat, but believe it or not, the Kronkel Twins did find a little hill, no higher than an Ant Hill in Africa, and changed our whole route, slowing us down and extending the ride, to pass the Ant-Hill tomorrow. The wanted to sleep at said “Hill” tonight already but when I asked them about where we would sleep the penny dropped when there was only 1 option with an interesting bed-arrangement that looked like this available on the entire Internet:

How do you even get to that bed close to the roof????? And how do we determine who gets to sleep there? And what safety precautions do we agree on should that un-lucky sucker need to climb down the 3 flights of stairs in the dark to go to the toilet during the night??????

And yes, you guessed it, the other 3 (as the above photo sleeps 4,) would be accommodated in pull-out couches, designed for kids who weigh less than an infant.

So a compromise was reached to just cross the ant-hill tomorrow and rather sleep at the port city with more industrial plants, factories and docks than Sasol, Secunda and Vereeniging together. And guess what, the only hotel that we can find rooms at is the same hotel chain as last night, the most expensive which offers the least, Austral. At least they are consistent with their KTM Decor:

Sadly we dont have a radio in our room tonight, but we do have a big black telephone, wonder if we will get a phone call tonight?

This Blog is coming from out of this chair:

Dog spoke to me today and said I might have used some poetic license yesterday when describing the size of the bird that committed suicide by flying into him, it was not an Ostrich and the blood was far less than what I described:

I did however have to swerve today to miss two of these giant rats:

They are the size of a small dog.

Last night we also met another dog while walking, see how much fur it has, proof that we are still not out of the woods and it needs to warm up quickly if you want to see me partaking in the Carnaval Foam Fight.

Peens reminded us all yesterday that tomorrow is Valentines day and that our wives will remember to remind us that we were not there for it and neither did we buy them presents or take them out for dinner.

Peens asked me when we would arrive in BA as he would just like to be prepared and ask someone to go out on a date with him on Valentine’s Day. So today we almost found him a date when we thought that the lady selling the fruit would join us and then go out for dinner with Peens tomorrow.

You can see behind her that she did not choose the most affluent area to park her caravan from where she sells her fruit and vegetables, and some lovely cheese which I bought from her which we ate for lunch, while sitting at a Gas Station that specialize in trucks stopping there.

A few 100 meters further was another fruit seller who specialized in Watermelons and Garlic Jewellery (you know the garlic Chains you wear to ward-off Vampires:

Our lovely Culinary Tour de Gas Station continued and we ate biscuits and the cheese I bought from Peens’s Valentines date:

For our last course of the lunch Pie splashed out and ordered from the waiter three different ice creams, one that was nice as it was an ice cream, but the other two were sour berries dipped in a selection of dark or lighter chocolate and then frozen::

As I was standing in line at the Gas station to pay for the biscuits, I saw a guy in front of me waiting to pay, and he had a towel over his shoulder, he smelt good and he had his Gym Bag with him. As I walked out another guy came in with his gym-towel and gym-bag. Where was the gym they were all coming from? Then I realized that this Gas Station was not just famous for its gastronomy, no, it also offered free showers to truck drivers stopping there to fill with Diesel. So now I know where or Colombia Friend on the 150cc showers along the road.

Talking of Shoe String Budget Trailers, Pie was mistook for one this morning when he walked into a shop doing upholstery and asked the owner if they had a little glue for him (to glue his other boot, he should have his own Blog just about his Boots as there is always a story with his boots, and if you dare to ask him about it he unfortunately tells you, starting in Mongolia how his new boots were stolen outside the storage when we were packing our bikes, and then how the schools board he was on heard about this and bought him a pair of boots and that he has to finish this trip with same boots they gifted him. I have covered the gluing of the other boot, the sole-story yesterday and every now and then they get polished bla blah blah.) So when the owner glued his boot for him he wanted to pay, but the owner must have given him one look and felt as sorry for him as Peens did for the Colombian as he just waved him on with our asking a Cent.

Some of today’s photos:

They DEFINITELY chose the right place to build this farm, and luck for us, the wind was blowing very hard, but from behind us, so I could actually hear the music that was chosen for me to listen to by the Apple Music Lady, who sensed that we are out of the dry-spell and ugly-roads and awaiting a new dawn crossing over the hill tomorrow, and she lifted her game and even played me the song “Watermelon Sugar High” as I rode past the Watermelon Seller. The universe is coming in sync, I hope, for the sake of the extra day we are spending on the road.

The best thing about last night’s hotel was their parking. If I could speak Spanish I was going to haul the manager out of his office this morning and tell him that you can’t run a hotel if your beer from the bar is warm, and you dont stock Aqua Con Gas (sparkling water or soda water,) and how can you only have warm Aqua Sin Gas (you guessed it, Still water.) The breakfast included some Red Jelly and the drinking yoghurt was a step up from the normal we have had, so I would not have complained about the Breakfast. But hey, there comes a time to remove the carpets and slap some paint onto the walls, or drop your prices. I dont expect much from the type of hotels where we stay as we are scraping the bottom of the barrel most nights, just because we hate going to big towns or worst, a city. But when a place charges Top Dollar it needs to give you at least just a little more than those cheap and nasty hotels.

This is the time of the blog where I keep you interested so that you will read tomorrows Blog, but I can’t tell you nothing, squat, as I dont know, the Evil Kronkel Twins, and their aspiring half-brother, has now orchestrated a mutiny and I dont even know if I will have a roof over my head and a mattress under my bum tomorrow, or even if there will be Wi-Fi.

And on that very sad and depressing and worrying note, I have to say goodbye to you all, maybe for a few days as I get dragged off into directions I dont want to go, but please remember, I Luv Ja Madly

XXXXXX

Fleisch