1 February: After a great few days, absolute frustration today! We woke to cloudy and rainy weather and discovered that our 2nd solar panel is not producing any charge which makes staying off-grid in such weather difficult. We have so enjoyed not having to worry about power for ages now and today we are going to be forced to move from a great spot just because of faulty equipment. Not looking forward to the challenge of trying to source a solar panel here when we can’t speak Spanish, procurement of such items seems complicated etc. Have concluded that the hardest part of travelling like us, is the constant challenge of dealing with mechanicals, maintenance, sourcing everyday stuff in strange places.
3 February: A day of work as removed old solar panel and drilled out many pop rivets in the roof box
6 February: After making little brackets with a tiny hand hacksaw, managed to get the new solar panel installed and working. No more load shedding for Mr Jones.
7 February: A great birthday. A morning filled with WhatsApp phone calls from friends and family, followed by a really cool picnic at a little winery just inland from where we have been camping and then little gifts (it’s not the size of the present but the thought that makes the difference, especially when strangers take the effort to put a few sweets and flowers together just for you…). So loving the vibe at this campsite and the village of Chapadmalal!
9 February: we have slipped into an easy routine of: get up early and wander 100m to the cliff edge and check out the surf conditions, then either have a “dawnie” or coffee and breakfast at Mr J before wandering down to the beach for a mid-morning surf. Lunch back at Mr J and then check out the waves and beach in afternoon again. Life is good and chilled!
10 February: We have had some fantastic chats (as well as constant supply of little gifts like a beer, an asado one evening etc) with Agustin and his daughter Tatiana over the last few days (met them in camp) and today when leaving he told us about a mate who has a landy and perhaps he could help find us a mechanic and he has offered for us to stay at his house if need be. The kindness of people continues to amaze us.
14 February: It’s been a fantastic “summer holiday” here in Chapadmalal and for a little while now we had planned to move on tomorrow which makes it interesting that the last couple of days we have both started to feel restless – perfect timing. It would be easy to settle here for an extended period especially after all the great people we have met but as we are not yet ready to settle down – it’s time to find new vistas.
15 February: Once again today was proof that travelling is so much more about the people you meet than the places you go. We were running errands in Miramar when Matio pulled up and admired MR Jones before asking what are you doing for lunch – come to my place on the beach “hijos del playa” and so we followed him there. Had great chats and laughs with him and the extended family and got treated like VIP guests at his restuarant. And as his brother drives a landy so we may have found an alternative option for a mechanic option for Buenos Aires.
16 February: Augustin seems to have found a great option for a mechanic near BA, it is a person in a smaller town north of BA who is not so much a mechanic but an enthusiast of Landys who would like to help. Sounds like a really great option and would mean not having to struggle with BA traffic, parking, transport and accommodation. Can’t thank Augustin enough at the moment, he has really put in some big effort on this for us.
17 February: Think we got a taste of how cold and wet this part of the coastline could be in winter, temps really plunged (13degC in the day) and its rained loads and been windy therefore our timing to bail from the coast and move inland would appear to be perfect. The month spent in Miramar and Chapadmalal was great (between the people we met, the location and vibe and the surfing) but it felt good to be on the road again.
19 February: A really great day today! We briefly me Jose & Clara in Miramar when they come past to admire Mr Jones, they speak very good English and so we exchanged numbers and they invited us to visit their farm in Las Fores if we passed that way. Which today we did and it was just a great afternoon with them and some of their friends.
21 February: Over the last few days we have done little hops of 200km per day, which has been really pleasant to drive knowing that we don’t have long days to do and are now in San Antonia de Areco to await the mechanic/landy enthusiast.
22 February: A bit concerned and not sure how to handle the situation, the landy mechanic enthusiast has gone “radio silence” after being super enthusiastic to help. First, he was going to Mar Del Plata for the carnival weekend, then had to stay a day longer because of attempted fraud on his account but said he would let us know when he was coming back this way still that day and now has not been in contact for 2 days. Doesn’t leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling..
23 February: As we still hadn’t heard from the Landy enthusiast we decided to head a little back towards Buenos Aires and Agustin in order to spend some time with him and hopefully take him out to dinner as a thank you for trying to help us so much.
28 February: 6 days have flown past at Agustin house, with much socialising with him and his friends and also just chilling plus a lekker day outing to the Tigre delta. Still haven’t heard from the landy enthusiast so kicking that one to the kerb, tomorrow we will make a border run into Uruguay so that we can extend our Argentina visa and have plenty time for the northwest part of the country.