November 12th

After a terrible nights sleep due to the constant traffic we packed up and headed into town to run errands.  We went to a restaurant called Trouville for breakfast, coffee, and to use their wifi.  It is extremely hard to find anything open this early.  Going out for breakfast is not a common thing here.  Then we drove to a hardware store to get some odds and ends.  We need an extra gas tank since we almost ran out on the last long trip.  This truck has a very small gas tank.  We also needed a reflective vest for Argentinian laws.  Apparently the cops are corrupt and may pull you over and give you a fine for not having all the proper items.  That fine goes right into their pocket.  We also needed some screws and hooks for the truck.  Then we hustled over to a camping supply store to see what they had for a cooking stove.  Everything closes from 12 to about 3 and it makes running errands difficult.  Then we went to the Daymen thermals to find our camping spot.  This is the first time we will be paying to stay somewhere.  It is worth it because it includes two thermal pools.  Lucky for us it was a bit cold and rainy so they were perfect for us.  It was a very vacant campground.  We spent the next few hours taking a nice long bath in the pools.  Then we went into town for dinner.  We ate pizza, canelones, and drank wine at La Trattoria.  The canelones were really good.  We went back to the campsite and jumped back into the pools with a beer.

November 13th

We were woken many times from the massive thunderstorm that lasted all night.  The lightening and thunder was relentless along with the truck rocking back and forth.  Turns out we have a couple leaks in the roof.  We went in the thermal pools before packing up to leave.  After a nice hot shower we headed into town for lunch.  We ate more milanesas at La Tuerca, a local chivitieria.  Milanesas and chivitos are the most popular food here.  I would equate their popularity to our burger.  Since it was raining again and we are still waiting on Carlos to send us the Argentinian auto insurance we decided to camp at the thermals again.  We found a great little brewery with a Nordic theme in town for dinner.  We ate appetizers and drank really good craft beer.  The owner was very nice.  We were put on FaceTime with his business partner from Morocco.  Not sure why, but maybe because she spoke English like us.  We have not had luck with people being friendly at restaurants until this place.  

November 14th

After a hot shower we headed towards the border to exit Uruguay and head into Argentina.  We drove over a massive man made dam.  The water was red from the color of the soil.  Due to it being our first time crossing a border with the car by ourselves we were expecting the worst.  It was the easiest crossing we have done yet.  Everyone was helpful and there were no lines.  We drove to the town of Concordia and ate some breakfast.  Then we found a camping supply store and bout our new stove.  It  uses butane canisters.  We wanted propane initially, but every country has different adapters so that wouldn't work.  We are happy about the stove we bought though.  Then we ran to an ATM and went grocery shopping.  We had to wait around town all day until a Pago Facil opened in the afternoon so we could pay for our car insurance.  We made it to our camping spot in about 30 minutes.  It's a really beautiful spot.  The beach is covered in agates!  My Duluth friends know how much I love looking for these rocks :).   We made dinner, picked agates, fished, and planned our next few days.

November 15th

We had coffee and breakfast and then I finished picking and packing my agates.  Yes Bart, I am bringing all of them.  Then we hit the road.  The olive trees have been replaced with orange trees and the dirt is oddly red.  We decided to drive 10 hours straight to Puerto Iguazu, but at 8 hours our truck was overheating.  We pulled off at a Parrilla.  We filled our coolant again(which has been leaking) and ate dinner and waited for it to cool down.  The moment we hit the road it overheated again.  We went back to the restaurant and asked if we could sleep in his driveway.  They were so nice and let us, even giving us use of an old hotel bathroom behind the restaurant.  The toilet didn't flush and it was covered with spiders and cockroaches, but the gesture was sweet.