To view our photo album for this blog, click here

Our ferry ride from Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay to Buenos Aires only took an hour, not counting the wait to clear customs and immigration plus the interminable delay in embarking. I stood in line with hordes of other passengers while Andre waited on board inside the camper. Finally we were herded onto our ferry and sailed away.

Following the herd to board our ferry to Buenos Aires

Our ferry arrives at the port of Buenos Aires, Argentina

We left the port, heading north in the direction of the upscale suburb of Tigre. Andre was certain that we would find a campground there since he had read about it online in a French travel forum. As we drove through the congested freeway and the temperature soared to 40°Ç (104°F) I began to wonder if it would be smarter to return to Buenos Aires at the end of our trip in February. After all, the young immigration officer at the port had advised us that going south now would be the best thing we could do…

After slogging through 35 km of heavy traffic, we reached Tigre, a beautiful town on the Rio de la Plata Delta. We found Andre’s campground but it was closed and from the looks of it had been out of commission for a while. There were no other facilities for camping cars. People live in houseboats along the canals and there is tent camping available on islands that can only be reached by boat. It was time for us to realize that South American travel was going to be a lot more challenging than it is in Europe and North America! We spent the night in a quiet residential area where friendly residents offered us food and water. It rained heavily during the night which, thankfully, cooled things off and we decided it was indeed time to go south along the Atlantic Coast.

Finding Evita Perón in rush hour traffic, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Our itinerary from Buenos Aires to the Atlantic Coast

On the way we stopped in La Plata. This is the capital of Buenos Aires Province and was South America’s first completely planned city. It is based on a “logical” grid pattern which I actually found quite confusing! Again there was no camping in the vicinity so we stayed at a hotel and left our camper in a secure parking garage. On our walk around the city we found an atlas with locations of campgrounds. We snatched it up immediately! There are some interesting sights here, including their enormous neo-Gothic cathedral and an ultra modern Casa Curuchet designed by French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier.

Ultra modern Casa Curutchet-Le Corbusier contrasts with a colonial style building, La Plata, Argentina

On we went to the first major beach along the coast, San Clemente del Tuyú. This is a quiet unassuming town with a seemingly endless beach, flanked by sand dunes.  The city center reminded us of San Francisco’s Mission District.  We found the ideal campground, Campamento San Clemente del Tuyú. It’s run by the Automobile Club of Argentina and they even gave us a discount for our membership in AAA. The managers, Marcella and José, went out of their way to be helpful and accommodating. It had all the amenities we needed, hot showers, wifi, and a spacious site with ample trees. Long morning walks were a daily activity here along with our Spanish lessons. There weren’t many people when we arrived but by Christmas the campground was full – mostly families and a few couples our age. All of them were very friendly, open, and interested in getting to know us. Despite our best efforts, though, we found it difficult to maintain an in-depth conversation with them. We stayed here for 5 days, had a Skype chat with our daughters on Christmas day, then continued down the coast.

Camping ACA, San Clemente del Tuyú, Argentina

Camping ACA, San Clemente del Tuyú, Argentina

Yoga on the beach, San Clemente del Tuyú, Argentina

Christmas lights, Camping ACA, San Clemente del Tuyú, Argentina

Christmas lunch in town, San Clemente del Tuyú, Argentina

Christmas gift from José, Camping ACA, San Clemente del Tuyu, Argentina

We stopped for a look at Pinamar, another of the important seaside communities along the Atlantic coast. This beach was much more crowded, with a multitude of hotels and cabañas lined up along the crowded beach.

Beach at Pinamar, Argentina

Then we continued on to Mar del Plata, the largest and most touristy of all the beaches on the coast. One could say that it’s “La Côte d’Azur” of Argentina. There is a sizable Basque population here and we stopped to visit the Basque Cultural Center. It is constructed in the style of the homes one finds in the Basque regions of France and Spain. There were a group of men playing handball and we went to the snack bar to speak to some of them. All of them were so polite and friendly, offering tourist advice about their city. We found camping along the beach just outside the city and the next day returned to visit the port and walk the Playa Grande promenade. It was good to see so many others doing the same; fitness seems to be important here. After our walk we had lunch at Taberna Baska, a traditional Basque restaurant specializing in seafood.

Port, Mar del Plata, Argentina

Surfing School, Playa Grande, Mar del Plata, Argentina

We’ve had a variety of climates so far on this journey. It was starting to heat up again as we continued down the coast, passing through the seaport city of Bahia Blanca. From there we had to take a slight detour inland through yawning stretches of Pampas, a Las Vegas-like inferno. We returned to the coast to spend the night near the beach at Monte Hermoso. (After another beach walk we left Buneos Aires Province for the Rio Negro in Patagonia.

To view the photo album for this blog, click here