ARGENTINA - 26th to 31st March 2010

After reaching the faraway southern end of the world that marked the official end of our cape2cape journey, we still had to travel back up South America's east coast to ship Tipperdee and fly back home to South Africa from Buenos Aires .

A fitting end to our trip was sharing stories and guiding a French family with 3 children who were on their way up South America after being on the road down Africa for 1 year. The kids were Jade and Dane's ages and they got on fabulously – we had to tear them apart (and control our advice-giving tongues) to eventually leave around noon on the 26 th for the return trip on the only road back north via Rio Grande to the border post of San Sebastian . Ushuaia's surrounding snow-capped mountains gave way to lakes and deciduous forests then flat brown shrubs and grasslands that would accompany us forever. The border crossing into Chile was easy but then we had to 120km through muddy roads (half of it after dark) and a $28 ferry crossing of the Strait of Magellan . Another speedy border crossing back into Argentina (no questions or checking after 10pm) and we decided to continue to our goal at Rio Gallegos. This was the first time that we did 2 border crossing in one day and drove this late into the night to cover 600km. Just past the bewitching hour, detours and roadwork's outside Rio Gallegos really stretched the tired driver who was also desperately trying to find a camping spot! Eventually we just settled for a cleared area on the side of the highway where some trucks had made their home for the night.

That same uninspiring landscape continued the next day for 660km as we pushed north for the final stretch. However, free wifi at a YPF gas station near Santa Cruz delayed us quite a while, as did another of Jo-Anne's gorgeous suppers once we hit the Atlantic Ocean with the setting sun doing its magic to the skies. Then a little further at a petroleum town, Caleta Olivia, another YPF station provided free hot showers when filling up. With blow-drying of hair, 11pm arrived rather quickly and we wild camped there for the night.

The 28 th March was a long 750km day that included a 120km dirt road detour to the coast for a visit to Punta Tombo Reserve. This spot has the largest penguin colony outside Antarctica with hundreds of thousands of Magellanic penguins who were moulting after breeding, before they head back to the Atlantic for the next 6 months. Mind blowing sights, sounds and smells greeted us as we marvelled at these creatures. By 10pm we made it to the visitors centre on an isthmus that leads to Peninsula Valdes, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We wild camped here for 2 nights while exploring the massive reserve covered by steppe type vegetation which predominantly consists of low shrubs and grasses. 270km of dirt roads led to bays, beaches and cliffs where sea lions, elephant seals and marine birds like gulls and giant petrels live. Unfortunately dolphins, whales and the orcas that are renowned for snatching baby seals off the beach, took the day off! Besides spotting wild horses, sheep, guanacos and rheas, the kids excitement centred on close encounters with numerous grey foxes and hairy armadillos. As this peninsular (and a lot of eastern Argentina) was covered by the sea millions of years ago, shell and plant fossils are everywhere – especially on 20m cliff faces where the kids clambered in search of that ‘special one'.

The next 2 days were just a slog through uninspiring flat landscape – 1500km of Patagonian arid steppe slipped into the Pampas plains above the city of Bahia Blanca . The odd cluster of sheep was replaced by grazing cattle and agriculture. Just outside Pigue, another YPF gas station with free wifi and showers was our first overnight stop as we headed north towards Uruguay . Then after by passing Buenos Aires and crossing the Rio Parana we re-entered the state of Entre Rios. True to its reputation, police at a road block stopped us and tried to extort pesos from us. Our infringement was Tipperdee's rear bumper. Off-road conditions require a good departure angle and Tipperdee's rear extends ½m behind the chassis/bumper. My poor Spanish and refusal to understand their point while trying to explain my situation and pleading poverty, eventually got us through after nearly an hour of haggling. Luckily they didn't notice that Tipperdee's tail lights and dashboard lighting were not functioning! Just after 9pm we eventually found a wild camping spot at a Shell garage near Ceibas for the night.

A fuse change sorted our electrical problems the next day, but then road works and more police checks ensured that we didn't lose our hard earned patience! The Easter weekend's traffic north was a stop-start-wait affair and the 160km to Argentina 's border town of Colon took 5 hours. Unfortunately the closer bridge across the Rio Uruguay to Fray Bentos had structural issues which forced an extra 200km to our planned destination.

see diary for Uruguay

Argentina – 5th to 13th April 2010

Our final border formalities took just 20 minutes, but the 300km south to Buenos Aires from Colon was a rather unpleasant affair. Midway, Entre Rios's police detained us for over an hour, again to extort money from us. Even though we were decked out in safety belts, headlights on and did not infringe any driving or traffic rules, they decided that there should be safety belts at the back and were adamant that our foreign vehicle was a source of quick income for them. After we produced the warning triangles and fire extinguisher that they asked for, they again found fault with the bulbar and rear bumper. This was deemed unsafe and against Argentinean law and only a cash $US200 fine would allow us to proceed! So we set up camp and made this a lunch stop, while the cat and mouse game began between Gary and the police. This eventually ended when they realized that we would continue arguing and were not going to give in – 3 years of 70 different country's bureaucracy had taught us to deal with corrupt individuals in positions of ‘power'!

The heavy traffic into the capital of 13 million, forced us to find our way to the suburb of Belgrano around dusk where we hooked up with Americans Linda and Steve Maxwell, who spend their summers living between the 2 countries. They somehow got onto our website and invited us to stay for a few days in their quaint home – a real god send as we needed a base to organise Tipperdee's shipping back to South Africa .

After the rather stressful and tough few weeks of hard driving with gas stations as our home, we were delighted to have our ‘own' en suite bedroom and were welcomed with Steve's great home-made pizza and salad accompanied by Argentinean Malbec wine! Linda's breakfasts of oatmeal and fruit smoothies were a real treat. Most of our time here was chatting, schooling or preparing for the dreaded shipping – going to agents' offices downtown or customs agents' 80km north of Buenos Aires, with Jo-Anne's obsession to clean, pack and reorganise Tipperdee. We did however manage a glimpse of this European looking city with a third world twist, that's filled with rather busy, haughty residents. As Steve and Linda's passion lie in Tango, we accompanied them to one of their Tango sessions in an atmospheric old hall. On the way we got to know the subways, visited Tango shoe shops and then enjoyed the lessons, where we got to see students learning the complicated steps while the teachers demonstrated the sensual art.

We also had a taste of the warmer side of BA when we went to their friends Marta and Miguel's home for a barbeque of chorizo and ‘cow's cheeks' - which we later learnt that it was a thymus gland – an indescribable texture that did not see us going back for seconds, and even firsts for some!

On the 9 th April 2010, the day dawned that we could and never wanted to visualize – we had to say goodbye to Tipperdee, leaving her in the hands of customs at Zarate port and pray for her safe and uneventful ro-ro voyage on Grimaldi lines back to Port Elizabeth via some rather dubious ports. That night we escaped into a world of make believe with the 3D movie of Alice in Wonderland.

Freed from shipping responsibilities, we eventually did the touristy thing from the 10 th April. First up was ritzy Recoleta with its weekend hippie fair and lively performers. Professional looking tango dancers, mime artists and all kinds of live music was scattered all over the park. We had a look around BA's Home Design Centre, then Recoleta Cemetery next to 1732 Iglesia de Nuesta Senora de Pilar had us gasping! Hordes of guide-led tourist groups went through avenues of lofty statues from one extravagant marble façade to the next. Quite fascinating to see how generations of the elite rest in ornate splendour with their earthy-smelling coffins in full view – and one or two still having the fresh smell of death!!

The evening was for savouring hip Palermo 's nightlife. We connected with Gaston, whom we had met on the subway a couple of days ago, to listen to his band's gig at a rather loud venue, but unlike ‘Portenos' we were home by 1am!

The following day was another fair, the antiques market that led for nearly 2km from Plaza de Mayo down pedestrianised, cobbled Defensa to Plaza Dorrego. Lunch at a Middle Eastern sidewalk café and strolling San Telmo's atmospheric streets chewed up the daylight hours and we then headed back to Steve and Linda's place for a goodbye dinner with some of their friends.

The 12th April we moved to the older, more central San Telmo for a 2 night stay at America del Sur Hostel. A hearty lunch at one of the old colonial traditional corner eateries encouraged a long walk to colourful rough-housing La Boca. This working class barrio's main draw are bright corrugated metal buildings along pedestrianised Caminito with cafes, artists, souvenir shops and of course tango demonstrations luring unsuspecting tourists.

Our final day was spoiled by heavy rain, but we did manage a glimpse of B.A.'s more affluent side later the evening when we met up with Alejandro whom we had met in India . We had a drive around the ritzy restaurants and apartments of Las Canitas and the new Puerto Madero, then had some snacks and the local brew, stout Quilmes at his parents mansion on the city's northern outskirts.

Well, that's it folks, we came and conquered, and are flying back to Johannesburg today, the 14 th April 2010 after 37 months on the road and an unimaginable number of experiences, trials and joys through 70 countries.

We realize that we are truly blessed to have been able to dream this journey and to have completed it. We give thanks to every soul out there who has guided, aided and filled our memories with those special moments. It now feels as if it has all passed in a flash and we are going to have to start dreaming again!

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