A Quick Drive Across the Continent

Reunited with our beloved truck and portable house, Nikki and I were so excited to start our South American road trip round 2! We left the port in Montevideo with smiles on our faces and a yearning to continue our trip of a lifetime.

Unfortunately due to the US shipping strike, our truck and trip overall was delayed two weeks and therefore we only had one week to traverse the whole continent before picking up our first two visitors, Matt and Clarissa. Our route was to drive from Montevideo and head southwest to Puerto Monte. Before leaving Uruguay, we had one last stop to make, Colonia. Colonia is the perfect picture of a South American city that has retained its historical charm. The small city is filled with small winding cobblestone streets that lead to a multitude of restaurants and cute shops. We had allocated one day to explore the charming city and it did not disappoint. The food, historical scenery and beautiful ocean views were the perfect welcome for our trip.

After appeasing our sightseeing appetite, we settled in for a week of long days and miles. From Colonia, we crossed the border into Argentina and continued southwest traversing the full width of the country. While the driving days were long, it did allow us to see the Pampas of Argentina. The scenery transitioned from rural and agricultural land, similar to Iowa and Kansas, to dry shrub-land reminiscent of Nevada. The days passed and we became reacquainted with our little home. Soon enough the dry landscape started to change to foothills and then full mountains as we entered the magical town of Bariloche. Bariloche was on our list of places to visit last trip but we ran out of time to visit. The town is well known as a major ski destination in Argentina. It sits right on the boarder with Chile amongst the beautiful Andes mountains. We spent one day enjoying the mountain views before we crossed the border into Chile. The mountain pass between the two countries was spectacular! Icy-blue clear rivers emptied into vivid lakes surrounded by jagged peaks. Once we had passed into Chile, we had two days before picking up Matt and Clarissa for their two week visit. We were very excited to share our trip with them for a bit!