Argentina - last stops

The first place we went to, after returning to Argentina from Uruguay, was Santa Fe. We had a part of the country left, Entre Rios, and we were not disappointed to spend a bit of time there. The vegetation was similar to previous stretches of road after leaving Cordoba, but the cities were different. The landscape seems monotonous but it is because the country is huge and it takes so long to drive from one place to another.

Santa Fe was a very nice experience, so much so that Karin was inspired to have a haircut! We stayed in a hotel in the central city, only one block from the main shopping street, a pedestrian only stretch with good shops and restaurants. It was on walking distance from the historic center, so we went there one day.

To be somewhere different for the new year's celebrations, we moved on to Corrientes. We had been a bit hesitant to go there as the city was inundated in heavy rains a few days earlier and many people had their houses flooded just before Christmas. The water had mainly subsided when we got there, and late in the afternoon 31 December we arrived to a brand new hotel with the best views over the Paraná River. The river was a main gathering point for the locals, who spent their entire days on the shore to try to get some relief from the heat wave. It looked strange, the people were allowed to be in the water only a few meters out and the area was carefully roped off. As it wasn't very deep, and as everybody had to be in that narrow area, there was standing room only.

New Year was of course celebrated at the hotel, but we fell asleep before midnight as we often do. Fireworks are banned in Argentina, so the noise came only from music. The locals told us they mainly celebrate at home with family, but some go to dinner parties at hotels or other venues. Christmas was a much livelier event as we saw it in Uruguay. We stayed in Corrientes for New Years Day, and it was a quiet day with everything closed in the city.

The next day we did the last drive in Argentina, a four hour stretch to Clorinda and the border crossing to Paraguay.