As before we pulled in to town in the dark but tonight we opted for a hotel. We 'splurged' for a hotel for 220$. That's about $25 each. Not bad. To compare, the camping has been 30$/pp/pn so ~$7/pp/pn.
As far as the driving goes, it's been pretty good on the highways. The roads have been paved recently (Guille says that's because of the recent election and all the promises made!). The speed limit really doesn't come up much, you just go as fast as you're comfortable going. For the most part it's been flat and straight. Easy. The tricky part is all the necessary passing when stuck behind trucks.
Driving in the towns is generally okay except that lanes are fluid and optional. The one-way streets are poorly marked so you never know which way to look and even if you're on a main drag, the right of way changes according to who's on the right. I have come to the conclusion that in urban areas I am a much better co-pilot than pilot!
Roundabouts do my head in at the best of times but I've come to appreciate them now that I think I got the rules under control. Compared to all the 4-way stops in Alberta, they're brilliant. Here in Argentina any rules I know get thrown out the window. I need to just accept the non-sensical rule that those coming IN to the roundabout get the right of way and get Guille to coach me through them as I go!
The topography really changed today as we went from flat plains into the Valle de Los Martires around Las Plumas. It reminded both of us of pictures we've seen of the Grand Canyon. I confess I loved the geology and saw one of the most obvious unconformities I've ever seen.
It was always exciting to see what vistas were waiting for us around each twist and turn. There were literally a few gasps of awe between Guille and I as we were came to the crest of a hill or around a corner. We were gawking all afternoon with many 'wow's escaping from our mouths!
During Guille's shift driving, I paged through a book I picked up last night in Puerto Piramides called "Che Boludo! - A gringo's guide to understanding the Argentinians". We had a good laugh as I learned some expressions that caused Guille to cringe and shake her head with the suggestion that I never utter those words in polite company! Others were simply fascinating insight into the culture. Case in point: "la verdad de la milanesa"...'the truth of the breaded veal' naturally means 'the real deal'.
Now I have new sympathies for people learning English and all of our crazy expressions.
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