Ushuaia in 2859 Km.
But then you have to park!

This web page comes to you from outside Bari S.A. the Mercedes-Benz garage in Bahia Blanca at Km post 696 on the Ruta 3 that leads south from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia (our next goal and reputedly the most southerly town in the world). (S38.704958 W62.342595).

We are here getting K-Nine's hand brake fixed. It stopped working when we arrived in Argentina (on Friday evening) and this the first open Mercedes garage we have come to. The garage looks clean, tidy and efficient, and as nearly always happens they managed to start work on K-Nine within 30 minutes of us arriving (but they do take a three hour lunch break)!

The road here (Ruta 3) has not been very exciting (except for Clive doing hill starts at traffic lights without a hand brake!) but it has been smooth and straight, with lots of places to pull off and park.

We had been warned that the Argentinian police were very zealous in their duty to check that all foreign vehicles were complying with the letter of the law. And in Argentina that means carrying two warning triangles, a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher and a rigid tow-bar (as well as a working hand brake!). So far we have been stopped by the police a couple of times but without any hassle.

At one point when we stopped for lunch in the middle of nowhere, we noticed a rather strange walled "town" on our left. (see photograph below).

Closer examination showed it to be a rather grand cemetery. It was like walking into a small historic European town full of extravagant monuments and churches. Well worth a visit if you should need a break near Benito Juarez (S37.638628 W59.848538).