Day 674 – South America – Argentina [Laboulaye to Leguizamon]

24/02/22

43km

  From Laboulaye (Argentina) to Leguizamon (Argentina)

South America

Running through the marshes, a very scary spider, a dwarf armadillo and birds a plenty

The marshes along Ruta 7

As most people around the world, I woke up to the heart wrenching news of a war in Europe. I don’t think this blog is the place where I should express my opinion about this… Let’s just say that as a pro European and someone who grew up through the end of the cold war, the Balkan wars and the advent of long lasting peace in Europe, this comes as a serious blow.

Lots of birds

I started the run in the morning following a night of very heavy rain. I was glad the skies cleared up and the clouds disappeared as I set out on Ruta’s 7 grassy side. Very quickly, the road was passing through the marshes. Very humid, inundated areas with very abundant wildlife. Birds, ducks, herons and other birds of prey. And in the grass too.

The scariest spider I have ever seen!

Running on the grassy side requires a lot of energy. First of all, I have to lift my feet much higher than my usual low stride. But it also involves a serious mental requirement. All sorts of reptiles and insects live in the grass. My eyes are scanning, for dozens of km on end the grass where my feet are gonna land. I sometimes run on the road when I am sure no vehicles are coming from behind. Then I can glance around and enjoy my surroundings.

A dwarf armadillo’s…. bum and tail!

As you can see from my pictures, I have avoided quite a few snakes today – I managed to picture only one, but there are loads of them. I also spotted a dwarf-armadillo, which absolutely is not dangerous! It was very cute, almost looking like a piglet. As it noticed me, it started burying itself in the grassy mud. I only got a picture of his bum and tail! But the scariest of all today was without a doubt the scary spider. I thought it was a skull-spider but the internet seems to point to a “yellow garden spider”. Whatever its name, it did scare me when I spotted it inches away from me as I was taking a break, my head resting on the security fence where it was swinging from..!

Enjoy the video of today’s run:

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: