Day 677 – South America – Argentina [Rest Day in Diego de Alvear]

27/02/22

 Rest day in Diego de Alvear (Argentina, South America)

An unscheduled rest-day of torrential rains and a national thunderstorms weather alert

My next rest day was scheduled in 3 days time, in Junin. Well that plan changed in the middle of the night as it became clear the weather was so foul it would be too dangerous to run by the side of Ruta 7. Torrential violent incessant rain as well as thunderstorms made the conditions very hazardous. The decision was made very quickly to bring forward the rest-day. The consequence is that I will have to run 9 days without a break to reach Buenos Aires on the 8th March.

8th March is International Women’s Day and that is the day that the French Embassy is preparing to welcome me as I finish the crossing of the continent. And there is no getting late for that! Anyway, I better be on schedule for the rest of the way. It was quite unusual to experience such harsh conditions. The only other time a rest-day has been brought forward in the world-run was when I was crossing Spain on 20th January 2020 and Storm Gloria brought me to a halt in Moraira. Quite an unusual thing to happen really!

Meanwhile we have been enjoying the small town of San Gregorio. I have mentioned before the friendliness and warmth of Argentinian people towards us. Yesterday as we had dinner at the JuAnaB restaurant, the whole staff did their best to serve us and all tried to speak a bit of english. We had a great time and their boss, Herman, promised to cook us a lemon pie tonight. So we are going back for a second round today. And our hosts at Kelos Cabana also baked us some croissants which they just brought us. We are being spoiled! With our chilean-painted van and our foreign looks, we are quick to spot in such small places I guess!