Date: Monday 19 September 2022

Trajectory:  Ituzaingo – Paso de la Patria

Distance covered: 260 km (with detours)

The storm continued all night, with lightning flashes and thunder rolls, the rain sounding heavy on the metal roof of my hotel room.  Got up to a wet world … 

… and an indifferent breakfast (with undrinkable coffee), so headed to the nearest service station which was an ACA but not of the modern kind – very run down, and no wifi.

But they still had the 5% ACA fuel discount, and the coffee, if slow in coming, was excellent.

Drove all morning through dark, wet highways to my stop for the night. Not the weather for birding; it rained hard pretty much all the way. I had arranged to go to the Maned Wolf Centre in Paso de la Patria (in season a sandy beach holiday resort, but not today!). But the Centre was closed – I’m trying to arrange a visit for tomorrow. 

Beer and luncheon on arrival in Paso de la Patria (one of the toughest milanesas de carne for a long time) and found my cabin for the night at Cabañas Belen Efrata. A huge, sprawling and very comfortable cabin with a lived in look I approve of.

The owner, Marcelo, is on the same Provincial Tourism committee as Alejandra, who made the booking for me – an excellent overnighter for an excellent price.

Full kitchen facilities so for supper I made a packet soup with crackers and an apple. Wifi was iffy (where isn’t it?) but for once I was able to piggy back off my phone. Finally up to date with the blogging, but anticipate problems again as I hit the Chaco.

Finally, my bird of the day, shot from the car through a gap in the clouds  – a golden-breasted woodpecker perched on a post boy the side of the road.