Yes, 1200 miles! We left Colonia at 2AM. The hotel staff got up with us and prepared a lovely light breakfast to set us off right. What amazing service! Spiros, our driver and a relief driver by the name of Javier arrived promptly at 1:45 AM and after loading up we were on our way to parts north. We all quickly went back to sleep as Uruguay passed by in the darkness. We reached the Argentine border at dawn and after surrendering our passports to Spiros went back to sleep. Most of us slept through what was to be almost a two hour border experience. Spiros returned with only an apology and the statement, "buearacracy!"
Now with sunlight we were once gain in Argentina and passing planted forest after forest. We were amazed at the number of acres devoted to growing trees, both eucaliptas and pine. Among the forests was pasture land and thousands of cows. We made a short fuel stop and had some coffee and pastry. Small farms dotted the landscape and the drive continued north through small town after small town. The traffic was mild but the narrow two lane highways were under constant repair and the gravel sections were bouncy. At noon, now 10 hours into our journey we stopped at a small gas station and decided to chance the local restaurant. The area was so local that even the driver has a hard time with the language! The meal was fine and we were on the road once again about an hour later.
Contuing north Spiros shared the road map with us and for the first time we all realized it was going to be a VERY, VERY LONG day. We continue north weaving from one higway to another, passing through more towns and villages than we could count. At midafternoon we reached the rolling hills and grass becam green and the trees changed to a more tropical nature. It was now a bit cooler, only 95 instead of the over 100 we had been enduring so far today. Our goal was to reach San Ignacio and the famous Jesuit Ruins in time to visit the sight, however becuase of the border delay it was doubtful.
The drivers kept changing on and off and it was apparant that they were getting very tired, even though each was taking turns sleeping. It was now starting to get dark and at 7:30 PM, now 19 hours into our drive we realized we would miss what we had been planning to see for the entire day, AND the reason for the long drive. At 8PM we reached the ruins, now dark and a bit sad. We were grateful that our driver had done their best to get us there but alas, it was too late.
We decided to look for a restaurant and get our evening meal instead. As we passsed the entrance to the ruins Spiros noticed a small group of people gathering at the entrance gate and decided to check it out. He promptly returned and announced that we had five minutes to join and evening walk through the lighted ruins. We were tired and now truly understanding what was happening but with the excitment of at least being able to see something we got in line. We were each handed an IPOD, yes, an IPOD and headphones and we joined the group. As we entered the grounds, expecting to see a few lighted up remnants of the historic sight, a full scale theatrical production with lights, music, and video projections on water mist screens began before our lives. For the next hour we watched in amazement at the entire sight came alive with the history of the site, how it was founded, and how they lived. We were in utter amazement as our IPODs were perfectly synched to the music and the Spanish comentary.
Following the surprise that not even our drive was aware, we found a small restuarant still open and enjoyed a light supper. Then it was back on the road for our continuing journey to our final destination, the falls of Iquazu. We arrived at our hotel at 2:30 AM. It had taken 25 hours and over 1200 miles to reach our destination.
We quickly checked in and went fast asleep.
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