4-Xtremes – Part 67: Finally back on the road again!

The Obelisco de Buenos Aires is an impressive monument. Like a giant pencil, it rises up almost 70 metres into the sky and marks the centre of Argentina’s capital. Argentina? Yes, we've covered a good distance since we arrived in South America. And rightly so: Our Axor with the "4-Xtremes" and RoadStars logos on the living compartment survived shipping from Hamburg across the Atlantic to Montevideo. 

But trust us: When the time came and we were supposed to collect the truck in the port of Uruguay’s capital, we were really tense. The ship with the Axor arrived on a Friday. But since customs don't work over the weekend, we had to be patient. On Saturday, we were even drawn to the harbour – in the hope of maybe catching a glimpse of our home through a fence.

Paper after paper at the port administration.

We are in the first office at 9.30 sharp on Monday. We get the shipping documents, and I, Andrea, get permission to enter the port with Mike, the vehicle owner. We are then ushered through a number of offices and get more papers, which are stamped and signed. Everything runs like clockwork and the customs officers are nice. You just need patience.

Around noon we are allowed to enter the port area – and just miss the agent: Lunch break. That means a two hour wait. The area looks pretty shabby. We decide not to let that unnerve us, because here too, the staff make an above-board and competent impression. Then everything happens very quickly: With the next piece of paper in our hands, we are allowed to go to the vehicle depot. At last we can get to our truck.

High tension in the vehicle warehouse.

We open the doors with sweat on our brows. This is it! It quickly becomes clear that everything is fine. Unfortunately, not all vehicle owners were so lucky. On "our" ship there were 20 other vehicles, four of which were damaged or stolen from. The "paper game" continues – and when we finally roll out of the port premises, it’s 5 pm.

We pick up our suitcases from the apartment we've rented for a short time and get out of the city! We fill the water tanks at a gas station and park next to the trucks. Get the living box ready for sleep and then it’s time to relax.

There's an anxious moment the next morning: The solar output is too low. Is something broken? Mike climbs onto the roof and can give the all-clear: The solar panels got dirty on the ship, that's all. So to wash the truck before we move on – to a quiet place where we spread out the contents of our suitcases and stow everything in the vehicle. Now we’re really ready to go.

Long distances in sparsely populated regions.

The first trip takes us along the Rio de la Plata, around 180 kilometres to Colonia del Sacramento. The small town is considered to be Uruguay’s oldest, founded in 1680 by the Portuguese. Bumpy cobbled streets, colonial buildings – you feel like you've been transported back in time. And when the weather is good, if you look across the Rio, which is many kilometres wide here at its mouth, you can see Buenos Aires, our next destination.

As we all know, things are very close together in Europe. This is why we'll have to get used to the longer distances here. In countries as sparsely populated as Uruguay and Argentina, there can be a few hundred kilometres drive to the next large town. Upstream from Colonia del Sacramen to the Puente Libertador General San Martín, the border bridge to Argentina, is a good 200 kilometres. And they lead through seemingly endless arable land.

Nearby, we find a parking spot to stay overnight – and can set off early the next morning on foot. Whether on the modern pedestrian bridge of Puente de la Mujer or in front of Argentina’s historic Presidential Palace, the Casa Rosada: The metropolis, so bustling during the day, is still deserted. We take a break at the Obelisk – and are already looking forward to the next milestone. It's "at the end of the world".

Photos: 4-Xtremes