Gooood night readers! Giving continuation. Two crazy guys, two bikes, 400+ km riding, 12 days. Check this travel story.

This is the PART 6 of a story a friend and I experienced this past february. We made our way to Montevideo in Uruguay, bought some bicycles and rode them back to Brazil. An amazing experience full of overcoming situations that I'd like to present through this texts.

If you are landing here now consider checking PART 1, and moving from there. Link presented below:

[PART 1] Travel Story: Coast of Uruguay by Bicycle | Planning

In PART 1 I talked about the motivation behind the idea and how simple it was to plan everything. It gives you and introdution to the main idea, preparations and the basic road map for our trip. If you like my work please consider checking that out, it'll be much appreciated.

In PART 2 the initial steps of our trip were presented, how we failed to hitchhike and the solutions we found. I also try to give you an idea on how you can find positivity, always, everywhere!

In PART 3 we wandered around Montevideo and drank beer to pass time. It was carnival holidays and we were not able to buy our bikes.

In PART 4 we actually bought the bikes and started our way back to Brazil. In this part you'll discover how the first 50km were.

In PART 5 we found a little counter wind and I talked a little about the routine and how it'll be in every aspect of your life. Even when you are travelling.

Hope you enjoy reading this continuation and the ones to come, feel free to leave your feedback down below!

The Counter Wind

Feb. 18th, 2018. Money was short, bodies were tired. Our desire was to stay in Punta del Este one more day to rest, unfortunately we had no option besides taking a strong breakfast, finding energy and leave. Our motivation was supported by the fact that we had only 35 km to ride that day, it was the shortest day of all the trip, thus it should be no problem.

We woke up mid-morning and immediately took a shower; the next leg of our trip was going to be on “no man’s land”. At least two days following the coast wild camping with no supermarkets to resupply.

For this part we’ve had two choices. After Laguna Garzon we could either follow “Ruta 10” until it meets “Ruta 9” to work around the Laguna de Rocha - this option not only gets away from wild nature and the coast but would increase our route by roughly 30 km. Or we could keep on going where “Ruta 10” turns and cross by foot, pushing our bikes through the Laguna de Rocha protected area - this would be difficult but much more rewarding.

Crossing Laguna de Rocha on foot required that we were on the dry season, otherwise the sea connects with the lake, making it impossible to cross. We had no idea if it was dry or not. If it wasn’t dry we’d need to go back 20 km and go around the lake increasing our route by several kilometers or camp and wait for a better opportunity.

We were sure that we wanted to cross the reserve, thus we haven’t discussed much and in silence we carried on to our morning duties. It was windy and we were worried.

Showers taken, breakfast eaten and bikes loaded up. We left the camping with the goal to hit Laguna Garzon. We were excited for the next days; those would be the days where we would truly enjoy nature since the cities get smaller and the beaches more deserted.

Before hitting the road André and I stopped at a gas station to load more water, tree extra liters each. Who knows where we’d find water again? The next city was La Paloma, 100 km away.

The first kilometers were incredible; we passed by small villages. To our right there were the sand dunes, the beaches and the vast Atlantic Ocean. The sky was incredibly blue with no clouds. The wind however was killing.

Riding a bicycle below the hot sun on a counter wind seemed to be a nightmare. At every cycle of the pedals my energy was sucked from my body, my head started hurting and the 20 kg of equipment and water were feeling heavier and heavier to carry. I was no longer enjoying the view, my main focus was directed to maintain a constant rhythm.

André was a little ahead and at some point he stopped.

- Do you want to keep on going? – He asked.

- Dude, it’s too hot! We just can’t keep on going like that! – I said.

- What do you want to do? – He asked.

It was around 1200 noon; I looked around and found an empty construction with an open garage protected from the sun, perfect place to rest. There was also a small supermarket nearby.

- Let’s stay on that house over there, good place to rest. – I proposed.

We had no plan and there we stayed laughing and telling jokes, waiting for time to pass or the wind to change. Two hours passed, I was desperate for food so we made a deal.

- How about drinking a coke at the mini market, eating something and keep on riding? – I asked. Knowing that André doesn’t refuse a fresh Coke.

- Deal! – He said.

That was the best idea we’ve had that day.

If there’s something Uruguay is superb about, that is food. Especially the empanadas, a delicious baked pastry filled with pretty much anything; there were meat fillings, chicken, spinach, cheese, corn.

It felt like heaven, empanadas and fresh Coke, the best combination for two starving travellers. We must have eaten ten empanadas (they are not small) and two liters of Coke. We were so happy that we’ve forgotten about the wind and even the clouds came to our rescue covering the sun from time to time. It was the perfect time to leave and hit the road again.

We were focused. Laguna Garzon was not far away, but the wind was still braking us. On a situation like this, psychology needs to be stronger than your muscles. You are fighting against your mind, the wind and the equipment load. Deep breaths to keep oxygen flowing and positive thoughts are your allies. It sounds exaggerating for experienced cyclists, but for me it was a new situation, never in my life I’ve rode a bike soo far.

From the distance we’ve started seeing the famous round bridge, where once operated an old cable ferry. Year back I passed through this place with my father by car, It had changed a lot since then, it was a lot more wild the first time. The gravel road was asphalted; the ferry was no longer operating, giving space to the new bridge; the entire infrastructure brought tourists and there were many people enjoying the lake. From families spending the day to kite and wind surfers, it was beautiful seeing the colorful sails going up and down the wind.

Photo atributions to Jimmy Baikovicius from Montevideo, Uruguay via Wikimedia Commons

Kite surfers at Laguna Garzon

Wind surfer before sunset.

Finally we were there, with no plans in mind. That night we were going to wild camp somewhere, but for now we just wanted to enjoy the view and rest by the lake until the sun set. I was tired and happy to be there.

How many people have the chance to do what we were doing? Being in the middle of nature, no cities and crazy people, cars honking, just the peaceful sound of the wind blowing. And there we stayed, having fun and eating dulce de leche.

The next day we would cross the Laguna de Rocha reserve and reach La Paloma.