The Little Things

Today was spent getting the shifters put on my bike, riding it and getting used to the pattern being completely opposite what it was before, and cleaning then oiling the chain. I spent a lot of time yesterday gathering information as to the best way to maintain the chain and other things on the bicycles, and have come to the conclusion that when it comes to maintenance serious bicyclists are even more fanatical than most motorcyclists. I found out I should soak it in diesel or kerosene, or boil it in hot water, then either put it in a bath of paraffin and let it dry overnight, or use motor oil, or chainsaw oil, or a special oil made for chains, or a mixture of oil and paraffin or a mixture of oil and kerosene. There were several different motor oils I could use and some I should avoid. I should take the chain off the bike and vigorously swing it around to dry, but carefully so as not to damage it. So I washed it down with gasoline, sprayed it with WD-40, and used a wadded up plastic bag to slather on some motor oil from my motorcycle. It's still dripping out on the balcony.

When I was having dinner with my friend Cherie, we got to talking about countries we had visited and our impressions. She had a good time in Ecuador, and it was one of the worst places I have ever traveled through. She flew there and went to a friend's house and had her itinerary sorted pretty well, and I showed up at the border and asked to be let in. She saw really neat stuff. I saw corrupt official after corrupt official, miles and miles of garbage and plastic banana bags on the road and banana plantations and banana pickers throwing bananas at me from the backs of banana trucks. I think when you show up unannounced and have to find your way through, you develop a very different sense of the place.

Uruguay fascinates me. It is one of the most overlooked countries in South America. Most people who make the trip via motorcycle don't consider visiting Uruguay. It occupies a strange part of the Southern Cone, where it isn't between two more interesting places to see. So nobody passes through on their way somewhere else.

Right now Uruguay is having a conflict with Argentina over a papermill the Uruguayans are constructing on the river between Uruguay and Argentina. It is being build by a company from Finland, and will be one of the cleanest in the world when it starts operating. The Argentines claim they are worried it will pollute the river between the two countries. They knew the plant was going to be built three years ago, and didn't complain. In fact they actively sought to have it put in Entre Rios province, across the river from where it is now.

When the company that is building the plant decided to put it in Uruguay instead, the Argentines decided it is a source of pollution. So they block the bridges between the two countries, depriving the Uruguayans of tourist revenue from Argentines that want to visit Punte del Este. They also claim Argentina would be a better place for the plant, because they have a better record of taking care of the environment. In my travels, I have noticed that the parts of Argentina that are well maintained and taken care of are very far from most Argentinians. They can't get to their natural resources, that's why Patagonia is so pristine and unpolluted. The parts where they actually live are quite polluted and filthy.

Fortunately, we will be traveling through Uruguay when the Argentines who were able to get in are back at work, and the Chileans are on vacation. Because they drive, most of them will not be able to cross the bridges into Uruguay. So we should have the entire country almost to ourselves.

In Entre Rios they are planting trees like crazy, for the new papermill in Uruguay.