The ferry ride to Uruguay was a crowded and tedious exercise. The vessel had a single vehicle deck and three passenger decks. Because of the size of the Tiger we were held back until all other vehicles had loaded. I found this frustrating though it really did not matter. The crossing of the Rio de la Plata (River Plate)took 4 hours. This was slower than the usual three hours and was in part the result of high winds that, the crew said, made maneuvering difficult. The unloading process was a real riot, total chaos. For some reason, perhaps the wind, the vehicle docked in a manner that meant that all vehicles would have to reverse off, and that was a challenge that many of the drivers found was at, or beyond their skill level. Cars wobbling everywhere.

The Rio de la Plata is very wide, at its widest point as much as 200 km. I heard from someone that it is widest river in the world. It was certainly the case that the ferry travelled for an extended period during which neither shore was visible.

Our friends Sam and Bernie were at the dock to welcome us and to give advice on buying supplies and where to find the camping ground.

I spent the afternoon applying some of the spares Nina had brought back from the states to the Tiger. A new fuel filler hatch and left rear perimeter light (which got destroyed in Bariloche over Christmas). Unfortunately in the process of replacing the light I noticed that none of the rear lights on the vehicle were working. We could not figure out how long that had been the case. Fixing that will be tomorrows problems.