As you, the faithful, might remember, we took a slight detour (just another 10,000 km and a leap into a completely different time-zone) last months to go back to the sources of the Suixtil brand and, at the same time, some of the most glorious hours of motor racing.
We’ve already discussed at some lengths the discoveries we made at and around the Fangio Museum in Balcarce (the birthplace of none other than El Chueco himself) here but thought we could share a few more impressions of our trip as they related to our (not so) common passion. And so here are few more observations from the road, as it happened – at life speed!
We drove from Balcarce to Mar del Plata and the road was gorgeous, if baffling – it’s a highway in perfect condition (none of the back country roads we experienced from BA down to Balcarce) where the landscape is only grander than ever, like it’s been carved by the Gods using an axe of dimensions you cannot understand. And the highway is only interrupted once or twice by tool booth manned by indolent operators who clearly have seen it all and more. Once you get to Mar del Plata, in the southern hemisphere summer at least, things changes – the city is bustling with tourism and it certainly deserves it all: it’s a spectacular coast line, with loads of historic houses and welcoming places. The only slightly unsettling feel is that the entire tourism is local – there are no foreigners or none you can easily identify, like the place has been somewhat unjustly stricken off the tourists guides. And that’s really too bad – guided by the welcoming Mauricio, who is also famous for crafting all our helmets and with whom we reviewed our latest plans for world-domination (very hush hush, of course), we inspected many of the many nooks and crannies the city has to offer and regaled in some people-watching in the most perfect settings…
A very strong respect for El Maestro in Mar del Plata
Another cave of treasures…
Another cave of treasures…
Another cave of treasures…
Mar del Plata sights
Mar del Plata sights
Not a selfie
Mar del Plata sights
Mar del Plata sights
Mar del Plata sights
Mar del Plata sights
And then it was time to hit the road, again, for some more endless driving – to get back to the capital for more visits and meetings. The accesses to the city are somewhat baffling: an endless criss-cross of elevated roads and tollways that should require some form of payments but that we ignore with our small rental car without discernible consequences – go figure.
And then it’s a question of having a good GPS to be able to locate one’s destination. Buenos Aires (“fair winds” though we also saw some torrential rains) seems full of contrasts – the grand old lady on the one end, with spectacular edifices and buildings – lots of them quite run down – COVID too left a lot scars – and modernity reaching out on the other.
Buenos Aires old and new
Buenos Aires old and new
Buenos Aires old and new
Buenos Aires old and new
Buenos Aires old and new
Buenos Aires old and new
Buenos Aires old and new
Buenos Aires old and new
Buenos Aires old and new
Buenos Aires old and new
Buenos Aires old and new
Buenos Aires old and new
Buenos Aires old and new
And for sure, if you’re in Recoleta, that nice part of towns were lots of embassies have chosen to take refuge, you should also take the time to visit La Biela, you’ll be welcome there by the Galvez brothers, before walking in on Borges & Casares and discover that the walls are covered in motor racing memorabilia. From photos to trophies to radiator grills and badges, there sure is a lot of history waiting to be learned – take a look:
La Biela reveals its treasures
La Biela reveals its treasures
La Biela reveals its treasures
La Biela reveals its treasures
La Biela reveals its treasures
La Biela reveals its treasures
La Biela reveals its treasures
La Biela reveals its treasures
La Biela reveals its treasures
La Biela reveals its treasures
La Biela reveals its treasures
And there is, of course, so much more to see and do – but we’ll leave that for you to discover – at life speed!
Argentinean road trip – part 2 (Mar del Plata & Buenos Aires)
As you, the faithful, might remember, we took a slight detour (just another 10,000 km and a leap into a completely different time-zone) last months to go back to the sources of the Suixtil brand and, at the same time, some of the most glorious hours of motor racing.
We’ve already discussed at some lengths the discoveries we made at and around the Fangio Museum in Balcarce (the birthplace of none other than El Chueco himself) here but thought we could share a few more impressions of our trip as they related to our (not so) common passion. And so here are few more observations from the road, as it happened – at life speed!
We drove from Balcarce to Mar del Plata and the road was gorgeous, if baffling – it’s a highway in perfect condition (none of the back country roads we experienced from BA down to Balcarce) where the landscape is only grander than ever, like it’s been carved by the Gods using an axe of dimensions you cannot understand. And the highway is only interrupted once or twice by tool booth manned by indolent operators who clearly have seen it all and more. Once you get to Mar del Plata, in the southern hemisphere summer at least, things changes – the city is bustling with tourism and it certainly deserves it all: it’s a spectacular coast line, with loads of historic houses and welcoming places. The only slightly unsettling feel is that the entire tourism is local – there are no foreigners or none you can easily identify, like the place has been somewhat unjustly stricken off the tourists guides. And that’s really too bad – guided by the welcoming Mauricio, who is also famous for crafting all our helmets and with whom we reviewed our latest plans for world-domination (very hush hush, of course), we inspected many of the many nooks and crannies the city has to offer and regaled in some people-watching in the most perfect settings…
And then it was time to hit the road, again, for some more endless driving – to get back to the capital for more visits and meetings. The accesses to the city are somewhat baffling: an endless criss-cross of elevated roads and tollways that should require some form of payments but that we ignore with our small rental car without discernible consequences – go figure.
And then it’s a question of having a good GPS to be able to locate one’s destination. Buenos Aires (“fair winds” though we also saw some torrential rains) seems full of contrasts – the grand old lady on the one end, with spectacular edifices and buildings – lots of them quite run down – COVID too left a lot scars – and modernity reaching out on the other.
And for sure, if you’re in Recoleta, that nice part of towns were lots of embassies have chosen to take refuge, you should also take the time to visit La Biela, you’ll be welcome there by the Galvez brothers, before walking in on Borges & Casares and discover that the walls are covered in motor racing memorabilia. From photos to trophies to radiator grills and badges, there sure is a lot of history waiting to be learned – take a look:
And there is, of course, so much more to see and do – but we’ll leave that for you to discover – at life speed!