29-Dec-2011 -- This is the second out of ten confluences that we visited during our trip to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. The story begins at 35°S 59°W.
We took a speed ferry from Buenos Aires to the beautiful town Colonia in Uruguay. In Colonia, we rented a car for one day in order to visit some rural places in Uruguay. From Sergio we knew that this confluence was easy to visit, so we decided to make a little excursion for a visit. On top of that, the nearby town “Nuevo Berlin” sounded interesting, in particular because I had lived in Old Berlin for 5 years. The town has been described very well by Captain Peter after the first visit of this confluence.
We took the route via the town Mercedes, then took a dirt road short-cut to route 24 towards the north. Route 24 misses the confluence point by only 880 m, but a dirt road turning westwards allows approaching the confluence on the road network up to 700 m. At that distance we parked our car and hiked along a track through a huge soybean field.
The confluence is just 10 m from the edge of the field. Well, on the other side of the edge the next huge soybean field extends far to the horizon. Obviously, there has been quite a change in the landscape since Captain Peter found this confluence on grassland 10 years ago. This change from pasture to soybean cultivation is quite a common phenomenon in the Rio Plata area.
After a short celebration, we had to rush back in order to get to some place before nightfall. We stayed the night in Fray Bentos which is located 30 km further south-west.
CP Visit Details:
- Distance to an asphalt road: 880 m
- Distance to a road: 700 m
- Distance to a track: 300 m
- Distance of parking: 700 m
- Distance to houses: 2500 m
- Time starting the visit: 18:50 PM
- Time at the CP: 19:45 PM
- Measured height: 39 m
- Minimal distance according to GPS: 1 m
- Position accuracy at the CP: 3 m
- Topography: fairly flat
- Vegetation: soybeans, soybeans, soybeans
- Weather: cloudy, 24° C (felt temperature)
- Description of the CP: In western Uruguay 6 km from Rio Uruguay and 10 km from the border to Argentina. In agricultural area. A railroad track runs 300 m east of the confluence point.
- Given Name: The Pure Soybean Confluence
Story continues at 43°S 65°W.