Las Flores - Harosteguy - Pardo - Canal 11 - Plaza Montero

So cold!!! I don't know if it's the years or what, but I feel it more and more, haha. Despite that, if we want to do everything planned, we have to start really early as always; practically nothing changes compared to the summer. We left at 6:15 AM to be effectively pedaling by 8:30 AM at the latest. And so it was, and once prepared, we started another great adventure, this time through Las Flores! The journey involved a city tour at the beginning.

We spent a good amount of time just at the Las Flores train station. The forecast for the duration was already looking bad, haha, but what are we here for if not to explore and enjoy the places we visit!.
After the station, we headed towards Pardo, and after taking Route 30(?) for a bit, we started on rural roads proper. The next stop was the Harosteguy station, totally abandoned and very beautiful for photos. We continued along the tracks. An unexpected surprise was finding remains of train cars from some derailment.

We spent a good time there...very cool. Not without taking a somewhat strange detour, we arrived in Pardo. Given the direction we were coming from and to avoid backtracking, we first deviated a bit to visit a railway bridge over the river or Canal 11.

After that, we entered the town, but not quite...still somewhat on the outskirts is the Capilla del Perpetuo Socorro (Chapel of Perpetual Help), impossible to miss, it's very beautiful! Now, we arrived in the town where we took advantage of the nice park next to the station to finish our lunches and rest a bit.

It was a great satisfaction to see a Ferrosur cargo train pass by. We would later find out that it circulates very often, contrary to what one might think, more than 5 or 6 times a day.

Packing up camp, a brief city tour of this beautiful town, and we headed for the second part of the route. A small change in the route made us go out onto Route 3 and ride a few kilometers on it. The truth is, it was great, at least in this whole section.

It has a good shoulder that allows you to circulate without problems. Upon reaching the Canal 11 crossing, we abandoned the route again and continued on the dirt road bordering the canal. The road is desolate, without road crossings or ranches, nothing. Soon, a gate closing the road causes us some concern.

This is often seen on our outings; they put these gates to keep the livestock that roam loose around there from getting out. It's a matter of opening and closing when passing through. Here, the road becomes heavier due to the effect of the holes left by the practically single passage of livestock through these places. Passing the other gate and arriving at the railway bridge is the reference point to take the new road that will this time run alongside the tracks that go to Plaza Montero.

As evening began to fall, we arrived at the place and station. We left the bikes at the entrance since to get to the station you have to cross a complicated and quite flooded pasture. The station, beautiful in its construction, looks like a victim of abandonment. After being there for a while and with the sound of gunshots from someone who had arrived minutes later, apparently to shoot at the birds, we left whistling softly.

What remains is simply the rest of the road that reaches Route 3 and crosses it. We continued that way despite the warning from a truck that had passed us and was now returning, signaling us not to continue...obviously, we continued. It must have been the mud or the "pool" that we had to cross, but the warning ended up being a source of jokes later. In the end, the bikes passed where a truck didn't dare!

Already almost dark, Las Flores saw us arrive. Quickly to the hotel, hot bath, and dinner to recover from the day.