World Run II / Reports

The map shows the position of which the pictures for the day are taken (if any). The start and finish markers are placed at the first and last valid registered position. This is not nessesary the actual start and finish position, if GSM or GPS signals was not available.

Goto: 2011-01-30 2011-02-01 Argentina

2011-01-31:

14
Distance today: 20.0 km (Accumulated: 22514.0 km)
Elapsed time: 01:49:30
Country: Argentina

Start 11:05am., 23c, l. wind, a few clouds. At bl.&white roadsign "km 1926" on hwy. 3 to Bournes Aires.
Finish 13:44pm, 25c, l. wind and cloudy. At monument "Homedaje a los Trabajadores de Yacimientos Petroliferos" at city-centre in Caleta Olivia, on hwy. 3.

Caleta Olivia !

After a looong streatch since the last city of scale, Rio Gallegos approx. 800km of running behind me, we reached this small but charming city of almost 40 000 inhabitants. It might should exactly small to most people, especially those of the metropols of the world. But when slowly moving across the curve of the earth I can guarantee that when reaching a city of this scale - it is like a Shock !! A shock of hectic life, civilization, food, shops and ... not least possibilities of staying at a hotel and perhaps most importantly: To have a shower :-))

The story of Olivia begins at year 1901 when a ship ancored up in the bay with the purpose of establishing a telegraphline along the coast of Southern Argentina. The first female to disembark the vessel was... "Olivia" - thus the city was promptly named Caleta Olivia !
(Caleta means bay or ancor-point as far as I understand spanish ;-)

During the first decades its main income was based on whool and shipping of whool to Bournes Aires and overseas. But in 1944 oil was discovered and almost overnight the town was turned into a bustling oil-city. And if you look at the slideshow of pictures from todays run you´ll notice the statue at the finishpoint of todays run - a 10m. tall bronze statue of an oilworker turning the valve; looking towards North where the oil and wealth is going - and where I am hopefully running eventually :-)

PS: At 15km into todays short stage I met Marco the Italian bicyclist ! Marco lives in Rimini when at home from his travels, and is at present cycling from Santiago in Chile and has already reached Punta Areanas and was on his way back the 4000km towards Santiago as I met him on a little hillclimb. As it turned out he has also cyckled the Sahara, which I ran through in 2009 on my way through Africa, and we had much fun recollecting and comparing memories of the strikingly Friendly people of Sudan !