Paraná – Santa Fe – Rafaela

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Yesterday I went from Paraná to Santa Fe – by bus, as I couldn't pass through the tunnel under the Rio Paraná on my bike. And so this was basically another rest day. In the morning I went to the bus terminal, and took the bus to Santa Fe. There were no problems whatsoever with loading the bicycle on the bus. I arrived to Santa Fe about one hour later and went to the Santa Fe Hostel. I then did a bit of a walk through the town in the morning – before the midday heat – and then returned to the hostel to relax, and I also talked to some people from Buenos Aires who were also staying at the hostel. I made myself a salad for lunch, and then spent a few hours at the hostel.
In the afternoon I went out on my bicycle for a ride through the town – up to the beach on the laguna Setúbal. On my way back I stopped for a glass or two of wine, and read a bit about some future parts of my route.
I then went back to the hostel and talked a bit more with the people from Buenos Aires. In the end it was too late to do shopping for dinner, so I quickly went out to a bar nearby for a beer and – again – pizza.
Today I again got up very early – at 5:30am – and left the hostel at more or less 6:30am I went via the Ruta Provincial 70 via Esperanza, Humboldt y Nuevo Torino to Rafaela – a distance of more or less 95km. I stopped for breaks in Esperanza and Nuevo Torino, and arrived at Rafaela more or less at midday.
I didn't find a tourist office, and so I searched the internet (the tourism website of Santa Fe) for accommodation in Rafaela, and went to one of the “residenciales”. I showered and ate the rest of my food (bread, cheese, and tomatoes), and had a siesta. I don't know why, but I was very tired.
In the afternoon I went for a walk through the centre of the town, and bought a few things for dinner, and for the following day – another 90km to San Francisco. Rafaela is also called “the pearl of the east”, but I don't know. Sure, the main square in the centre is quite big and green, and there are lots of trees in the town, but still I don't get the bit about the “pearl”.
Later, I went back to my hotel to look at my email and my blog. It's always that in hotels or “residenciales” it is much less likely that you meet people – because of that, I prefer camping or hostels. But unfortunately, in Rafaela aren't any.