Chajari, the city of friends.

A town off the radar

It's unlikely that globetrotters traveling through South America have ever heard of Chajarí.
It doesn't appear in Lonely Planet, nor in the Routard Guide. We're not even sure many Argentinians could point to it on a map.

And yet, for us, this small town in Entre Ríos — and its people — became a key stop on our motorcycle journey. Key not just geographically, but above all, humanly.

The accident

It all started on Tuesday, November 25th, 2025.

For once, we'd left early. After about 100 km of riding, we rolled into Chajarí around 12:30. We had a relaxed lunch — a burger for Thomas, empanadas and a salad for Adeline. Full and in great spirits, we headed back out on the road.

Then disaster struck at an intersection:
Thomas was hit by a car.
Right-of-way rules here seem to be… optional.

The accident happened in town, so at low speed — but the impact was brutal. The front of the car was wrecked. Luckily, all the force landed on Thomas's left boot, which took the full blow and exploded on impact. The motorbike, miraculously, was barely scratched.

Thomas got up straight away, which reassured Adeline. But when he pulled off the boot, we found his toe was bleeding. We feared the worst — a fracture, an emergency flight back to France…

The driver called an ambulance. The police arrived quickly to document the accident, the paramedics took charge of Thomas, and traffic officers secured the scene.
We were a bit lost — our Spanish was still very shaky at that point in the trip.

While Thomas was in the emergency room, Adeline stayed with the police to fill out paperwork. We were told that depending on the severity and the prosecutor's decision, the motorbike might be impounded for an expert inspection. In the end, that's exactly what was decided. We unloaded all the luggage, and the bike was lifted into the back of a police pickup with effortless ease — they'd clearly done this before.

The police then offered to take Thomas's belongings in another vehicle and escort Adeline to the hospital.

Arriving at the hospital: complete chaos

Once there, a surprise: the prosecutor had ultimately decided not to impound the motorbike!
Adeline suddenly found herself outside the hospital with two motorcycles and all our gear strewn about.
Ovando, a volunteer firefighter who had been managing traffic at the scene, kindly offered to walk her to the emergency room while his colleague kept an eye on the bags.

In the ER, everyone was amazed — no visible fracture, but Thomas's foot was massively swollen and deep purple. They suspected a bad sprain… at best. We were told we could leave, but that we'd need to come back the next day for further tests. The problem was… we had no backup plan.

The incredible support of Chajarí's "Amigos"

When an accident like this happens far from home, everything becomes complicated: medical care, orthopedic equipment, towing the bike, keeping your spirits up…

But in our misfortune, we got incredibly lucky: the accident happened in Chajarí, a town where solidarity is not just a word.

The moment we left the ER, Ovando took charge. He connected us with Céleste, a French teacher, found us a place to stay, and sorted out a garage for Thomas's bike.

Frédérico, owner of Chajari Moto, came to pick us up at the hospital and drove us to the Hosteria Prince, where Brenda welcomed us with open arms. Céleste stopped by to check on us and took Adeline to the pharmacy.

And that was just the beginning.

Throughout our stay, several people helped us without expecting anything in return.

Viviana, the hotel owner (along with her team), moved mountains to get us an appointment with an orthopedic specialist within two hours after a mix-up at the hospital. She drove us everywhere, brought us an orthopedic boot, and arranged for a physiotherapist to come directly to the hotel. The diagnosis came in: a sprain of the Chopart joint, a sprain of the Lisfranc joint, and a sprain of the big toe with a bone avulsion fracture. Ouch.

Sergio, a motorcyclist we didn't know at all, showed up with a box of food, came back several times with his brother and Ricardo to check on us, and even brought pizza and empanadas.

Céleste and her husband Ricardo invited us to their home so Thomas could do his rehabilitation in their pool. They also helped us order new boots on Mercado Libre — a near-impossible mission without an Argentine account.

Viviana and her team checked in on us every single day: ice packs, hot water bottles, asking how we were doing…
She even introduced us to the Termas de Chajarí (the natural hot springs) and took us to the lake with her daughter Cécilia and son-in-law Mariano.

We did think about renting a house for more space, but the little daily attentions at the hotel were a genuine morale boost. We ended up staying at the Hosteria Prince for the entire recovery.

Accidental local celebrities

The funniest part? The accident made it into the local press.
We became genuine celebrities in Chajarí!

Every time Adeline went out to run errands, people would stop her:
"Are you the French woman whose husband had the motorbike accident? How is he doing?"

There was no flying under the radar in this town.

A dinner to say thank you

Before leaving, we organized a dinner to thank everyone: bœuf bourguignon, French-style!
Cécilia and Mariano set up a beautiful table on their terrace. A wonderful evening of good food, good conversation, and — of course — IPAs.

Conclusion

We left Chajarí on December 20th, 2025 to continue our journey.

We will always carry a warm memory of this charming little town.
It has a gentleness to its pace of life and a spirit of solidarity that you rarely find anywhere else.

Thank you to Ovando, Céleste, Frédérico, Brenda, Viviana, Sergio, Ricardo, Cécilia, Mariano, and all the people of Chajarí who turned an accident into a beautiful story about human connection.

Chajarí, we will never forget you. ❤️

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Curious about this off-the-beaten-path town?
If you ever find yourself passing through Entre Ríos, make a detour to Chajarí. You'll find far more than hot springs — you'll find extraordinary people.