It’s unlikely that globe-trotters visiting South America have ever heard of this city. It isn’t mentioned in Lonely Planet, nor in the Guide du Routard. We’re not even sure that most Argentinians could locate it on a map. And yet, for us, this city and its inhabitants were a key milestone of our journey.
The crash
It all started on Tuesday, November 25, 2025. For once, we managed to get going early. We rode about 100 km on dirt roads that morning and were really pleased with our pace. Around 12:30/1:00 p.m. we arrived in Chajari and decided to have lunch there: a burger for Thomas, empanadas and a mixed salad for Adeline. We left feeling full and in great spirits! The afternoon looked promising!
Back on the road (the “rapio” as we call it), disaster struck. At an intersection, Thomas got hit by a car. We should have known that right-of-way rules here are pretty random!
Since we were still in town, the accident happened at low speed, but the impact was still shocking: the front of the car was wrecked. Luckily (if you can call it that), all the contact was absorbed by Thomas’s left boot, which exploded on impact, but the motorcycle barely took any damage!
Thomas got back on his feet, which immediately reassured Adeline, but he quickly started complaining about pain in his foot. When we took off the boot, we saw blood. We feared a serious injury and the possibility of having to be repatriated to France. We asked the driver to call an ambulance, and things moved very quickly: the police arrived to record the accident, the ambulance came to take care of Thomas, traffic officers secured the area… We were a bit stressed, understanding very little—especially since our Spanish was still pretty basic at that point in the trip—but we just tried to go with the flow!
While Thomas is being taken care of, Adeline stays with the police to fill out some paperwork. They explain to her that, depending on the severity of the accident and on the prosecutor’s decision, the motorcycle could be requisitioned for further expert examination. After a few minutes of waiting, that is the decision that is made. After unloading all the luggage, the motorcycle is therefore loaded onto the back of the police pickup with impressive ease. You can tell they are used to it here! The police then offer to load all of Thomas’s luggage into the back of a second pickup driven by the traffic officers and to accompany Adeline to the hospital.
Upon arrival at the hospital, Adeline sees the police car with Thomas’s motorcycle; change of plans—the prosecutor has decided not to requisition the bike!
Let’s be honest: at this point in the story, Adeline is in total confusion. She finds herself in front of the hospital with her own motorcycle, Thomas’s motorcycle, and all their belongings in a complete mess. She has no real idea how she’s going to handle this whole disaster, but the priority is to go see Thomas. Ovando, a volunteer firefighter who had been managing traffic, offers to accompany her while his colleague keeps an eye on all the gear.
In the emergency room, there’s utter bewilderment: Thomas and the nurses are wondering how it’s possible that there’s no fracture. However, the size and color of the foot leave little doubt—it’s a serious sprain… at best. The staff explains that we can leave whenever we want, but we’ll need to come back tomorrow for further examinations.
Except that… we have no backup plan.
Support from los amigos
When this type of accident happens in a foreign country, far from our usual points of reference, things can quickly become complicated—both materially and morally: how do you ensure the quality of the care being offered and, more generally, the medical treatment? How do you find a physiotherapist or suitable orthopedic equipment? How do you arrange to tow the second motorcycle? And how do you keep your spirits up when one of you is stuck in a hotel room, unable to move?
In our misfortune, we were lucky that the accident happened in Chajari. We met a tight-knit community and were able to count on the support of a few amigos who accompanied us throughout our stay, which more than once made the administrative steps much easier.
When we left the emergency room, at that moment we were relieved there was no fracture. Except that when you’re traveling by motorcycle, being discharged from the hospital with a wrecked foot and a bike that needs to be retrieved requires quite a bit of organization. Adeline had started asking around in a WhatsApp group for motorcyclists offering mutual help, but so far nothing concrete had come up.
Faced with her distress, Ovando—who knows a lot of people in Chajari—took charge of the situation. He put us in touch with Céleste, a French teacher; he found us accommodation and a garage to tow Thomas’s motorcycle and carry out the repairs, even though outwardly there didn’t seem to be much damage. What a relief for both of us!
Frédérico, the owner of Chajari Moto, came to pick us up at the hospital and took us to the Hosteria Prince, where we were warmly welcomed by Brenda, the receptionist. Céleste then came to check on us and offered to take Adeline to the pharmacy to buy painkillers and do some shopping.
And that was only the beginning. Throughout our stay, they helped us with medical and administrative procedures, which allowed us to feel much more at ease.
Even though the X-ray showed no fracture, we wanted to make sure the ligaments were not affected. Due to a misunderstanding, we missed the hospital appointment and weren’t sure we’d get another one quickly. So we decided to go to the clinic, but there was no traumatologist available that day. Still in shock from the accident and very stressed, we were able to count on the help of Viviana, the hotel owner, and her colleague, who went out of their way to secure us an appointment with a specialist.
In less than 2 hours, Thomas had an appointment with the traumatologist and underwent a scan at an imaging center. The diagnosis came quickly: sprain of the Chopart joint, sprain of the Lisfranc joint, sprain of the big toe with bone avulsion… ouch.
Viviana spontaneously drove us to all the appointments. That evening, she came back with an orthopedic boot and informed us that the physiotherapist would come to the hotel the next day to see Thomas. We didn’t even have time to worry—everything was sorted out. We hadn’t asked for so much, but we have to admit it was a huge relief: so much less hassle to deal with!
During the week, Sergio—a motorcyclist we had never met before—brought us a package of food. He came back several times, sometimes with his brother or with Ricardo, a fellow biker friend, to chat and check on us. During one of his visits, he even brought a pizza and empanadas, which we all shared together.
While Thomas was recovering, we also spent a lot of time with Céleste. She and her husband Ricardo welcomed us to their home so Thomas could do his rehabilitation exercises in their pool. She also helped us order new boots. Since we didn’t have Argentine nationality, we couldn’t create an account or order on Mercado Libre, and it was impossible to find any in this small town. It wasn’t straightforward—especially since the first model ordered was too small and had to be returned—but she never lost patience with us and helped until we finally found the right fit for Thomas’s foot! Beyond this assistance, we had the chance to spend time together, which allowed us to learn more about her life, the city of Chajari, and its restaurants!
And then there’s Viviana and her team. Every day, they took such good care of us, checking in on us, providing ice and a hot water bottle to help with Thomas’s foot recovery. Viviana also introduced us to the thermal baths of Chajari: hot spring pools and pure water to treat ailments. We thoroughly enjoyed it! We also went on a trip to Lake Chajari with her daughter Cécilia and her son-in-law Mariano, which allowed us to discover more about the beauties of the region.
Seeing that our stay might drag on, we wondered whether it would be a good idea to rent a house so we could cook and have more space. But we realized that these small daily gestures of kindness were really important to us; we were afraid of isolating ourselves and seeing our morale drop. So even though it wasn’t the most comfortable option, we chose to stay at the hotel throughout Thomas’s entire recovery, and we don’t regret that decision at all.
To thank all these people for their help, we organized a dinner before leaving. On the menu: beef bourguignon! Cécilia and Mariano set up a lovely table on the terrace of their apartment for the occasion. It was a genuine pleasure to bring everyone together before our departure; we spent a very warm and friendly evening talking about France and Argentina, and our shared love for IPA.
Local celebrities
The funniest part of this adventure is that Thomas’s accident made it into the local press, and we became local celebrities! Even though there are often Brazilian tourists around, it was truly the first time French people came to get lost in this corner of the world!
Whenever Adeline went shopping, people would ask where she was from (probably because of the accent, haha). As soon as they learned she was “the French woman whose husband had the motorcycle accident,” everyone rushed to ask for news about Thomas and wish him a speedy recovery! There was no way to go incognito on the streets of Chajari.
We left Chajari on December 20 to continue our journey, but we will carry an emotional memory of our time in this charming little town. There is an unparalleled gentleness to life here and a level of solidarity we had never experienced before.
