We made it back to the world of the living, after 4 days of wildlife in the middle of nowhere!
Monday morning, we left the cosy village of Bariloche. We were picked up by our guide Dirk, a German guy who lives with his Slovenian wife in Bariloche. He looks a lot like the Duke in Moulin Rouge and speaks with a German accent that reminds a lot of Allo Allo. But he loves his new home country and was the perfect guide to explain everything about the fauna and flora of Patagonia. His father Rolph, who was visiting, joined us on our trip and the 9 of us traveled in Dirk’s minivan over the Ruta 40 down south. In total we travelled over 1600km, some over paved road, but most consisting of gravel and stones. So often it was quite a bumpy ride.
The first day we covered the first 700km, so we spent most of the day in the car, which was pretty tiring. Many of us tried to get some sleep and I finished my Pieter Aspe novel. Once in a while we were entertained by the local fauna, when a group of guanacos (a kind of lama) crossed the road or when some choiques (a small austriche) ran for its life when seeing the van. In the evening we arrived at Rio Mayo, a small ghost town, that could easily be the scene of a cheap western. We spend the night in a cheap but cosy hotel, in which the bedrooms were exactly that: a room with two beds. Toilets and showers were shared. While mum & I shared a private room – as well as the couple traveling with us – Kevin, Els & Sami shared one bedroom, which formed a good source for jokes. Especially after Els had introduced herself to the German guides as “Ich… heisse Els”, so her nickname now is “Heisse Els”. Kevin however has also endured a lot of our jokes. Altogether it’s a fun group.
The second day got a lot more interesting, as we had to drive ‘only’ 300km, leaving the entire afternoon free for tracking. Dirk took us to a breathtaking canyon, which included the cueva de las manos, a cave that had 3000y old hand prints on the walls, made with different colours of minerals. The hands were less intriguing that the beautiful environment. We were once again lucky with the weather, as the sun accompanied us all the way. During one of the breaks, we jumped off a sand dune, and to get rid of the sand, Els & I jumped into the river that flowed through the bottom of the canyon. As we splashed water on each other, we looked to the towering rocks around us and we felt so humble and at the same time so full of life. Dirk often took breaks during the walk and suggested to sit down in silence and enjoy the moment and place. Probably more effective and destressing than a dozen yoga classes. As we drove on from the canyon, Dirk saw more hunger in our eyes and took us to a viewpoint were condors can be spotted. And we were lucky to see one flying over! We were joking that it was probably mum’s red blouse that had attracted the large bird. An hour later we saw the Estancia de la ca cueva de las manos in the valley. Dirk suggested to walk the last mile, and without hesitating Els, Sami and I jumped out of the van and walked down the dusty path. At the estancia, a wonderful dinner, served by a cute young Argentinian waited for us. As the sun went down, a horde of horses passed by the window. In a novel, it probably would’ve sounded cheesy, but now that we lived these images, we absorbed and enjoyed every second of it. When all the meat was eaten and all the wine was drunk, the people from the estancia warned us they would soon shut down the generator which would cut the power. As we walked to our large shared bedroom in the other building, the lights went down and everything that was left was an astounding starry sky, cut in half by a clear milky way.
Good songs never last long, and the third day the weather started as my mood: cloudy. We drove many hours on gravel road, as I was sitting in the back, thinking too much of my man at home. In the afternoon we made a stop at the Belgrano lake in the Perito Moreno national parc, where we made a long walk. It was beautiful, but the cold wind made us shiver. We warmed u`p at the stove at the Estancia Menelik, where a stue (stoofpotje met linzen, patatten en vlees) was waiting. Afterwards, Dirk & Rolph played a game of chess, while we played some Rummikub and card games.
This morning we woke up with a chill but with a beautiful view from the window on the mountain hills at the horizon. The wind had cleaned the sky and had made space for the sun again. With a good mood we packed our stuff for the last part of Ruta 40. On the way we saw a small fox (zorro) and even a funny armadillo, which had the scare of his life, after being chased by Dirk, Kevin and me.
By this time we had all spend a lot together in shared bedrooms, gotten used to toilets without enough toilet paper and even less privacy, and wearing dirty clothes. Yet it was quite nice when we arrived in our hotel in El Calafate, where we could unpack our bags a bit, wash our clothes and take a fresh shower. We’ll spend 4 nights here. Enough time to visit the glaciers in the neighborhood.
Only minus… is the prices! One piece of advise: if you wanna visit Argentina, then do it now! Prices are rising every year and we’ve already gotten quite some surprises. Especially the excursions in Calafate, run by one agency with a monopoly, are horribly expensive. Add to that that getting money from a ATM machine is an adventure in itself and limited to only 300 pesos per day (75 euro) while many excursions cost up to 100 US dollars (350 pesos). 9 days into our trip, we’ve already spend the budget that Connections told us would be enough for 3 weeks…
Of course we don’t let that spoil the fun. We’re only here once, and it’s definitely the most beautiful trip I’ve made in my life. And I still have to see the glaciers and the Iguazu waterfalls.
Bartie & Elvire x
Bartie.net 