Starting the Trip 09-11 Nov 2013

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Saturday 9^thNov (Odyssey Day 1)







Today is the day we start the trip! At breakfast this morning, Ellie and I met Simon and Emma, our Odyssey crew for the trip. After a leisurely morning, I managed to repack my bags to fit everything in comfortably. We also gained a new roommate (since tonight is paid for as part of the trip), Ann from New York.







AT 1700 we all met up in the breakfast room for an introduction to the group we will be spending the next six months with. There are 23 of us, plus Emma and Simon. Quite a sizable group really. A mix of people from England, Ireland, Australia, Canada, the USA, and one polish girl who actually lives in Ireland. A mix of ages and actually there are five couples on the trip, more than I expected.







We had our meeting, going through the basics of the trip, since we have a 0700 departure time in the morning. We will be camping for most of the first six weeks, sometimes in campsites and sometimes bush camps. And in fact our first night will be a bush camp.







At 2000 we all met up again and went for dinner at a nearby Parilla (steak house), and this was really early considering most places don’t start serving until 2100. When we all sit down to eat, it seems like there are so very many of us!! A good way to get to know the people we will be living with though. I imagine it will take me a week to remember everyone’s names though.











Sunday 10^th Nov (Odyssey Day 2)







And here is the start of our trip! Very excited today, I woke up at 0430 and just couldn’t get back to sleep again. Damn adrenaline! We all made the most of having a shower this morning, since tonight will be a bush camp. Simon had driven the truck up to the hotel and we all had our bags loaded and climbed aboard in quick time. By 0710, we were on our way. And for a while, the truck was silent…it was like everyone was all together and suddenly no one had anything to say. All that build up to departure, and suddenly we were on our way and that was that.







Sitting up front I got a good view of our drive out of Buenos Aires into the country to the south and east. It will be a long drive today and I could actually do with a nap…







The truck we are on is a modified truck that was apparently (according to the camp gossip) formerly a Carlsberg truck. It’s pretty comfy actually. There are 24 seats in the back, with plenty of windows that open (no air conditioning of course) as well as a couple of tables to sit around. The fridge is inside and there is a stereo system (which we haven’t used yet). There is a large tank of purified water accessible from outside, and two-man tents are provided for us.







It rained a bit today and I was rather hoping it would stop before we had to pull over to camp. Putting up tents in the rain on our first night wouldn’t be much fun. I remember Ellie and I had to do that on our European tour. Our first night in Paris it started raining and everyone was putting up their tents in the rain. I certainly don’t want to make a habit of it!







Heading south, we crossed a bridge over a river, when Simon suddenly stopped the truck and turned around. This was the entrance to the fishing lake Emma had been looking for us to camp by tonight. We managed to find the entrance track, only because a small car had been coming out. It was a pretty small track, across a tiny little bridge and then a sharp 90 degree turn down a slope and then over a little hill before getting to the track heading to the lake. Once the car came out and realised we were going in, they stopped at the side of the road to watch! I don’t think they thought we would make it through. Saying that, I think some of the group thought the same, as there were some clenched hands for a while there. It was quite amusing from my point of view, but I certainly wouldn’t want to have been driving!! That truck is pretty large when seen from that point of view.







The lake was a lovely area though, and fortunately it had stopped raining a while back. There were a few people there fishing, but they headed off before the sun set. We managed to get our tents up, have a tour of the truck to learn where everything is, and set up for cooking before the sun set after 8pm. It certainly got cold quick though! We all pulled out our jackets pretty fast. We have been divided into six cook groups, and tonight they made spaghetti. A nice warm meal before everyone headed to bed. We collected wood for a fire but didn’t end up lighting one, so we will keep it for the next opportunity.











Monday 11^th Nov (Odyssey Day 3)







Up this morning, I think we could all do with a shower. One day into the travelling and the girls all look like they need to shave off their hair and start again. At least we are all in the same boat though. Or truck, as the case may be.







After breakfast we headed out again. It seems that getting out onto the main road again was a bit more difficult that getting in, but after a few tries we did make it. A very long day of travel today. The roads here are very straight and the land all seems to be very flat. And dusty too. Our lunch stop was interesting, trying to keep the dust out of everything while stopped on the side of the road. I’m on cook group today too so that was fun. No one complained of gritty meals though.







Our stop for today was Puerto Madryn. This is approximately 1300km south of Buenos Aires. We will be here for 3 nights in a campsite that seems to be fairly decent from the glimpse we have had so far. We set up our tent in record time and then I joined my cook group to make rice and stir-fry while enjoying a local wine. A chance to relax a bit since it won’t be an early morning tomorrow.

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Photos

Ithaca
Our home away from home

Bush Camp
Finding the track in

Bush Camp
A demonstration of the tents

Bush Camp
All set up

Bush Camp
No idea what lake this is, but its pretty

Bush Camp
Ellie wasn't keen on the neighbours

Comments

[Lorraine]

On the road at last
Hi AJ, What a great start to your trip. I can understand the 04:30 wake up. The truck looks interesting. Nice bright colours. Good to see your getting to meet the locals (frog). Looking forward to your next update. Love you heaps. Mum & Dad xoxo