Blogs from Esquel, Chubut, Argentina, South America

At about 6:30 we awoke to bitter cold. After breaking down camp, we began our walk to the bus station (probably a mile or so). Despite the freezing hands from the tent poles, I was excited to catch the 8:00 bus to Futaleufu and go rafting. At about 8:00 our dreams were shattered. The bus from Esquel only goes to Futaleufu Monday and Friday. The woman who gave us the information on taking the bus had given us a piece of paper showing the times for Monday, Wednesday and Friday and we asked her specifically about taking the bus Wednesday. I´m not sure if she made a mistake, or perhaps, since it is now off season, the Wednesday bus no longer runs. Either way, we sat at the bus station with no plan. This is a ... read more

While El Chalten was the smallest town on our trip so far (population 600ish - 2 years ago anyway), Esquel has been the town we had the smallest information on leading up to arrival. We found a map and walked towards the campsite from our book only to find it closed. Our backpacks are rather heavy and uncomfortable to be walking around everywhere, especially with upset stomachs. Disappointedly we walked back to an information building and got information on another campsite and of course it was only a few blocks from where we just were. The campground has turned out great. It is up on a hill overlooking the town and comes well equipped with showers and bathrooms. And other than the barking dogs it is quiet. This is the first place we have been where ... read more

As Sarah mentioned in the last blog, we took a 2:45 bus from El Chalten back to El Calafate. It was a double decker bus and we got the first row on the second story (floor?) so we had amazing views. At least for 5 minutes until the windows fogged up. It reminded me of riding backwards in the Volvo station wagon when I was a kid. The bus had a group of English/Americans who had trouble with their tickets. They spoke very very little Spanish and had apparently booked the wrong day for the bus so they ended up paying twice. They were quite unhappy. Lesson learned - always double check your tickets (which we knew already and have even caught a mistake on one of our own). Once back to El Calafate we passed ... read more

From El Bolsón it's another couple of hours to the modest town of Esquel, over the provincial border in Chubut. Esquel's attraction lies in its proximity to the Parque Nacional Los Alerces, home of rare, thousands-of-years-old alerce trees found in only a handful of places in the world. Well, that's the theory anyway. Our plans to visit the park on a two-day hike are scuppered by the inability of either the National Park office or Esquel's tourist information office to tell us if the trail is open. Argentine inefficiency at its frustrating worst. We nevertheless get to see the park on a day visit, albeit through a sky thick with the same bloody volcanic ash that we saw around Bariloche - vagaries of the wind! The slight disappointment (we're still pretty tired from our hike in ... read more

Esquel and Parque Los Alerces Four meters/12 feet of rain a year--yikes, that's a lot for a rain phobe like myself! Yet the storms and drizzle are what make the temperate Valdivian rainforest and the National Parque de Los Alerces so lush and green, and filled my visit with rainbows. I'd come to the little-visited park to see the alerce, one of three millennium trees (those living longer than a thousand years), the other two of which are in California. The oldest being on earth is the bristle-cone pine, the second the alerce, and the third, the sequoia, a relative of the alerce. Some alerces have been dated to more than 4,000 years and measure 4 meters across. I signed up for the tour of the Circuito Lacustre to meet these old giants. Here in March, ... read more

Auf der Ruta 40 hatten wir nun eine lange Strecke vor uns, die über hunderte von Kilometer aus Schotterpiste besteht. Also stundenlanges Schüttelbecher-Dasein – wir hatten keine Wahl. Genau dies macht jedoch auch den Reiz der Ruta 40 aus. Die Planung wo tanken und wo übernachten musste sicher stehen. Ach ja, Bankomaten gehören auch zur Planung… Nebst Ortschaften auf der Strassenkarte, die sich im Vorbeifahren als zweieinhalb Häuser entpuppen, gibt es einige „Estancias“ entlang der Strasse. Bauernhöfe, die Zimmer und zum Teil auch ein warmes Abendessen anbieten. Dabei sind die Estancias dann keineswegs bescheidene Herbergen. Unter 100 Schweizer Franken ist kein Doppelzimmer zu haben. In keiner „Ortschaft“ entlang der Ruta 40 trifft man derartige Preise. Unser Joker war da unser Zelt, das wir so bereits in wenigen Nächten „abgeschrieben“ hatten. Für 10 USD konnten ... read more

's Morgens opgepikt door Mario (Mc Rae, die zenne gas wel wist staan), onze gids voor de komende dagen.. vandaag +-800 km.. grootste deel nog verharde weg.. Voor de rest: meren, bergen,regen, zon, bossen.. en eindeloze rechte wegen, parallel met de besneeuwde Andes en Chileense grens, in de Patagonische steppe aan het einde van de rit. N stuk afgesneden door het nationaal park Los Alerces.. Prachtig uitzicht en schitterende landschappen.. Tegen het einde van de rit was t tijd voor serieus schele zever.. Rio Mayo is Patagonisch 'dorpje', eigenlijk 5 straten en n hotel. fris windje en geen kat op straat.. alleen de tumbleweed missen we nog.. In ons hotel 'El viejo Covadonga' ligt de nadruk vooral op viejo (=oud), n jaren 40 decor met koud bier ;-).. Net voorzonsondergang viel de elektriciteit uit.. het verhaal ... read more