Patagonian Adventure-PART III-Villa la Angostura

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PART III: Villa La Angostura: January 1-2

Despite the relaxed atmosphere and beautiful landscape of San Martin de los Andes, this city is visibly a ski resort built for tourists or wealthy Argentineans. There was, in my view, a lack of authenticity as the Switzerland architecture seemed displaced.

On the morning of January 1, we headed to Villa la Angostura through a green road surrounded once again by snow topped mountains. The colourful Argentinean lupins were growing along the road and created a magical pastoral landscape filled with cows and horses. We arrived at our charming wooden hostel for a well-deserved rest.

The next morning on January 2, we took a boat through the Andes to get to the Parque de los Arrayanes, an unique park known for its rare arbutus-like trees called arrayanes. The three-hour trail on our way back was filled with great views of the Andes and colourful landscapes. We even observed the tall "carpinteros patagonicos" (Patagonian woodpeckers) at work in this forest. We returned to our hostel for a last night before continuing the Route 40 adventure!

Next stop: El Bolson

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