Overlanding renegade

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I am currently sitting beneath a canopy of pine trees on the shores of Lake Nahuel Haupi just 13kms out of Bariloche in the Argentinian Lake District….beside me is half an empty bottle of Finca Las Moras – a classy wine for a mere 19 pesos (thats c£3). Steve, one of the chaps on the truck has kindly lent me his incredibly dinky laptop to type away on. So incredibly dinky my huge fingers and thumbs are struggling a bit wiyh the miniscule keyboard but i cannot be detered from this update as tommorow we leave civilisation for a while – well wifi at least - and i doubt ll be back on line for sometime.

I last wrote whilst waiting for my overnight bus to take me 10 hours south of Santiago to the Queenstown of South America – Pucon - where i was to catch up with my errant truck. Having left the warm climes of the capital, i was a little miffed to wake from my cama (bed) on the bus to a very grey, misty and wet town. Pools of wáter lined the streets and the cloud cover was so low I could see nothing of the famed mountains this area is known for nor the smoke belching Volcan Villarica. With no sign of anyonefrom Kumuka there to meet me at the bus station, armed wth my Lonely Planet map to the town i trudged my weary self laden down w/ c 30kgs of gear to the campsite, a good 20 min walk away and no taxi in ste at 9am. The renegade overlander has arrived!

You can imagine my suprise whn i crashed through the camp kitchen doors to be greeted by a sea of faces of the more elderly variety. Indeed half the people on the truck are post 50. Even post 60 in the case of a few. Its like a Saga trip but i have muchos respect for them to choose to travel this way. I bloody wouldnt at their age! 20 rather subdued cold individuals were busy making toast and coffee having endured themselves a 12 hr drive down the day before and a night of incessant rain and wind under less than substantial canvass roofs. I am deeply unimpressed by the kit…the tents are cheap, nasty things youd buy from Argos and chuck away after a weekend at Glastonbury. If Kumuka think these are accepatble dwellings for us in Patagonia, then they are going to haveto buy some new ones. I managed to get them to agree to fund my bus ticket and my next challenge is to get them to provide tents we can sleep in without getting blown away or soaked to bits.

There are 9 of us under 40 – i am the eldest of that bunch with the youngest being 23. The majority are Australians and i am one of 3 English. 3 couples, 3 single blokes and the rest are single women including one lady who asked if we could avoid taking photos ofher as she didnt want to be seen in public due to her past….. Memories of a certain carácter from my aFRIcan adventures spang to mind. There is now a challenge on to discover what that “past” is before the end of the trip…witness protection….on the run… who knows!!!

22/11 With alarms set for 5am we woke in the pitch black and were on the road just after 6 in a Truck that looks like it last went Ovrlanding in 1973. This beast is an ancient vehicle which really can only seat 14 comfortably…the 6 additional spaces are 2 on a backwards facing bench (great!)and 4 places on a mezzanine level facing sideways. There are no indivdual lockers, little above seat storage space and as there are 20 of us crammed in everyones crap is spread eveywhere. Even basic things like back of seat pockets are absent. Having overlanded for 6 months already in both south america with Dragoman and Africa with Intrepid, I know what works and what doesnt….so far I am seriously undrwhelmed by the Kumuka experience. The tour leader is a lovely Uruguayan girl accompanied by a South African driver but neither seem to command much gravitas or leadership. Im repeatedlky keeping my mouth shut when i disagree with the way things are being done but suffice to say there has been a fair bit of grumbling amongst the passengers about the professionalism and substandard equipment. Hence we are pressurising them to get better tents sorted… camping in Tierra Del Fuego or Torres del Paine National Park requires kit we can rely on and at the moment we have the opposite.

It was a wearing 14 hours on the truck today travelling south and crossing out of Chile into Argentina. We crossed through Parque Nacional Lanin, past snowcapped peaks and azure coloured lake, climbing to 3000m with a superb view of the snowclad cone of the Volcan Villarica – its vent billowing steam ino the cloudless sky. We snaked our way down through Parque Nacional Nahuel Haupi until we reached the outdoor playground of Bariloche – Argentina’s premier mountain and ski area. The town sits on the shores of the wind whipped Lake surrounded by the vertiginous heights of Cerro Otto at 1405m, Cerro Catedral at 2388m and Cero Lopez at 2076m. It was all very Alpine and as we are now in late Spring, only the highest peaks are stll carpeted in snow. The ski pistes have become walking trails and the roads are lind with bushes of flowers, a striking egg yolk color – incandescent with their brightness. Think fields of rapeseed and then adjust the hue from pale to a darker yellow.

Having sampled the chocolate delights of Bariloche and bought additional warm and and wet weather gear, Rachel (my tent buddy) and I took one of the cablecars to the lofty summit of Cerro Alto and then walked the 9kms back down. Today was another day of hiking- 10kms in the Park Municipal Llao Llao and after a superb dinner, i can feel a dull ache in my gluteus maximus! Its chilly here when the sun goes…. A big wind chill factor and much argentinian wine needs to be consumed to see you through the night!

Tomooorw we depart this outdoor playground going further south and transferring to a boat for a 4 day cruise throught the chilean fjords. I have to admit I am missing the freedom of travelling solo….perhaps i was lucky in the people i met whereas on this oganised tour Im not sure Ive met anyone who i would strike up a lasting friendship with. However, many exicting adventures lie ahead and i shall endeavor to update you all when i next can.

Its now pitch dark and I am typing by the light of a head torch, The Cabernet Sauvignon is all but gone and so i shall bid you Buenos Noches. Photos to come……

Hope November is treating you well and the onslaught of Xmas is not too painful. It is pleasantly absent here. Next tie Ill be in touch I will be in Patagonia so im the mentime….be well, be happy!

Hannah x

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