The feria is a market around the Plaza Pagano in the centre of town that has handmade everything - jewelery, soap, jam, carvings, clothing and of course, mate gourds. We wandered through and picked up a few things. What proved to be the most fascinating aspect of the market was not buying but rather observing.
Out of all of the sounds I heard, there were maybe six people not speaking spanish. Out of all of the smells I smelled, I should have been high on pot! The smells of the food were amazing too, particularly near the Waffle King stand. Of all of the people I saw, I came to the conclusion that I couldn't possibly be a hippie as I like to shower too much, I like to be able to brush my hair and while I love the clothes, I'm just too hippy to be a hippie! They do nothing for me!
We bought several varieties of empanadas and some locally brewed beer for lunch and sat in the main square for a picnic and listened to the live bands playing. It wasn't long before we were approached by some children begging for food. They had quite the act and afterwards Guille pointed out that they're the ones to watch out for because they're taught to beg and while one distracts you, the other will steal from you if you're not careful. Fortunately we were on high alert anyway but it made me realize how easy it would be to be distracted despite my best efforts to be careful.
After we were done exploring around the town of El Bolson, we went for a drive to the Mirador Del Azul in the car. It gave us an incredible view of the Azul valley.
We decided we still had time before the sun went behind the mountains for sunset so we just kept going in the car. The roads were bumpy and steep. We weren't overly sure where we were going or where we'd end up but it didn't really matter. We just wanted to go 'splore.
Along the way we found some idyllic little farms and orchards, some notros flowers (the emblem of Patagonia).
We then discovered the Camping Hue Nain located on the banks of the Rio Azul. It was down a steep, long road that was very much out of the way. The sign on the side of the road was nothing special but we had time to kill and we were curious to see it. It turned out to be one of the most amazing campsites we'd ever seen. That's the beauty of exploring! You never know what you're going to find.
As we were winding down the car tour we rounded a corner on the road and both gasped. The sun was setting and lighting up the mountains on the east side of the valley. Judge for yourself, and maybe pictures can't do it justice, but it was an amazing scene.
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