Great things are just around the corner...

El Bolson is known for being a hippie haven. They've chosen a beautiful spot to chill out, for sure. It's nestled between some amazing mountain ranges in a wide valley north of Lago Puelo, south of Bariloche. It reminds me of a more artsy version of Canmore. With our visit on a Saturday it meant that we were able to take in the feria artesanal.

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.

I spoke too soon!

Friday morning. Not at work. A moment of gratitude for my time off. Ahhh...

After breakfast Guille and I went to check out the beach on Lago Puelo. It was amazing to see how much the water level of the lake has risen because of the rains - signs and picnic benches underwater. It was nice in the sun once we found shelter from the wind. We sat and read for a bit which was good to see Guille sit for a bit - she's go-go-go!

Later in the afternoon we went on a hike to the mirador overlooking Lago Puelo. A kilometer hike in the sun turned into quite the adventure. There was the option to extend the hike by another two or three kilometers which we opted to do; it felt good to be getting some exercise after all the eating and lazing.

One minute the sky was blue and clear. The next minute the valley between the mountains was socked in with ominous gray clouds. No sooner had I spotted it and said 'I don't like the looks of that' did the first drops come down. It started out as a light, pleasant sun-shower but then the wind picked up and it got cold. Because the walk ended up in town, we were able to hitch a ride back to our car just in time (!) for the skies to open up and absolutely POUR!

We went in to a coffee shop with wifi to wait it out and we were there for two and a half hours ordering coffee, biscuits, tea, etc just to justify our loitering. It was nice to catch up on some news from home (both my sisters are accomplishing some impressive achievements and doing me proud!) and my journaling but it was so frustrating to be stuck with all the rain. Again!

The good thing that came out of our refuge there was a recommendation for a restaurant for dinner in town. We ended up at this small, cozy, local restaurant. Not only was the food, the wine and the service wonderful but it was incredibly cheap. Argentina isn't as cheap as I heard it once was but 140$ (~$40) for appetizers, a bottle of wine, a big steak to share and two desserts was an INCREDIBLE deal! Yay!

Not a cloud in the sky!

Finally! Sunshine! Not a cloud in the sky! Guille and I sat by the lake and defrosted from another cold night while eating our breakfast. It was wonderful. It's a day not to be wasted. Lago Verde is almost ours alone and it's so still and peaceful here.

Since it's such a beautiful spot and it's summer here, the obvious question is 'Where is everyone?'. We've heard the weather is keeping people away. Yes, the rain and wind aren't fun but surely there's more to it. It turns out the Chilean volcano is having the biggest impact on people's travel plans. Flights to Bariloche and Esquel, the nearest large towns, are hit or miss depending on the direction of the wind and whether or not they can fly. Interesting! It's not really affected us yet but it sounds like we need to take the winds into account as we get closer to Bariloche in a few days' time.

The drive to Lago Puelo today wasn't long distance-wise but took a long time as a good chunk of it was on some ugly gravel roads - good thing it's a rental car! Along the way, we stopped and did a hike up to a lookout from which we saw three of the lakes and the Rio Rivadavia, plus our campground. It was a great little walk and ensured that we earned our lunch on the shores of Lago Rivadavia. I think of all of the lakes we've seen, it was my favourite. The sunshine and warmth of the day no doubt helped with that impression.

View from the mirador of our campground (see the white pier?) on Lago Verde:

Guille and I being shutter-bugs. (given the time I take fussing with pictures, I'm grateful she's interested in photography too!)

Lago Puelo is a small touristy town in a valley between the mountains. It's a lot like the Okanagan with all of the orchards. There are noticeably more backpackers here and both Guille and I remember our days in their shoes.

We both 'did our time' traveling on the cheap-cheap and now we've got the ideal situation. We're both grateful to have the car. We do feel a bit odd hauling 4-wheel suitcases into the tent though! We rough it and save when we can. We splurge when we want to. I'm already getting excited about the idea of a pedicure and a massage in Barioche. I love the range in the style of travel we are doing in this 2 1/2 week trip!!!

My journaling on my iPad needs to be done carefully now that we're around more people. When we both hauled out our iPads last night at dinner to briefly take advantage of some wi-fi and electrical sockets, the restaurant owner mentioned to Guille that we need to be very careful here. People will follow us if we take them out and flash them around. Fair enough. We need to lock them up in the car and be more vigilant about our possessions now. While I know you're not supposed to travel with anything you're not willing to lose, I'd sure be sad if this toy of mine ever disappeared!

Sunset over Lago Puelo:

Off the beaten path...

Ok...well not exactly off the beaten path. We took a tour today - it was the only way to see El Abuelo, the 2600 year old alerce tree which is at the end of Lago Menendez. There were lots of people which made both of us cringe a little bit. Of all of those people, however, what I noticed was that I was the only gringo.

El Abuelo:

It turns out that Parque Nacional de Los Alerces doesn't seem to be on the agenda of many backpackers or international tourists. It's great. I'm getting a unique view of the places Argentinians go to see in their own country, and gosh darn it - there's no English in these here parts so I have to listen up and escucha bien!

We took the boat tour across Lago Menendez which took about an hour. There was some stunning scenery, including a lovely glacier.

When we got to the dock at the end of the lake, they took us on a 1900m walk. I didn't believe them when they said it would take 2 hours, with minimal elevation gain. I was forgetting that there were going to be lots of starting and stopping with explanations and photos. Guille and I trailed behind after a couple of stops and played with our cameras letting the crowd move on and leaving the forest to ourselves. Much better!

It's so much like the west coast of Canada here. That may be why I'm not as interested in the lake-forest-mountain-sky picture so much as pictures of the trees and flowers we don't have back home - like bamboo! I didn't expect that!

When we got 'home' we ran down to the lake shore, about 20m from our tent, and enjoyed the last of the sun before it went down over the mountains. Then it was time for a trip to the cafe here (oh yes...it's a fancy campground) for some snacks and small dose of internet - which was effectively useless given how slow the connection was.

We had our first campfire at our site last night. It took some doing to get it going because it was all rather damp from the recent (heavy) rains. As we cooked our vegetable stir fry on the little stove and drank wine, we played some music and danced with our headlamps on the strobe setting under the arrayanes trees behind the fire. Thank goodness the campground is nearly empty and there were no witnesses! ;o)

The kindness of strangers.

Good things come in threes so they say. I had another great start to the day today as one after one our new friends from the campground came by our tent to say goodbye as we are planning on moving on. Each one left us an unexpected and generous gift.

First was Marian and Fabien, our friends from last night in the main lodge, who came by to tell us that the big blanket they lent us last night to keep us warm (hurrah!) could be ours for the rest of the trip. Seriously. Guille and Marian exchanged addresses, email, and mate and it was done. We would mail it back to them after our trip. Talk about trust! And this was a no ordinary blanket but one made by Marian's mom.

Next we were visited by the Rango family. I wanted to give Maximo a Canadian loonie for his coin collection. Then Guille got to chatting with Cristina and the next thing I know we're staying with them when we pass through Neuquen on our last night before heading back to Bahia Blanca! Wow! They are such a lovely family. We're both looking forward to visiting with them again.

Next came the lifeguard, Eleana, who brought us a map of Bariloche and lots of great advice for visiting the region.

At the end of each of these visits, there were kisses on the cheeks and good wishes as we all parted. I sat back and just watched in amazement. I asked Mariana in my broken Spanish if all Argentinians are this kind and generous. I've certainly been impressed. She responded that likely not but there's a community of people who are just kindred spirits. You tend to find them more easily in campgrounds vs hotels.

No matter where they're hiding, I know we'll meet more as we go. The language barrier limits my initiation of such interactions but Guille's magnetic personality more than makes up for it!

As a result of a very social morning, we didn't finish packing up the tent until late. Once our site was clear we went to the lake shore to have breakfast...at 14:00! It's so glorious there when the sun shines and the air is still but those moments were few and far between. As another gust of wind sent our bowls flying, we decided it was time to head out and say a fond farewell to Bahia Rosales.

We moved north along the lakes to Lago Verde and the pish-posh campground there. We looked at the 'agreste' campground next door with limited facilities but opted to spend the extra 20 pesos (~$5) each to stay at the nicer campground. It was a bit of a splurge but still, 120 pesos each for 2 nights (~$15/pp/pn) isn't bad!!!

Narrow escape from getting webbed feet!

The camping is fun here in Parque Nacional Las Alerces but the nights are proving challenging. I had another cold night but it was better than the previous night. I'm learning how to cope with what I brought. I pulled out every article of clothing I could cover myself with as my sleep sheet and borrowed, summer sleeping bag wasn't enough in this part of the country. I had three pairs of socks, my hoodie, my toque, a bandana over my nose then my sarong, a towel and my fleece serving as pseudo blankets. If only I'd brought my long underwear but those are still at Guille's place in Bahia Blanca. I honestly didn't think I'd need them!

I was treated with 'room service' this morning as Guille actually got up, went to the little store here with a thermos and brought me a coffee all doctored up with cream and sugar! Wow! What a luxury! What a great friend! What a great start to the day!

There's nothing like warm porridge after a cold night and we had gourmet porridge for the second morning in a row. Lekker! By the time we'd finished eating, the rain had stopped, the clouds thinned and the sun came out. Oh hallelujah! It was such a treat after all these days of rain, rain and more rain. I should check my toes to see if they're webbed now!

We decided to head out in the car and go exploring north. The scenery here is stunning and it reminds me a lot of Vancouver Island with all the lush forests, lakes and mountains.

We stopped in at Los Arreyanes campground to check it out. We'd heard they had a restaurant and some hammocks on a covered deck, and indeed they did. We enjoyed a coffee in the sun on the deck before heading out for a short walk along the river.

The hike we found was a 90 minute wander out to see El Abuelo, a 2600 year old arrayane tree. I nicknamed these tress 'Bambi trees' because of the rich brown coloured bark with light coloured spots. The forest with all of the trees along the river was just gorgeous.

On way out to El Abuelo, Guille and I walked and talked. On the way back we decided to go in silence. It was a brilliant suggestion. I hadn't noticed the bird songs on the way out. On the way back I heard them and payed better attention to the smells of the trees and water and just spent time with my thoughts. That's what a big part of this trip is all about.


The flowers on the arrayane tree:

Modern day journaling

The experience of camping hasn't fundamentally changed in my lifetime. Being outdoors in nature, cooking on a campfire, the smokey smell on your clothes, praying for no rain...that's all the same.

The redesign of the equipment has made the gear lighter and easier to put together. No longer are tents the army issue canvas beasts with poles you have to wrestle to fit. There are also all sorts of gadgets that make it more fun. I'm particularly fond of my headlamp that fits into my pocket with a retractable elastic to wear which has three white light settings (including a strobe setting for impromptu discos perhaps?) and two red light settings.

What has changed A LOT is the technological element. Never did I expect to be asking the camp receptionist if there was wifi at the campground. What a concept! In my mind it's completely opposite to getting away from it all. And yet, if I hear it's available, I get a little thrill. Am I one of the ones who got sucked in? Who goes into withdrawal if 'cut off'?

Not at all. It's nice to disconnect. It's nice to have a few days between checking email and Facebook so that there's actually news to read instead of hourly updates. So what am I doing on my iPad???

This is modern day journaling - something I always do when I travel anyway. This version is without pen and paper. It has the advantage of skipping the cramped hands and the disadvantage that my journal may run out of batteries! But it also has the advantage that I can share entries with friends and family all over the world....should they care to read it. But mostly it's for me and stirring my memories years from now in the most efficient way.

Today's a good day to journal anyway. It's WET! And cold.

Our activities are limited and it appears to be a forced day of reflection. This, reading a (paper!) book and making acquaintances with the other water logged campers here at the Bahia Rosales campground in Parque Nacional Los Alerces seems to be the order of the day. Guille is a natural networker and talker and made friends with nearly everyone at the campground by about 16:00. By 17:00 she had arranged for a communal barebecue in the main cooking area for dinner! And what a dinner it was!

At about 21:00 we were joined by Christina, Nelson and their two precocious kids, Maximo and Melania. The couple whose tent flooded the night before, whose names I didn't catch, also joined. There were picadas (chips and nibblies), followed by the asado, a cut they call vacio, cooked slowly over briquettes by the asador, Nelson in this case. There is quite the protocol with this and I kept having to ask Guille about what was appropriate. I got playfully scolded for eating my corn on the cob before the meat as you simply MUST eat the meat while it's hot. My reply that the corn was also hot didn't cut it! Too funny!