The Best Laid Plans ...

The Best Laid Plans …..

Well ….. We were all set for the crossover to Chile via the San Francisco pass (4700metres altitude), but when we checked for the 4th time with the local Tourist Information office in Catamarca, we were told that the pass was closed by 1.5metres of snow….and had been for 2 weeks … and they had no idea when it would be re-opened! So ….change of plan ….we decided to visit some local thermal baths at Fiambala (the whole region is volcanic with continuing activity), and then go north to another mountain pass at Jama which would hopefully be open.
The thermal baths were well worth visiting; set at an altitude of 2700metres, they consist of a series of 14 pools in cascade. The uppermost pool is at 45degrees C, and the lowest one at 30degrees C. So you just change from one pool to another depending on whether you want to warm up or cool down. We followed the water source upstream in a mountain gorge to the point where it emerged from the ground. I estimate the temperature was around 55degrees C! We spent most of the day in the water (which is supposed to have therapeutic properties). Then we set off for the north, following a trail through the Andes that varied between approx. 3500 to 4600metres in altitude. It was part dust trail and part asphalt in really surprising places (you can follow 100km of dust trail, and then find 100km of perfect asphalt road ….followed by dirt trail again ….all in the middle of nowhere!). The scenery is spectacular; high snow-covered peaks, bare granite and basalt outcroppings, and the perfect cones of extinct (I hope!) volcanoes. Colours range from jet black, through red, pink, orange, and even green.
We also tested the resistance of car and passengers to the intense cold and high altitude …and the humans came out on top! We were obliged to spend one night camping on the side of the trail at an altitude of 3900metres …it was COLD. During the night the temperature went down to -15degrees C! and we had to scrape several millimetres of ice from the inside of the car windows in the morning! ….and the car heater didn’t work …so we dressed in just about every bit of clothing we had and braved the cold. We looked rather like two fat garden gnomes! Then it took me almost one hour to start the car. Two problems ….first, the battery efficiency was reduced by the cold, second ….the engine was having real problems getting enough oxygen to start. I succeeded in getting it going by removing the air filter completely to improve air flow, then putting it back when the engine was running. The following evening we treated ourselves to a hotel room in the last town in Argentina …to eat our last steak, and have a hot shower …and once again our luck was with us. The only hotel in town was fully booked when I first enquired ….but when we returned an hour later to ask directions out of town (dreading another freezing night!), someone had cancelled their booking! Whoopee!!!
The following day we set off to cross to Chile … the pass was « open ». This means you can cross if you have a 4x4, and are slightly mental (we fitted perfectly). We drove 600km over dust trails, stretches of new road, thick mud in salt lakes, rivers, and snow (we spent hours finding « driveable » passages between deep snow drifts) ….but we made it!
A little surprise awaited us at the frontier between Argentina and Chile; no problem leaving Argentina, but the Chile customs/police post was nowhere to be found (we sort of expected it to be 1-2km further on). After driving for about 20km, we decided that we must have missed something, because from the road signs it was obvious we were well into Chile. So we turned round and drove back to the Argentina border post and asked …. No, we hadn’t missed anything …the Chile border post was 160km further on!!! When I looked surprised, the policeman said « Well, there’s nothing between the two so what does it matter! » …. Superb!!
Anyway, now we’re installed in a little town called San Pedro de Atacama on the northern end of the Atacama salt lake in northern Chile. The town has a slightly « hippy » atmosphere with lots of young English and American students & tourists. It’s full of life, with lots of little shops, bars, restaurants and tour operators. I had my first Marguerita cocktail for months …and it was sooooo good! We have decided to stay here for a while!
(Ann is cutting my hair while I’m writing this ….she’s gone very quiet …. I’m worried!)

Mud in the Pampas

Mud in the Pampas

On our last afternoon at the estancia we decided to explore the countryside, So we set off in the car along some rough trails between the fields. What we didn’t take into account was the fact that the area is naturally marshy … and it had been raining recently. On the way back along a 40km track between fields (the fields are big!), we hit a patch of water ….so, in true pioneering spirit I forced a way through …and through a second … and a third … mud up to the axles … only just made it! Then we came to the fourth …. Two small lakes had joined up across the trail! The patch of water was at least 200 metres long and probably quite deep. I finally got sensible and managed to find another trail round it, but needless to say when we got back the car was a mess!! Just before leaving I asked the chef at the estancia if he had an outside tap that I could use to wash the car; he replied that the only tap he had was frozen, but he had a brilliant idea! ……… Why not empty half the contents of his swimming pool over the car, using a high pressure fireman’s hose connected to the pool pump. It was hilarious ….! We were both soaked through, and his clean, white chef‘s apron was covered in brown mud! Got the car clean though, and not too much water inside. Argentine people are just so enthusiastic to help.
We continued up towards Iguazu, spending the nights in campsites, petrol stations (the owner found us a quiet spot at the back, and we had toilets and hot showers, for less than one euro!). One night we ate our meal in a tiny family restaurant, actually the owner’s dining room (the family sat next to us watching television); superb food for ridiculously low prices.
Our Spanish is improving slightly, but we still end up in some funny situations ….like when we stopped at a roadside fruit stall to buy a pineapple ….and came away with 10kg of mandarin oranges instead! …. I’m still not quite sure how that happened.

Iguazu Waterfalls

These are so spectacular … the Iguazu river empties over a series of basalt steps, total height approx 200 metres, over a width of 3km. The volume of water is just incredible, and the noise and spray ….. All in a sub-tropical forest setting. We spent several days walking the trails, and took a boat trip up to the base of the falls; where the guide took a great delight in getting all his tourists totally soaked!
There is a funny story about the falls; around 50 years ago a guide used to take tourists in a rowing boat along the top of the falls, and he used to go as close as he could, rowing against the current like crazy, while the tourists took pictures etc. …. Of course one day the inevitable happened ….he couldn’t row fast enough ….and the boatful of tourists went over the edge!! All drowned of course. After that they banned boat trips along the top (well, I think its funny anyway!)
We also went over into Brazil to see the falls from that side.

Then the long trek over towards Chile, and we are currently on the last campsite in Argentina preparing for the crossing …. Approx. 600km of mountain road going up to 5400metres altitude.
We shall miss Argentina and the people, drinking their « mate« (pronounced mat-ay, a sort of herb tea prepared in wooden cups and drunk through a metal « strainer«, definitely an acquired taste as you can see from my expression!)
But its time to move on, so next update from Chile ….

Pics from last time

Hi Everybody, everything is fine here, we've been visiting the waterfalls at Iguazu, north-east Argentina .... breathtaking. Photos and update next time.

Meanwhile, here are the pics I tried unsuccessfully to load last time .....

Don't you just love digging cars out of snowbanks .....!

Cheers

Snow in the Andes



After our stay in Bariloche, we set out to drive north along the notorious « Seven Lakes road » in the Andes to San Martin. The morning was beautiful when we set out ….but very soon it started to snow, and the weather, and road conditions, deteriorated rapidly. At one point there was a police road block, and the policeman asked me where we were going. When I said San Martin, he asked me if I had 4-wheel drive ….because there was very deep snow on the road … He wasn’t joking! First, the road changed from asphalt to just mud … deep mud mixed with snow. Then the snow got deeper, until I was actually « ploughing » the road in front of us …. The snow was over 50cm deep! ….and it was obvious that we were the only idiots trying to get through! Also the road had been « cleared » before, but only the width of one vehicle … so we were forcing our way through a very narrow channel in deep snow! Then on one bend the whole car slid sideways into a ditch … with just a little snow bank between us and a 20metre drop into a ravine! After some digging, and thanks to the 4-wheel drive and diff. lock, I managed to get back on the road. Add to that a few fallen trees across the road, and it took us most of the afternoon to do 150km, but the scenery in the snow was spectacular. We managed to find a little bungalow in San Martin for the night to recover.
The next day we set off again in the general direction of Cordoba. Once again the police warned us about bad road conditions, but this time it was hard ice on the road. Big trucks sliding all over the place …quite hairy, but we sailed through no problem.
After missing a few turnings, we found ourselves late at night heading north on a road that wasn’t even on our map. We actually had no idea where we were, but continued anyway (« I guess the road has to come out somewhere!! »); quite a weird feeling actually. After about 150km without a single road sign, we suddenly drove across a long barrage at one end of a lake, and there was a « Camping » sign right in front of us! We drove in, and there was a person in a reception office who told us we could camp wherever we wanted, and it was free! There were toilets and washbasins but no showers. Next morning we found out that there wasn’t even a village there, just a campsite by a lake! We were so lucky to find it, and the lake was beautiful.
We set off again going north and drove through a small « park » where we saw quite a few animals; llamas, flamingos, rheas, herons, … but no armadillos, much to Ann’s disappointment. We couldn’t find a campsite for the night, but ended up camping in the middle of a picnic area! …not really allowed, but the caretaker said it would be OK … at least I think he was the caretaker.
This morning we decided to search seriously for an estancia (cattle ranch), and by a stroke of luck we found one in the middle of the Pampas; a restored 100-year old house in the middle of 1060 hectares of cereal and cattle production. The place is run by a Spanish chef and his wife … and the food is out of this world! If Michelin did a food guide in Argentina, this would be 5-star! … and for prices so low its ridiculous!
We have a huge Jacuzzi in the bathroom!
We stay here for two nights, hoping to see the cattle and flamingos ….ff I can survive the food and drink (the chef insists on serving whisky in copious quantites after every meal!)

Photos next time folks ... this internet connection is S .... L .... O .... W ....

Well, we dutifully set off to visit the Valdes peninsula with its teeming wildlife population .... first, Valdes is BIG ... 300km to drive right round .... second, I think that all the wildlife had been warned that we were coming! Five llamas, a couple of rheas (sort of stunted ostrich), one pink (very pink!) flamingo, and a few seals ..... I've seen more activity in our back garden when Alexa tries to chase the cats! To be fair, it was winter, and bitterly cold with a biting wind. The sort of weather when only stupid humans go out .. and sensible wildlife keeps warm. There were a few sheep as well, but each time we tried to take a photo of them, they ran off .... we have several great pics of sheep's backsides (OK if you like that sort of thing)!
After a couple more days watching whales in Puerto Madryn, we drove down the coast to Trelew. This is a Welsh village that was founded by a group of Welsh immigrants way back. Not a tea-shop in sight! Scandal! ... Why anybody would want to start a settlement in the wilds of Southern Patagonia I don't know ... very bare and pretty cold! Maybe they were trying to get to Ireland and got lost! Most normal people would start a settlement in th Bahamas, or Hawaii! There is a little village called Puerto Rawson nearby where you can rent a boat to go "dolphin watching. The only place that was offering trips had a notice in the window .... "Dolphin watching 09:30 tomorrow". Great! ...... except that "tomorrow" in Spanish is "manana" ... and we all know what that means. Anyway, on leaving the village we drove along the beach road ... and guess what! Yes! .... dolphins playing in the surf just 20 metres from the beach! So we saw our dolphins after all.
We had a great campsite nearby with a dining room all to ourselves .. complete with real wood-burning stove in the corner. The only snag was that after about one hour, you couldnt see across the room for smoke .... well, its the thought that counts.
Next came the big drive West ... leaving the east coast for the Andes (a hint, fill up with petrol before you start, and whenever can .... there are stretches of over 700km with no service stations!) Fairly boring drive; vast open flat expanses of pampas, but more than rewarded by our first glimpse of the snow-capped Andes. We stayed in Esquel, then drove north to Bariloche; one of the main Argentine ski centers. The scenery is spectacular; beautiful snow-capped mountains with lakes nestling in little hidden valleys. The area has a very strong Swiss/German influence; thousands of little log-cabin chalets (mainly for tourists). Very picturesque. We found a campsite by a lake, and then drove up to the main ski station, Cerro Catedral, hired some gear, and set off up the mountainside. lots of runs, all levels, no queues! Great fun! The station is modern, very well-equipped, bustling, and cheap (at least by European standards); 10 euros per day to hire boots, planks to stand on, and stick thingies.
Next issue will be on the Lakes area, and our drive north to warmer climes ..... Watch this space!

(PS, sorry about the formatting, the internet connections over here are just slightly erratic!!!!)