lundi 9 juillet 2007

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 ....

1 commentaire:

Anonyme a dit…

Dear wanderers,
Snow in BA .....we saw it on the french television and we thought about you...brrr....fortunately you have your 4 x 4 ....and even in the middle of nowhere there is a campsite...nevertheless we hope the weather will be better soon! Keep in touch. Love HaJa.