Close shave

12th April, Lago Espejo chico to Camping Don Horacio on Lago Nahuel Huapi (36.2M)


Yet again we awaited the suns arrival on the tent before getting up and as the lake mist lifted the views across Lago Espejo Chico were beautiful.
Once packed away we soon warmed up with the 3km ascent back onto the main ruta de los siete lagos. It wasn't long before we were back on tarmac and enjoying beautiful views across more lakes if not sometimes fleeting as we sped past on the now smooth road surface.
Within 20km we had joined a much more main road and cycling wasn't quite as enjoyable as we had to contend with fast cars and buses as they made their way to and from the Argentine/ Chilean border. We were heading eastwards, away from the border towards Villa la Angostura. We stopped at a couple of busy viewpoints on our way to the town. The views were across Lago Nahuel Huapi and were beautiful but slightly spoiled by the number of people and cars stopped at them.
At Villa la Angostura  we encountered our first queue of traffic for a long time passing through some roadworks on the entrance to the town. The cycle lane wasn't much better as it was full of slow moving, oblivious school kids on their way home for their siesta. A couple of days previously we'd been invited and given a map for a couples house in town where they invited us to stay and use their garden, kitchen and shower. Again a really nice reflection of Argentine hospitality as we'd only met them for a few minutes by one of the other lakes and only had a very broken conversation in Spanish with them. It was however still relatively early in the day and we hadn't covered many miles yet today and weren't that bothered about exploring Villa la Angostura, as it just seemed like a busy touristy town, so we decided to continue onwards.
Leaving the town we had one of our few run ins with Argentine traffic. A coach obviously in a hurry to meet a timetable squeezed pass Gareth as we cycled single file and clouted him on the back of his head with his wing mirror. I was in front and cursed the coach driver as left me untouched but passed far too close. Realising Gareth wasn't right we stopped  and although shaken thankfully there was no harm done. We cycled onwards, really not enjoying being back on a busy road after our weeks of solitude and infrequent traffic. Thankfully after a respectable distance travelled for the day we saw signposts to a quiet campsite on the lakeside. We pretty much had the site to ourselves and at the request for hot showers the fire under the water tank was lit and we were able to chill out and forget about busy roads.

One final Pass.

11th April. Villa Traful to camping Lago Espejo Chico


Now we will both confess that out and backs are our least favourite journey, but today we had little choice. The reason for the dislike is the knowledge of terrain and the fact the scenery in most cases isn't as amazing as the first time. You soon realise over here that the scenery needs to be seen as many ways as possible, especially in the autumn.

The final pass

We were soon our way and enjoying ourselves, it apparently down hill yesterday. Yesterday I would of argued with anyone that it wasn't. It wasn't to hard going and when we arrived at the beach we stopped at yesterday, we stopped again to enjoy the view and have a quick snack. It is quite amazing how over a matter of a few hours that the colour of the changing trees has intensified. This make the line just below the snowline look as though the trees are on fire, the colours are really that intense.We soon were packing back up and heading on toward our next campsite. One thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that we had to go over a pass this was to be our last climb of the trip and from here on in the road would be rolling.
The journey was along a road which in time will become tarmac and I'm sure it will loose a bit of its charm. It took us through forest, along side lakes of varying sizes and colours.The mountains still towered over head, some of these had a light grey appearance which was the ash from the volcano which I was really hoping we may have got a view of the rising steam cloud, but no such luck.We stopped at one of the many lakes for some lunch and to enjoy the autumn sunshine.
We didn't have to far to our next campsite and on our way we were joined by a group of Argentinian cyclists. Sarah did the talking and found out that they were cycling from San Martin to Villa la Angostura and intended to stay at the same campground as us. They were travelling with a support vehicle so they weren't carrying any  kit other than rucksacks, but we kept up. What did puzzle us however was when we got to the turning they shot off down a hill and disappeared from view, as I was turning the support car turned up and asked which way they had gone so we pointed straight on.
The campsite was down a rough road and was situated by the side of a beautiful lake. The place was all ours and from what we knew this was to be the case that night. We pitch camp and whilst sorting things out the Argentinians arrived, we joked with them about getting in extra miles really though I think it was more to do with who could go faster.They erected a huge camp and it even had electric lights which was run by a noisy generator, this wasn't on for long though and we all seemed to turn-in at the same time. It was a very quiet night.

A little side trip

10th April. Lago Falkner to lago Traful

Life in the freezer

Sarah was the first to venture out of the tent and it was apparently a sight to behold. I felt I needed a little more information, but when she insisted I handed the camera I felt it was probably worth a look. What a beautiful morning, everything outside including the tent was covered in a silver film of frost. It was really one of the autumn mornings that I love to wake up to. The sun soon put pay to the glorious scene, this however warmed the air and us to as it was bitterly cold.

 A dusty road to somewhere

The usual routine was done and we were soon on the road and heading on along this beautiful road. The scenery however took on a slightly stranger appearance. The layer of ash which had been deposited by volcano Puyehue could be scene, it wasn't quite as much as we had been lead to believe. It didn't really spoil the scenery, but change it to a strange Luna type landscape. The road and scenery was quite as amazing as the previous day, but this was to change when we turned on to the road to Traful.

The turning to our surprise was smooth tarmac this really put a smile on my face as I was tiring of the dirt road. It turned sharply and wound up from right to left and on the left bend we sat and had some lunch and watch a grader smoothing the road below. Once fed we started on again and the smile soon vanished as the tarmac ended and the dirt resumed. It wasn't to bad going though and we enjoyed the changing scenery, there where a couple of patches of soft sand which Sarah always managed to clear, but I decked the bike nearly every time. The reward to our days effort was just around the next corner in the form of the most magnificent lake and mountain views yet.

Our first stop was at the head of Lago Traful on a small beach looking out toward the mountains opposite. These mountains where covered by trees which had the ting of autumn about them, the upper slops just below the snowline was a beautiful bronze colour and here autumn was in full swig. We enjoyed this spot for awhile and then set off again, it wasn't long before we stopped again to enjoy this lake. The rest of the journey to Traful  was along the edge of the lake and it did not disappoint, neither did the town.

Autumn Colours

On arriving in this very small town we first found somewhere to camp, the one we found was a little pricey, but seemed very nice. Next was a trip to the shop to by supplies for tomorrow, we found a small shop not far from the campsite. In here we found everything we needed included some very nice homemade bread. The one thing that we had both noticed was how there was volcanic dust on everything. To end a perfect day we treated ourselves to a meal out, this was partly due to me wanting to try some local trout. We both had the fish and neither of us was disappointed if anything we felt pretty stuffed. What a perfect day

Lagos 1, 2 and 3

9th April, Playa Catrite to Camping Lago Falkner (31.1M)


Beautiful it might have been last night, but freezing it was this morning. We'd set our alarm to get up in time to watch a beautiful sunrise across the lake, only to find this morning that the lake and ourselves were encased in a freezing mist. I pulled on pretty much all my clothing and then practically sat on the stove to keep warm while I cooked the porridge. Gareth had the refuge of the warm tent for a bit longer while he packed away our gear from inside the tent, but soon joined me for some warming coffee and porridge.

By the time we'd breakfasted and packed away the sun had started burning through the fog and it was slowly dispersing and lifting away from the lake. Those first rays of sun that eventually reached us were absolutely lovely to feel.
Back on the bikes, we had 1km of steep ascent out of the campsite to the main road and this soon completed the warming process. We were now above the fog, in the sun and soon back to wearing just shorts and t-shirts.  We continued up the road for another 16km, it was a constant steady climb, but felt easy today. The scenery was beautiful and it was lovely to be cycling in the sun again.

salon de te

Still on the fairly leisurely cycling theme we stopped twice this morning. Once for some food on a rocky outcrop over a gorge with lovely views down the valley and the second time was after a lovely but cold descent to Rio Hermosa and a 'Salon de te' (tea room), where still in our relaxed mode we decided to stop for another break and a coffee.
The rest of the days ride was equally delightful, we stopped at various miradors and sights and really took our time, It was really really enjoyable.

Gareth took 'relaxing' to heart

On reaching Lago Faulkner I still felt good and full of more cycling, but the campsite here had been recommended by the parks office so we decided to stop and enjoy the beautiful views across yet another beautiful lake. There was a free campsite with equally good views nearby, but we decided that hot water and a covered area to cook in tonight were worth the extra money. We pitched the tent on a grassy bank with lovely views across the lake. I think that we are just a couple of weeks too early. Autumn is beginning and the trees are beginning to change colour, but haven't reached there real deep fiery red colours yet. Most important in our tent pitch selection this evening was to keep out of the shade. We wanted the sun for as long as possible! When the sun did go down the temperature plummeted and we were very thankful for the covered cooking area and the hot showers.

Record breakers

8th April, Easter Sunday, San Marin to Playa Catrite (4.5M)

The sun was out and the trees werechanging with autumn

On our bikes and back in the sun. The road between San Martin and Bariloche is known as 'Ruta de los siete lagos (the road of the seven lakes)' and is renowned for being beautiful. We still had more than enough time to get to Bariloche for our flight on the 16th April so with the weather constantly improving we decided to take our time and enjoy our final weeks in Argentina.







So today was certainly not about setting any records, except perhaps for the fewest miles cycled in a day. We had a lovely ride, on tarmac once again, along the edge of Lago Lacar. We climbed steadily throughout this before a steep descent down to a beach on the lakeside. It was only midday but we decided to enjoy the scenery and stop and camp here overnight. During the day the place was heaving with Argentinians enjoying their Easter Sunday with asados (BBQs), fishing, a couple having scuba diving lessons and many more just relaxing on this lovely warm sunny holiday. We were the only people camping and once the sun left the beach, the temperature quickly dropped off and then people began to leave. I returned from one of my few runs I managed while in South America to find that we'd been given a refund for the camping as there was no gas or hot water. They left the toilet block open so we could stay for free if we wanted or move onto another campsite with facilities just a bit along the lake shore, but by then our tent was up and we were happy to stay for free. It just meant a bathe in the lake for me after my run instead of a nice warm shower!

Post run bathing....

The sunsets more than made up for any lack of facilities and actually we'd paid more in the past for a less well equipped or beautiful site.

San Martin de los Andes

7th April, San Martin


A relaxed and chilled day nursing hangovers and trying to rehydrate. We moved to a double room this morning that soon looked like a Chinese laundry as we hung our damp kit everywhere. We didn't dare leave our key at reception even when we left the hostel in case they went into our room for any reason. We had a nice walk through town including a very expensive but very yummy hot chocolate. Gareth in his hungover state also managed to consume 10 croissants throughout the day and a slice of cheese cake. The bakeries were good, but I'm not sure that it was really making Gareth feel much better in the hangover stakes.
We tried to burn it off with a walk along the lake front. Very pretty and the weather was definitely improving with no rain today, just very very strong winds and clouds racing rapidly across the sky.

Birthday Boy

6th April, Gareth's Birthday, Wild camp near Hua Hum to San Martin de los Andes (33M)

Gareth at 35 years old 

So, much to Gareth's disgust we were in a wet tent and about to cycle down a wet road on his birthday. Definitely not on his wish list. There was some good news however as despite a very wet tent, it wasn't actually raining this morning and there were a few patches of blue sky around. We packed everything away, breakfasted and set out on our way. It was slow hard going. The rain had made the ripio road quite soft and it just seemed to grip hold of our tyres and hang on. We seemed to be constantly ascending and then descending again but we never seemed to get up any speed on the descents. It was really taxing and then any height we did gain was soon lost again on the next bit of the road. We passed the spot where we had turned around yesterday, typically there was a campsite only about 1km further on. Very annoying.

A birthday hug

After a while we found a parks visitor and picnic area where we stopped on the lake edge for a birthday picnic. It was a nice setting for a birthday meal and I can't remember what was on the menu, but I don't actually recall it being that inspiring, mainly because it had been 4 days on the road since the last time we'd entered a shop. Anyway the sun was out, at least for a while and the views were nice. When it did rain it was just after we arrived on the beach and was only a shower, but it did mean that all the other people left so that we had the place to ourselves.
Back on the road we continued onwards and mainly upwards although still with the occasional annoying descents, it was demoralising loosing height after all that hard work on the previous ascent. There was definitely more climbing and eventually we reached the highest point of the road at 1200m. What a relief when all we could see ahead was a long almost continuous descent down the valley towards San Martin.
Finally we had a rest on the bikes as we free wheeled our way down the valley. There were beautiful autumn colours just beginning to come out on the trees around us and just before reaching San Martin there was a mirador where we finally got to see our goal and the largest area of civilisation since leaving Pucon.

Civilisation and a clear (ish) view

Arriving in San Martin, we found our way to La Puma Hostel,which had been recommended by Alex and Julie. There were no double rooms free but we booked into a dorm room and with the others not having arrived yet we had time to spread out all our kit to dry and have a long long shower. Despite being Good Friday, I even managed to find a laundrette open and put our clothes in before it shut at 10pm. Definitely not a service that you'd find open on a Good Friday in the UK.
Clean and dry we then went to explore the town, had a beer at 'The Dublin' pub (definitely in tourist land now) before finding a lovely tapas type restaurant where we drunk far too much and ate a lovely meal of 'picadas' (finger type foods), including cured and smoked meats, pates, olives, bread and pickles. Very very yummy and one of the typical styles of eating in this area of Argentina.