After Esquel, I headed to Epuyen. Epuyen is a small town
outside a bigger town called bolson. I stopped by Epuyen to camp for a night.
There’s a pretty lake. There’s loads of wind by the lake.
After, I headed to Bolson. I loved Bolson. There’s an artist
market 4 times a week at the town plaza. There are circus performers of various
types, performing in the open air, artisan beer, crystals, homemade jam, and
lots of crafts. The market is reason enough to visit Bolson.
Bolson is in a valley. I took a day hike to a nearby river and met an Aussie girl, Ann, along the
way. I felt the encounter was auspicious considering the location and how much
we had in common.
The river was stunning and transparent. There was an open
air bar by the river, where we stopped to have a few locally brewed beers, meet
other travelers, and swim a bit.
The campground in Bolson was good, social.
After Bolson, I headed to Bariloche. Bariloche is a big town to the south of a big lake. The town
stretches about 30km alongside the lake.
There are other lakes in close proximity, forests, and lots of hiking to be
done.
I stayed at a place I thought was just a camp ground called
colonial suiza. It turns out to be a mini swiss inspired village way out in the
middle of nowhere. It certainly was charming. The camp ground was by a lake.
I had a look around the town center which was lovely, also reminiscent
of Switzerland. The artist scene there was a bit smaller than Bolson, but still
had presence. There are lots of places buy chocolate and ice cream.
After Bariloche, I planned to hitchhike up to Mendoza.
Mendoza is about 1200 kilometers away and so began the process. The first
night, I felt like I made good distance, despite having been taken about an
hour in the wrong direction. I camped on the outskirts of Zapala, a residential
town, on the principal route.
The next day, I did a lot of walking. I walked through a town
called Las Lajas. As I was walking to the outskirts of town, I passed over a
river and so took the opportunity to temporarily alleviate the intense heat.
My next ride left me basically in the middle of the
Patagonian desert in the middle of the day. Down the road some distance, I
could see trees and shade and so headed that way to seek some refuge. It was a
Sunday and there were hardly any cars passing. Eventually a bus passed through
and I took it to the next town, Chos Malal. I camped there one night and was
pleasantly surprised by the town. The people were so friendly and sociable. There
are lots of parks/plazas in the town, a seeming lovely oasis in the middle of
the desert. That night there was a band
playing at one of the plazas. Locals gathered, children rode their bikes in the
road, local artisans sold food.
The next day, I headed to the outskirts of town. Once again,
I had problems getting a ride, and it was again mind-numbing, energy-sapping
hot. I ended up taking a night bus and finally made it to Mendoza the following
day. I am glad to have stopped by Chos Malal. It gives me inspiration/vision of how a town in the middle of a hot desert can be transformed into
an oasis and have a sense of community. Despite a harsh environment, something
beautiful can flourish.
