Monday, 14 January 2019
Bariloche, Argentina
Went to sleep last night dreaming of a substantial breakfast. Ham. Cheese. Scrambled Eggs. But no. Instead. You’ll never guess. Jam and bread. Third consecutive jam and bread meal. With a fourth at lunch to look forward to.
Route 40 all the way to Bariloche. Another day of fuel management. Pancake flat and featureless landscape. Pass no cars in the first hour. Just me and the Hilux. All alone. Quite literally in the middle of nowhere. No phone signal. And don’t see any SOS Emergency phones either. Praying I don’t break down. Driving on a massive, parched brown plateau. After 127km drop down through a gorge in to the lush green oasis of Rio Mayo and the first fuel stop at the YPF station. Cannot emphasise enough that there is absolutely nothing in between towns. The YPF’s other redeeming feature, apart from having diesel, is freshly baked mini baguettes. The sort you get in Sainsbury’s. That’ll replace the two day old bread I was going to have.
Drive up on to the plateau again. For 232km. Flat. Featureless. Nothing. See photos and video below. Roads are really good quality and average 110km/hr. Drop down into the flood plain to Gobernador Costa. A one horse strip town. Spoilt for choice. There are two fuel stations. As I jump out of car at pump there’s an almighty thud. Large, black dog has been run over by a local across the road. Everyone rushes to the dog’s aid. It’s making exceptionally loud noises, the like of which I’ve never heard from a living thing. Quite stomach churning. Alive but obviously such pain. Poor thing. Lots of people on phones. Assume they’re ringing the vet. It’s eventually put in a pick up and driven off. It’s wailing gradually getting quieter.
Ah ha. This fuel station has some sliced cheese for sale. That’ll make a change from jam.
Only about another 80km to Tecka but fill up anyway. Worst case should now have enough fuel to Bariloche, about 400km away. Only 4 pumps but one attendant. There’s a short queue of only five cars for diesel as only one attendant attending. Time for a cheese baguette. The unadulterated joy of something that’s not bread and jam. A fresh baguette with cheese.
You don’t fill up yourself in Argentina. Still have fuel pump attendants. They’re great. Clean your windscreen too whilst fuel dispensed. Pay the man in cash and say, “Muito gracias.” To which he replies in cheerful English, “A pleasure!”. Makes you smile. Loving Argentina.
Very hot, bright blue sky and sunny. Can tell I’m heading north now. Roads are fabulous and fast. No traffic.
Approaching Esquel, the scenery thankfully changes to rugged snow capped mountains and forests. Just like driving in the Rockies.
The flat featureless plateau is no more. Twisty mountainous roads now. Esquel to El Bolson road is a bit bumpy in places and a few stretches of potholes and bits of missing road. More traffic now. First time I’ve had traffic this trip. Plenty of roadside signs pointing to holiday cabins and camping sites. Busy holiday area. El Bolson has a German influence and appears quite nice. I’ve been averaging 100-110km/hr all day, so think I only have another hour to Bariloche.
Ho.
Ho.
Ho.
This is slow going. Up and over the mountain pass. Too many vehicles. This is lakes and mountains territory. People driving slowly looking for a spot to park near the lakes. Like being in Austria. Very popular road. There’s a nice relaxed holiday feel to the place now. Drop down to Bariloche. I thought Bariloche was a nice place but entering the outskirts, it’s a bit of dump. A tarmac lorry and gang are shovelling tarmac into potholes as the lorry moves slowly forward. They let the cars driving over it do the compacting.
Minor diversion and end up driving down a narrow gravel dirt road towards the lake shore. Turn a corner and come face to face with the Bariloche tourist road train. A tight squeeze.
Taken 2hrs to do the final 100km. But my hotel is worth the wait. The Charming Luxury Hotel & Spa sits on the cliff side overlooking Lake Nahuel Huapi. View from room is sensational. It certainly has the wow factor.
Just what you need after a 820km drive in 9hrs.
And a beer.
