Lago Puelo

A cloudless day in El Bolson was a good opportunity to catch the bus to Lago Puelo for a relaxing day trip.  It's in a national park so there were hiking trails and picnic areas, plus lots of locals enjoying a nice sunny Sunday.

Looking across Lago Puelo.
Lakes, mountains; everywhere you look here is full of them both.

Chimango Caracara - very common in this area . . .

. . . very curious of people and opportunists for any food you might leave out.

In flight

The park had an interesting wetland area that was full of tiny, lightening quick birds and plenty of insects.  Ben had a great time while I was happy to be taking it easy.

Small dragonfly

Brilliant colours

The double winged larger variety

Hielo Azul Trek

After four days of on and off rain we were determined to get some more trekking done.  There was a popular three day loop that sounded good, so after picking up vital supplies off we set.

To be hit by a slight snag - the taxi driver dropped us at the wrong place.  It was deeply frustrating as we could hear the river and knew that the bridge was right there, but as it was private land with some big dogs we had to back track down the road, hoping we could figure it out.  After an 2hrs walking and getting 3 lots of conflicting information on where the trail started we finally found a sign - not what we needed with a decent distance to cover, not to mention the near 1000m climbing we needed to do.

It was 2pm by the time we crossed the river to the trail proper - very late to be setting off when the sign said it was 7hrs to the refugio!  But our trekking book said it was 4-6hrs, and it wouldn't be dark til after 9pm so we decided to press on.

A large ringed kingfisher waited patiently for Ben to change lenses - very obliging

The first rickety bridge crossing.
Ben couldn't work out why I was going so slowly, until he started himself - the boards were pretty rotten!

The first 2.5hrs from the bridge was some serious climbing; we decided that Argentine trail blazers don't really believe in switchbacks . . . Then it levelled out a little, but still with plenty of climbing.  At 6pm there was a sign that the refugio was still 50min away and after 7hrs on the go we decided that we would camp right there, in a nice clearing beside the river.

The next morning we were a little stiff and sore, but quickly reached the Refugio Hielo Azul (Blue Ice).  The weather had closed in a lot so we set up camp and lazed around, instead of heading up to see the glacier Hielo Azul.

Nearly at the refugio

Refugio Hielo Azul

We were very lucky to spot the rare Andean Mountain Cat, found in a diverse range of habitats . . .

. . . but especially warm ones!
This is Guia, the refugio cat, who was very helpful setting up the tent and going for short walks with us

Lovely campsite, luckily free from falling branches

The weather was considerably better, though still cold, when we set off the next morning, which was just as well as we had a decent amount of ground to cover, plus a big descent.  Much beginning of the walk was in the beautiful beech forests, occasional clearings and swampy meadows gave us some lovely views.

Another bridge crossing

Through the beech forest

The trail traversed across the ridge line, past Refugio Natacion, where we stopped in for a brief chat with the hut keeper, then dropped sharply down to the Rio Azul (Blue River).  The descent was steep and rocky, but we made good time.

The Rio Azul living up to it's name

We had only seen two other hikers on the first day until we got down into the Rio Azul valley, which is a very popular day hike.  Quite different from the popularity of the trails around Bariloche!

After following the river upstream for 30min, admiring the intense colour of the water and the dramatic, deepening gorge, we crossed the river to  Refugio Cajon de Azul - literally Drawer of Azul.  Canyon might be a closer translation, as the water is drawn into a canyon that is 40m deep and only 3m wide.  The Refugio is on a little working farm and we were welcomed by the very friendly owner and his multiple cats.  There were even hot showers to wash the dirt off - luxury!

Dinner time at Refugio Cajon de Azul

The fourth day was to be a relatively easy 12km walk out down the river and into a small settlement.  It was a very picturesque walk next to the river, with occasional day trippers and horse riders going by.

Another rickety bridge

Looking back up valley

The last bridge of the day

We crossed the last bridge and headed up towards Warton, the little settlement where the shop could call a taxi for us.  On the map and trip description this looked quite short, perhaps a km or two.  It was more like 3km of trudging up a surprisingly steep gravel road.  It wasn't all that far but it certainly felt it!  Finally we rolled in to Warton, really just a cross roads and a store with two horses tied up to the fence.  The owner called a taxi for us and while we waited we enjoyed a cold drink and a great view back the way we'd come.

Leaving Bariloche

After being based in Bariloche for a few weeks it was time to head south to El Bolson, a couple of hours away.  We enjoyed our time in Bariloche, particularly the fine selection of chocolate and 80% chocolate icecream - yum!

Spectacular sunsets just seem like a given here, as seen out our bedroom window

The full moon over the hills across the lake

Easy overnighter up to Refugio Frey

A short bus ride to the bottom of Cerro Catedral skifield brought us to the start of the trail to Refugio Frey.  It's one of the most popular refugios in the park, so we had the tent with us and I was hoping that it wouldn't be too cold.

The first couple of hours skirted the side of the mountain through low bushes and burnt trees, affording nice views across Lake Gutierrez and back towards Bariloche.  Then the trail started to climb up through the beautiful beech forest.

After some climbing we started to get some good views . . .

. . . so very different to our hikes in Peru.

Even though it wasn't a long hike I was still rather glad to see the refugio

It wasn't far from our previous outing but the mountains are very different . . .

. . . extremely jagged and very popular with rock climbers.

While I stayed in the warm chatting to Brazilian rock climbers, Ben waited outside for the moon to rise.

The Tarptent in action on a pretty tight site.

Refugio Frey and Laguna Toncek

The weather had been much warmer than our last trip, so we weren't in a rush to head off.  On the walk back down we heard some bird sounds off the trail so Ben quickly changed lenses.

And this was what we heard - Magellanic Woodpeckers

The female doesn't have the bright head, but her crest is rather lovely

The tock-tock-tock of the bug hunting woodpecker

These little lizards have been everywhere on our hikes . . .

. . . as are these more interestingly coloured ones

Bivvies are a little more upmarket around here . . .

. . . complete with cross and bell.

The route back took us down to the shores of Lago Guiterrez and into the fierce wind that had started up.  Very glad to be heading back to civilisation!

Hiking to Laguna Negra

To get our hiking legs back we decided to do an easy flat day on part of the tourist route, the circuito chico.  Then a hike up to Laguna Negra and back.  A bus dropped us at the edge of Llao-llao regional park and we set off, partly on trails and partly on the road.  The wind was pretty unpleasant, especially at the viewpoints, but the road sections weren't as bad as we'd thought - very little traffic and all sealed, bar the last 3km, so no clouds of dust.

In Llao-llao park with the broom and a tourist doing the circuit the usual way; by bike

There were gorgeous wind battered views

The best road walking we've done - quiet roads, no dust and great views!

Eventually we rolled into the small village of Colonial Suiza but struggled to find somewhere to camp.  There are plenty of campgrounds, but only one was open as it's not the summer season yet.  So with an extra couple of kilometers needlessly walked we finally set up the tent and managed to get inside, out of the freezing wind.

As if to make up for the wind, the next day was gorgeous - hardly a breath of wind and not a cloud in the sky.  Only 1km back up the road to the trail head to Laguna Negra, then it was all proper hiking - only 14km to the refugio!

The trail wound gradually up through beautiful beech forests . . .

. . . until at the end of the valley we could see Cerro Negro and we knew we had to do some serious climbing.

The first 4hrs of the hike was pretty cruisy, then the last section more than made up for it, with a steep switch back trail climbing sharply out of the forest and up into the rock.

We were very glad to see Refugio Italia on the shores of Laguna Negra

A stunning, wind swept location

We were undecided about whether to camp or stay in the refugio - until we reached the laguna!  The wind was howling across the lake - well, ok, it really wasn't that windy, but boy, it was cold!  The refugios here are a bit different to back home - you can get a fully cooked dinner for AR$100 (about NZ$25), which sounds expensive when we've been spending that much on a whole day's food in town.  But of course it all has to be carried up and the person living in the hut has to cook and do the dishes.

The refugio itself wasn't as nice as I'd expected for somewhere you can have all your meals cooked for you and is almost as expensive as our hostel in town.  It was freezing cold with only a little heater and the fire didn't get lit.  The other thing that surprised us was how late people arrived at the hut - it was a Saturday night so there were lots of locals, many of whom didn't arrive until well after 7pm.  Dinner wasn't til 10pm though - pretty normal for Argentina.

Ben spent some time outside setting up for this great night shot

Another beautiful day greeted us, time for a leisurely breakfast and some more photos before heading down again.

The refugio shows the vastness of the mountains

There were a couple of snow traverses to negotiate

Of course it was much faster heading down and before long we were back in Colonial Suiza, waiting for the bus.  Sunday is market day there, with lots of artisan stores open and plenty of day trippers from Bariloche.  What this means is that the bus doesn't come to the bus stop . . . so we missed it after waiting 45min.

We decided hitch hiking would fill in the time til the next bus (3hrs away) and luckily for us Ana, the owner of the campsite we'd stayed, drove past before we'd even really started trying, and gave us a ride back to Bariloche, much faster than the bus would have been!

Southwards! Bariloche and Lago Traful

After our incredible wildlife experiences it was hard to get on another bus, but with two months to go and plenty more to see we had to keep heading south to Bariloche in the Lakes District. We'd heard a lot of good things about the area and how beautiful it was, so our expectations were high.

Bariloche itself is nice enough, like the Argentinian version of Queenstown (though not quite so beautiful, but we might be slightly biased!) It's a nice enough town, but the real reason to come here is to get into the Nahuel Huapi National Park.

We found a nice hostel to be based at for a while, Las Barrancas, and when we asked for ideas the owners suggested we head over to a little campground on the edge of Lago Traful. As we could get there by bus and it was reputed to be truly beautiful, we duly found out which days the bus runs (Sat - Tues only) and set off.  A lovely lady on the bus told us that it was one of the most beautiful places in the world that she had ever been to.

It was a little breezy when we arrived, but the wild lupins and dramatic landscape was gorgeous

The moon and high cloud put a stop to Ben's plan to do some long exposure star shots . . .

. . . but we managed to entertain ourselves.

The next day we walked into Villa Traful, the little village on the lake . . .

. . . very picturesque and quiet, just a few people going out fishing.

We hiked up through masses of broom (not gorse!) to see some waterfalls.

The campground was very simple but in the most gorgeous location. We were the only people there for the first night, but even with two other groups we still had plenty of space. It was a very relaxing three days.

Our great Tarptent Stratospire 2 in action.
The new solid wall inner was much warmer and much better at keeping the dust out.

The last of the winter snow on the high peaks

Early morning contemplation.
'Why didn't we bring something yummier than muesli for breakfast?'

Lago Traful - clear as glass

Picture postcard perfect.
Actually none of the postcards we saw looked this good!

The colour of the lake is extraordinary

Eventually our time was up and we were ready to head back to civilisation for hot showers and a real bed (and to get out of the dust!). Time to plan the next excursion, which is supposed to involve a bit more hiking.