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Day 1: Bariloche – Río Mayo.
After a welcome reunion, we leave Bariloche going
towards the South. This first part of our journey
is about 700 km long. We’ll view a variety of
landscapes along the way: lakes, mountains, forests
and the first sight of the Patagonian plain. We’ll
follow the route parallel to the Andes mountain range.
At the end of this long day’s journey we’ll
sleep in a unique, old hotel decorated in the 40's
style, in Rio Mayo (typical patagonean town).
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Day 2: The “40”
Today we start traveling through the true Patagonia!
The first part of the famous “ripio” (grubble
roads). If you don’t know what these roads are
about, don’t worry, you’ll find out. The
land inhabited by the Tehuelches, Onas, and Mapuches.
After 200 km we arrive to a narrow car track that
will guide us to trail. We descend the Pinturas River’s
narrow canyon to become amazed witnesses of the heritage
of the ancient inhabitants of this land: the unique
paintings of Cueva de las Manos.
It is a 2 hs. hike (return) moderate, but a breathtaking
one, hard to say which is more impressive, the narrow
canyon or the caves and their paintings. We spend
the night at Estancia Los Toldos (hostel accommodation).
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Day 3:
Estancia Menelik.
After breadfast The South, always going South. Route
40 presents so much beauty, so many views and extensive
plains, that it is hard to describe and man’s
hand in these few years of colonization, doesn’t
go unnoticed. Even so, there are hikes of spectacular
beauty. Ahead of us, the solitude of Route 40, the
plains, wild animals and solitary farms, red roofs
and popular trees. Nothing compares to being there
and feeling the immensity and desolation of Patagonia.
We will spend the night in a hostel at "Estancia
Menelik", which will give us one day to catch
our breath after the long journey.
We continue, after lunch following the Belgrano river,
the guanacos’ neighs and the San Lorenzo Mountain
at the far back, await us. We spend the rest of the
day walking around there.
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Day 4:
Estancia Menelik – El Calafate
A whole day along route 40. The plains, the condors,
small eagles and choiques (short patagonian nandus)
will be silent spectators along our way. We stop to
get something to eat at one of the almost ghost towns
on the road. If the Patagonian weather allows it,
we’ll be able to view two world wide famous
mountains at a distance, the legendary Torre
and Fitz Roy, in the Los Glaciares National Park. At the end of the day we find
ourselves in a lively town full of interesting people
from all over the world. A danish man asking for fried
cakes? Two germans learning to play Truco? It is El
Calafate, by the Argentino Lake, a bigger
town with more services to offer. We find comfort
at Albergue Del Glaciar. A hot shower, TV, and we
cannot believe these things still exist.
That night, at El Calafate, we have a coffee or beer,
we get loud and melancholic, we exchange addresses
and say our goodbyes.
It is the end of our services. The visit to Perito
Moreno Glacier is not included in the itinerary, it
is an optional excursion. Accomodation included.
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Day 1:
Leaving El Calafate.-
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The loneliness of the
Route 40 awaits for us, the wild animals and the lonely ranches
(estancias) with their red roofs and poplars. There is nothing
compared to be there to feel the immenseness and loneliness of
Patagonia. The first part of the famous “ripio” (grubble roads). If
you don’t know what these roads are about, don’t worry, you’ll find
out. The land inhabited by the Tehuelches, Onas, and
 Mapuches.
A whole day on the Route 40. The condores, eagles and choiques will
be the silent audiences of our trip. We stop for lunch in one of the
almost ghost towns along the way. If the patagonic climate allows
us, we can see in the far distance two world famous mountains: Torre
and Fitz Roy. That night we sleep in the Estancia Menelik.-
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Day 2: Perito Moreno
National Park
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We continue our way to the famous, but not so visited Perito Moreno
National Park. There the colors of the Belgrano lake wait for us,
the neighing of the guanacos and there in the horizon, the San
Lorenzo Mountain. We will walk on the Park in the morning, which
will give us energy to recover from the long trip of the day before.
After lunch we continue our way North. We will spend the night in
another Estancia, Los Toldos.-
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Day 3: Cueva de las Manos (the
Cave of the Hands)
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We drive about 10km. to
get to the edge of the canyon where our walking starts. We go down
one part, cross the Pinturas River and then go up again to find the
caves, where the inheritage of the ancient occupants of this lands
have left their mark: the paintings of the Caves of the hands, one
of a kind landmark. We do an extraordinary walk, where it’s very
difficult to say which is more amazing: the caves and its paintings
or the river and its canyon. We go back to the estancia, pick our
stuff up and continue traveling towards Río Mayo, where we spend the
night in a typical and cousy small-town hotel.-
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4: Río Mayo - Bariloche
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Today we have to travel
around 700km. A wide range of sceneries come across us: lakes,
mountains and some patagonic steppe. We will travel along a route
parallel to the Andes. At the end of a long day we will arrive to
Bariloche where we exchange e-mail addresses and phone numbers and
we say goodbye. Accomodation included at Alaska Youth Hostel. That’s
the end of our trip.-
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