Esquel, Patagonia, Argentina

 

From Los Antiguos we have to get the bus back to the dreaded Perito Moreno, and grab a connecting bus to the gorgeous Esquel. Although we loved Los Antiguos we are ready for some action, and Esquel seemingly has it all. Stunning Hikes, Tuneles de Los Heilos (Ice-tube tunnels), the nearby Welsh settlement of Trevellin, beautiful landscape and best of all 'La trochita', also known as the Patagonian Express.

A 9hour journey through the night along the never ending Ruta 40, stopping around 3am, we are awoken from deep slumber. We have ascertained at this point that there is still a large language barrier as we never seem to know what is going on or why we are stopping. We are then guided into a small cafe which serves us up a large meal of noodles, which feels so…I don't even know if inappropriate is the word, but just very weird when you've just been sleeping and its the middle of the night. When we finish, we are herded back onto the bus and again drift off into restless slumber.

We arrive at Esquel around midday and arrive to a lovely little hostel by the name of Casa Del Pueblo. The staff are friendly, the kitchen is big and wooden and cosy and full of fellow backpackers.

We embark the next morning at 6am to get a bus to nearby Los Alerces national park where there are several hiking and walking trails. Choosing a popular trail which has waterfalls, lakes and stunning scenery we sign in at the base of the mountain and head off on our short, 2 hour round trek with the intention of trying another route once we have completed it.

Taking a wrong turn at the very beginning, set a hilarious tone for the day, as we ended up on a four hour steep uphill climb, and that was just one way. A local sends us left where we should have taken a right, taking us past a crazy black dog, a disgruntled horse and many many aggressive clucking chickens.

The steep ascent is mostly covered in thick bamboo which interlocks from each side of the pathway to create a tunnel-like effect. Its thickness blocks any view we might have had and we continue, hoping for a clearing or a break in the thicket further ahead. After an hour or so of trekking like this, with no break in sight, we are painfully aware that we should have met a waterfall by now. Too stubborn to admit defeat, we continue in good spirits, mocking our own naivete and inexperience.

 

Angriest dog ever. The closer I got the more psycho it went.

Angry Chickens - the alternative to angry birds

Four hours of laughter later, we finally reach a clearing, and are excited at the prospect of seeing the beautiful valley below. We are not disappointed by the view, but are nearly blown off the mountain by a turbulent and icy wind which we have so far been protected from by the thick bamboo.

We struggle onwards, determined to make it to the mountains peak and afafter such a difficult climb, we need a reward.

The gale force winds force us to our knees just to balance and its cold hands make me feel like hunching down and crawling back to the safety and shelter of the thicket. But Donal is determined to reach the top and as I sit, clinging to the mountains edge with a stick, he treks onwards in the hope of reaching the summit. Alas the wind is too strong and we are forced to turn back, first, we take some famine shots.

Giving birth on the way back down...

The sun made a brief appearance

 

 We arrive back at the base around 2pm, which seems too early to have returned from an 8hour hike. We are absolutely exhausted, and one little piggy sleeps all the way home.

 

The next day, we plan a trip on La Trochita, or the Old Patagonian Express steam train as per the famous book by Paul Theroux, which described it as the railway almost at the end of the world. The nickname La Trochita means literally "little gauge", the Trochita railway is 402 km in length and runs through the foothills of the Andes between Esquel and El Maitén in Chubut Province.
 
Its original character is largely unchanged and it operates as a heritage railway taking us tourists as far as El Maiten and back again. The train toots and hoots along in traditional steam train fashion and we watch the uniquely Argentinian landscape pass us by.  

On board La Trochita

View from the windows

An audio is supplied to describe the trains history

Toilet on board!

Evil cat we spot in someones garden...

El Maiten

At El Maiten there is a craft market with all sorts of locally made jewellery and clothing. I picked up some gorgeous wooden buttons made from peach, walnut and pear trees, which shall be added to some garment or another once I get home to Ireland.

'I won de bleedin lotto!' - This photo is actually from a different part of the trip but I had to restore the balance of embarrassing photos.

One, amongst many, of the reasons we decided to visit Esquel is due to the Welsh settlement of Trevelin which our Welsh friends Ioan and Gerwyn told us about. Just a 15minute bus journey from Esquel will bring you to this amazing village whose Welsh name translates to 'mill town' in English.

It is so bizarre to be in the middle of this tiny town in the middle of Argentina, to hear the locals speaking Welsh as their first language, Spanish their second. Our Welsh friends had an absolute ball here and even ended up filling in for a few players on the local rugby team. 

Apparently, at some stage many years ago (I can't seem to find any information as to when), Welsh settlers came to this tiny village and set up camp. Now, you will find tea houses on every corner, serving all sorts of delicious cakes and teabreads, and most importantly - a decent cup of tea! After over two months on the road, a good strong cup of tea with real milk (as opposed to the grotesque powdered), is top on our list of luxuries and we starve ourselves for most of the day in anticipation of the gorging ahead.
 

The town houses of Esquel