I think we left off sometime in Argentina, so let’s catch up on the last fortnight or so.
Two weeks ago we left Chile after doing much of the Carretera Austral to go back into Argentina for more of Ruta 40. San Carlos de Bariloche is a major tourist center among the lakes in the mountains and seemed like a good stopover. We had been camping for something close to three weeks so we needed to take a break, get an Airbnb, and relax for a few days. The border crossing from Chile to Argentina at Futaleufu was great: of all the places you could cross an international border, this was about the most scenic. The drive up was beautiful, the border stations were quaint little outposts, and everything was quick and efficient.
We spent a couple of nights at a winery in Trevelin, Argentina. Trevelin is one of the towns founded by Welsh immigrants in Chubut province in the late 19th century, and there are Welsh dragons everywhere along with a museum and restaurants serving traditional Welsh tea. We also got another flat tire (entirely my fault, much too fast for conditions) and had our tire repaired by a guy named Juan Davies, whose great-grandparents had been Welsh settlers. He told us that he could speak Welsh and that it is still taught in the schools.
The drive up to Bariloche leaves the arid part of Argentinian Patagonia and winds through mountains and along lakes. On the way north we passed La Trochita, the old narrow-gauge train that is preserved as a tourist railway. We arrived at our Airbnb in Bariloche in the evening, got ourselves checked in and relaxed.
The next day was chores and local exploration: I dropped off our laundry at a laundromat (close to six kilos with our towels and sheets) and then stood in line for 45 minutes to pick-up my 250 thousand-peso bills at Western Union and went back to the cabana for lunch. After lunch we headed down the road a few kilometers to the Cerro Companario chairlift for a quick hike and chair-lift ride above town
And it was then we discovered the dark underbelly of Bariloche: it is crawling with thieves. As we returned to our car, Jessie noticed that the passanger window had been smashed in. We had parked on a busy street that was patrolled by police; nevertheless, the window was now shards and the glovebox had been turned out. We were lucky that everything of value was in the cabin, but we think the thieves were scared off anyway as their search seemed brief. Nothing was actually taken as far as we can tell.
The downside of Argentina (apart from an economic crisis and neo-fascist president) is that it is not a market where Toyota sells the 4Runner. One can get 4Runner parts, but that one is not me, and I struck out everywhere I looked for a passenger side window. Since the window was smashed on a Thursday, we spent Friday looking for a fix but then had the weekend to plan. While I couldn’t find a new window in Argentina, I quickly found one close to Santiago and had leads on places closer to us in the nearest Chilean town, Osorno. We decided that since we had roughly ten days before my parents arrived in Chile, we would make the quick dash over to Osorno, see if we could get the window fixed there, and if not head north to Santiago.
It turns out that for various reasons related to Argentina’s collapsing economy, Chilean towns have lots of auto parts stores and repair services. In addition to the window, we had a few things to do on the car: regular oil change, new air-filters (thousands of kilometers of ripio and dust), new rear axle tires (one was patched and one was a used and slightly smaller tire, so we wanted new matching tires on the axle). When I went to buy new tires I spent a half an hour chatting with the manager about their business: apparently about sixty percent of their business is Argentinians who drive several hours and cross a border to get new tires because the price difference is close to $1000 US for a full set of new tires. I think even if the Argentinians get caught by customs with new tires, they still come out ahead. IN FACT while we were waiting to cross the border some Argentinians saw our smashed window and gave us a business card for a Chilean repair service because they’d had to go to Chile previously to get their car fixed. Argentina: almost, but not quite.
Our first day in Osorno we camped at the municipal camping and I went out in the day to find parts and tires. The local Toyota dealership was the fastest but most expensive way to fix the window, but in this case they seemed like the safest bet. They ordered the window and told me to come back in two days for the work. In the meantime, we explored Osorno and drove down to the coast for a day at the sea and lunch. Osorno is a nice enough town but not terribly interesting. Their main claim to fame is that the town was founded in 1558 then burned to the ground by the Mapuche and abandoned for nearly two hundred years before being re-founded. It seems to be mostly a cross-roads, and the economy might be sustained by Argentinians buying tires
The window was repaired, and we were back on the road. We got the car back on the 15th which gave us a few days to spend before we had to be in Santiago, so we decided to head up to Villarrica National Park in the Chilean lakes district. Villarrica is one of several active volcanoes in the region and we spent my birthday hiking at the base of the mountain. The volcanoes are impressive: they rise above the surrounding mountains, and Villarrica was noticeably steaming while we were there.
Now we’re up in Santiago to meet up with my parents. The kids are enjoying the luxury of hotel and city life, although they’ve been spending the mornings doing school work. They’ve agitated to a break from schooling (because two hours a day is such a burden) while their grandparents are visiting. We’ll be leaving Santiago to go to the Colchagua Valley, a wine-making region south of Santiago. Everyone is looking forward to staying in one place for a bit and Jessie and I have some planning to do for the next couple of months. It turns out that we are still far from home, and we have lots to do.
2 Responses
Your travels continue to intrigue me. Your statement that there is so much to do is so familiar. We say “We haven’t been there yet, but it is on our bucket list”. Enjoy your travels and your parents. It must be rewarding to see family after so long in a foreign country.
You guys are really rolling through the South American grinder, aren’t you? So much to see, so much to do, so much to learn. I’m impressed by the planning you seem to be doing on an ongoing basis. You plan to go somewhere, and something comes up or someone suggests something, and “squirrel!” – you’re off in a different direction for a bit! I’m a bit surprised that you’re able to find car parts and tires and repair shops about as regularly as you need them. Hopefully that will continue! Did you file any kind of police report for the car break-in? I’d say “stay busy”, but you seem to be doing just fine in that department!