Pigs on road

Hi all,

After a week we are finally leaving Esquel. I think this area has been, by far, the favorite for Angie and I (outside of the hostel in Santiago, for Angie). It really is a special place that I hope to some day come back to. We have spent the last couple of days just hiking around and exploring the area as the snow isn't that great (the winds hit it). We have walked up to a local lake, Zeta, in the hills above Esquel, a couple of times. The views of the Andes from there are beautiful. If we could do it again, I would rent a 4x4 and spend a week skiing those lines (we keep hearing that the backcountry around there is amazing but hard to access). We spent yesterday hiking with Nico, the hostel owner, around this area along a local bike trail. We had wanted to rent bikes, but with our luck the bike rental place was closed. Along our hike we passed near the canyon of the bandits, la valle de banditos, where Butch Cassidy and his gang lived a while. Nico was also very patient teaching us the names of local birds, mountains, animals. Angie has a much better memory than mine, and hence is a better student. On the last lag of our walk we came across this huge, black, silly pig, that happened to cross the road as a group of cars were driving along, all within sight of an "animals crossing" sign. After the walk, Angie, Nico, and I headed downtown to grab some food. I´m afraid that some of the locals mistook Nico to be a gringo, when he was with us. We ended the day with Nico cooking us dinner (special thanks to you for that, Nico-brother).

The day before Angie and I walked along the La Trochita rail line. La Trochita is a beautiful steam engine, and the only one like it in the world. After that, we went hiking with Nico and his son, and then back to town for some Gelato.

Today we both had a wonderful massage with Celia Fuente Buena (Tele 02945 452527). She used some type of Rekki during the sesson, and you could really feel the energy. Shara, you would have loved it.

It´s sad leaving here, with some many things we haven´t done. We have yet to see the 2000 year old trees in Parque Nacional Los Alerces (easier to do in their summer), we have yet to ride La Trochita, yet to ski those seductive lines in the Andes, yet to bike the trail in the canyon of the bandits... These things must be left until next time... I hope we (and others) come back, someday, to find Esquel similar to how it is now, if not better. I hope that the locals can fight la mina a bit longer, as foreign companies try to develop the local mineral resources. I hope that Esquel can preserve it´s natural beauty and open spaces, for hikers, climbers, bikers, etc. Thanks, Esquel, for sharing yourself with us.


Our hiking trip was great yesterday, It's always helpful to have a local guide along, especially one who can crack you up. Nico, thanks for the help with spanish pronunciation - maybe some day (far far away from now) we'll actually start to pick it up and lose our gringo accents. Also Jen and I both properly tried Mate. It is a bitter tea that steeps in these crazy gourd type bowls, special to Argentina and other S. American contries. It gives you a nice buzz - after checking it out I can understand why everyone around here starts prepping it and drinking it right away in the morning. Maybe mate is the reason they don't really eat breakfast around here...
I'll always think of this hostel fondly, very good vibes or Onda! Now we are heading out on our way to check out animals on the Atlantic coast. I would love to come back down here in the summer to see this place in full bloom - hopefully some day soon.