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We left Lago Villarino and turned south to find out how much of the road is actually tarmac. Our maps and GPS show various places as gravel but we soon find out that the whole stretch is now tarmac. We could have saved ourselves from the dust bath and 2 hours of cleaning, had a smooth ride and driven a lot faster. Oh well, you live and learn!
We turned around and headed back north to San Martín de Los Andes, a town that is a hot spot for Argentinian tourists. Our first stop was a petrol station for WiFi, filling up with water and depositing our rubbish. Afterwards we headed through the town and parked in a parking area next to the lake. There were plenty of other motor homes there, mainly from Argentina, but at least we had a peaceful night.
The next day was a Sunday and our football team HSV were playing. So we drove back to the YPF petrol station and managed to watch them win their first match of the season and its already matchday 13. Maybe they won because we crossed not just our fingers but every body part we could!!
It started raining quite heavily so we pulled onto a less used side road to sit out the rain for the night. The next morning we picked up a map from the Lanín National Park office, did some shopping and headed north. The sun was shining again and we found a spot next to Rio Malleo at the turn off for the road to Lanín volcano and the National Park.
We had another 44 km to drive to get to volcano Lanín (3768m), 34 km on tarmac and the last 10km on gravel. There were lots of photo stops along the way for shots of the Umbrella trees (Araucaria) and views of the volcano. We also met a grader coming towards us along the gravel road. He left a high mound of rocks and gravel along the middle of the road but far more over our side which meant we only had a narrow lane with soft sand on our right. It needed a lot of concentration to drive and sometimes I had to drive on part of the mound of rocks to avoid sliding into the sandy pit on our right!
As we pulled onto the parking area in the National Park we saw that Regula and Joerg from Switzerland were there! We thought all the other travellers we had met last season would be way ahead of us and scattered around other parts of South America so it was a big surprise. We haven't seen them for a year and spent 2 hours just catching up. It was great to see them again. Just before 4pm we knew we had to get going if we wanted to do one of the hikes before it got too late. We said goodbye to our friends who would be heading out and north so our paths would probably cross again in the near future.
We put on our hiking boots and set off to do a 2.5 hour walk towards the volcano with its snow-capped dome dominating the surrounding area for miles. The first part of the walk was through a forest and then following a zig-zag path across a lava field. We took a right fork that headed upwards near to a river and then cut across to join the higher path and headed back down.
Lanín volcano - 360° Panorama
(move mouse over panorama and click on the arrows)
Lots of people were doing the two day trek to the summit for which ice axes, ice picks and a great deal of experience is required. The National Park office at the car park insist on seeing proof of experience before issuing permits. We didn't climb up as high as the snow line but we still managed to ascend a few hundreds of meters. It was great to get walking again and we really enjoyed it.
After a cold but very peaceful night we set off to do two other hikes in the park. The first was a very steep hike, in parts about 60% grade, up to a Mirador (viewpoint). It certainly got our hearts going and we were rewarded with a great view of the volcano and the lake. The sign at the start of the walk said it would take 2.5 hours return but somehow we managed to get up to the top in only 35 minutes! Boy are we fit or what!!
Lanín volcano and Lago Tromen - 360° Panorama
(move mouse over panorama and click on the arrows)
Our second walk was an 8 km hike firstly through grass and forest then along a lava stone beach next to Lake Tromen (difficult to walk through) and finally 3km along the gravel road back to our motor home. There were plenty of photo stops along the way and we really enjoyed the day. We'd also worked up quite an appetite so it was good that we already had some meatballs left over plus garlic bread with a veggie dip! Yummy!
The next day the parking area was really starting to fill up. It's a holiday in Argentina and the rangers tell us that 100 people registered to climb the volcano! On the drive out there was a lot of cars coming the other way which meant there was a great deal of dust!
After a quick stop at a petrol station we headed north along the Ruta 40. The scenery was very much like the Pampa - cattle country with vast open spaces, escarpments in the distance and volcano Lanín towering above everything to our left. We turned off onto RP 46 for 23km to get to Laguna Blanca National Park. It's supposed to be a very good place for bird watching but we were obviously here at the wrong time of year - hardly any birds at all!! At least it was also a very good place to stay for the night.
After a bird-less watching morning (!) we drove to a petrol station at Las Lajas for long awaited showers. They were very hot and no shower curtain which is the norm here so the water went everywhere. But we were clean so we were happy! Then we took a side road off the Ruta 40 and drove to Caviahue.
The town lies at the foot of the very active volcano Copahue - it was already smoking and chugging out sulphur fumes when we got there but no one seemed to be in a panic and there were certainly not a long stream of traffic racing in the opposite direction so we decided it must be safe.
We found out from the visitor centre that this volcano is the most active in Argentinian Patagonia and its last eruption was in 2012. There were a series of photos of it inside the centre. The volcano is 2997m high but the crater is on its flank at 2750m and the town is only 9km away from it. The locals must be used to the sulphur smell!
The very helpful staff gave us a topographical map of the area showing the waterfalls for which the area is known. We were allowed to park at the visitor centre for the night and it was due to rain the next day. So after a quick bite to eat we set off for a walk to some of the waterfalls.
The walk took us up along the Río Agrio and to 4 different waterfalls. The surrounding basalt rocks had the typical hexagonal shape of volcanic rocks and we passed several Umbrella trees (Araucaria). It was only 3km return but we had to battle with high winds. Afterwards we wandered through the small town in the remaining daylight.
This is obviously a ski resort with thermal pools and reminded us a bit of a typical town in the Alps. Most of the hot pools are in Copahue which is 19km further along a dirt road. We managed to find the bakery (well, of course!) and stocked up on bread and cakes.
At least they get the weather reports right because it started raining in the morning. It's a grey day with a temperature of just 10°C outside and 14°C inside W2. The weather didn't matter though because we had other plans for the day - namely watching HSV playing again. So we drove to the municipal building where there is free WiFi and watched them win for the second time this season! Super! Now we have to keep watching because every time we do, they win!
After a windy night the sun came out again the following morning so we drove along a gravel road for 16km to get to Cascada Del Agrio, a 45m high waterfall. We had planned to park and walk the last 3km along a dusty road that goes through a river. Kirsten got out to check out possible parking spots for us and nearly got blown over by the extreme wind! We decided to drive and hope we could get across the river.
The side road wasn't any worse than the road we had already driven along and the river's water level was fairly low and not a problem for us. It was still extremely windy and difficult to breathe so we only spent 20 minutes there before driving back into town. The volcano was chugging out lots of steam in huge plumes so maybe it's time to get going! We drove back out of the valley the same way we came in and saw a snake slithering across the road, lots of rock formations and gauchos herding sheep.
Waterfalls in Caviahue and a very active volcano Copahue
Back at the petrol station in Las Lajas we found out they had a problem and didn't have any water so it was a good job we had showers the first time we were here. We did our usual clean up after all the dirt roads shaking out seat covers and mats, brushing out the inside and wiping down all our surfaces. We topped up with diesel and drove 40km north to a quiet spot just off the road for the night.
