Quick stop... and up north.

pictures

A boat ride, a hitchhike with the cops, some walking, and presto, we're in Argentina!  Funny, it looks a lot like Chile. . .

Maybe we had the wrong approach though, and Brian should've put out a sexy leg.

Hua Hum is not a bustling entry point into Argentina--deserted is a more accurate descriptor like it in the winter. We approached a large dark and what appeared to be deserted building. Just like in a bad horror movie, we tried the door, it was unlocked.  We walked in, took note of all of the 'WANTED' posters on the wall (making sure we weren't featured on any of them) and shouted 'hola!' We heard some rustling in the back, and a border cop dressed in full military garb, gun included, came hurrying out.  When he learned that this was our first entry into Argentina, he asked us to wait, and went out back and flipped on the generator.  Fiat lux--computers and internet even!  It was already Thursday, and the cop us that we were the 4th and 5th people crossing that week!  After apologizing for having kept us waiting, he informed us that there was a guy who worked just over the border, who lived in San Martin (our destination), who sometimes would pick up hitchikers.  We thanked him for the beta, and set off down the dusty road with our enormous packs, grateful that it wasn't raining yet.  Dusty describes it!

For a deserted border crossing, there sure were plenty (5 or 6) cars that blew by us giving us dust baths each time that would've been great if were were chinchillas!  We had our thumbs out, but nobody even slowed down.  Maybe we had the wrong approach though, and Brian should've put out a sexy leg.  We were thinking that 60k was an awfully long walk, and cursing every jalopy that passed us by.  Just when we were about to give up and set up camp for the night, a green Toyota came barreling down the road.  Through the cloud of dust, we saw brakelights!!  Salvation!  We tossed ourselves and our packs in the flatbed, and off we went to San Martin de los Andes.

It was a cold ride, and we huddled together for warmth--and to prevent ourselves from flying out!  This guy must've been in training for a road rally in Italy, had a lovely lady and a hot meal waiting at home for him, or learned to drive from Lynn Sterner. Hammer to the floorboard!  Fishtailing took on new meaning for us from our perspective from the inside of a flatbed of a pickup truck.  35 death defying and cold minutes later, we hopped out of the truck in San Martin del Los Andes, in one piece, with the saying 'beats walking' running through our heads.  We hot-footed it to the information center and found out that (big surprise) it had been a heavy winter, and aside from day hikes, all multi-day treks were still under 'mucho nieve,' and were 'cerrado.'  We were referred, however, to the National Parks office just up the street for information about day hikes and camping up in Lanin National Park.

For those of you who don't have a map, Lanin National park (and Volcan Lanin) is just over the border from Pucon.  We actually have some pictures of Volcan Lanin from our attempted ascent of Volcan Villarica.  Nothing like coming full circle. . .

We were starving, and really excited for our first taste of the world famous Argentine beef!  We consulted the trusty Lonely Planet, and settled on a Tenedor Libre--translation 'all you can eat meat!'  Unfortunately, we were now in Argentina where the siesta is law between 1 and 4pm, and where restaurants don't even think about opening their doors before 8:30pm, nobody really starts to eat before 10pm.  Luckily San Martin de los Andes has a chocolate shop on every corner, and we were able to calm the angry pigs in our stomachs with some delicious chocolate.

When 8:30 rolled around, you can bet that we were the first people through the doors of the Tenedor.  We ordered a bottle of wine, and hit the salad bar with gusto.  Again, we're not quite sure what we were thinking with an 'all you can eat' meat place.  I know that I had a Brazilian style BBQ place in mind! Quality was not the first and foremost concern at the Tenedor though.  Damn you Lonely Planet!  Why recommend a crappy place?!  We made the most of it though.  I'm pretty sure that I ate at least $10 dollars worth of veggies, and Brian took down two huge (if poorly cooked and seasoned) steaks.

In the end, we decided that day hikes and camping were better than no hikes, so we decided to aim north again for an encounter with Mother Nature at the base of the mighty Volcan Lanin (whose name incidentally means 'it died after eating too much')--an extinct, but nevertheless impressive volcano near Lake Huechulafquen (try pronouncing that one--we still haven't figured it out!). Puerto Canoa, here we come!