After our train ride on the Old Patagonia Express out of Esquel, we ventured farther from Route 40 to visit Trevelin. This is the Tourist Info Center in the center of town. We parked here overnight and got free hot showers here.
We found a nice spot on a hill behind some trees above the wetlands. It was an iOverlander spot, but the manager/owner of the property came by and told us we couldn't stay. So we moved to a mirador farther along the road.
This is a full fossil of a shell, now a rock, that was in the road rocks where we had parked.
Some prehistoric-looking weeds were growing along the water in a ditch.
The mirador/overlook had this colorful sign for Esquel and you could see all the way back to town from up here.
Each of the letters represents a type of flower that grows here. We aren't familiar with most of the flora and fauna of he area, so we learn a lot from signs like this.
At the bottom of the lookout valley, this river runs from a canyon back towards town.
We stopped at Tecka for a rest. The road signs and guard rails along Route 40 are often covered in stickers from travelers like us.
Cheeses for sale in the gas station. They are locally made and were super cheap. The prices were more than double in the next few weeks due to the rampant inflation here.
This is the visitor center in Rio Mayo, the center for sheep shearing in the region. The guy at the visitor center took our photo and said he'd post it on Facebook page later that day.
This statue in the park in Rio Mayo is a set of hands holding a ball of raw wool.
A clock tower in the same part of town.
Jason admiring an old wooden wagon. The wheels on these old wagons are huge.
This tourist info center sported a funky design of a man that we later saw at the Cave of the Hands.
We'd contacted Gustavo on WhatsApp to see about spending the night parked at his Teros Ranch along the Lago Buenos Aires. He opened the gate to his place and showed us where to park, then showed us around. He has rescued animals from the area and has a menagerie on his property.
Starting a fire in the salamander (wood stove heater) to warm up the insides. No other method for cooking or heating.
Gustavo getting a kettle of water from the creek outside to make his yerba mate. He plucked a leaf of mint from the creekside for me.
His pet/rescued sheep.
Starting a fire to heat the water at the indoor barbeque/asado cooking space.
His yerba mate 'gourd'. Everyone in this country owns at least one of these and they drink their mate all day, every day, sipping through the metal strainer straw.
Gathering some wood for the fires. The pile of driftwood on the left is for the shower water heating stove. He claims it burns hotter and provides more calories for heating than the other wood available around.
Yerba mate in the gourd, waiting for hot water to be poured over it to steep. Hot, but never boiling water. There is a whole process, procedure and ritual about making and drinking mate. Some gas stations here even provide hot water machines for drinkers to fill their thermoses for their mate making.
Gustavo at the bar in his lakeside home.
An old Route 40 Patagonia sign on the wall. Condors are seen around here regularly and we've seen many of them soaring.
Jason taking a picture of Darguina, the pet pig Gustavo rescued as a tiny piglet. She's huge now at three years old. Gustavo asked me to feed the chickens and pig the next morning as he was returning to town to party for the night.
Karen and Gustavo at Teros Ranch.
It was a very blustery day across the road on the rocky shore of Lago Buenos Aires. The lake is the second largest in the country and stretches all the way into Chile. It reminded us of Lake Superior.
Farther down the road to the west was a free national park campground at the Estacion de Asencion. At the ranger office, this old, rusty, mangled tricycle sat forelornly in the firewood box.
The ranger station and other outbudings were once part of a working farm.
We drove down this dirt track through the tunnel of trees to reach the camping area.
YOLO parked at the camping area. It was a delightful spot and we stayed for several days here, exploring the beach trails and hiking across the road..
The view along the beach trail . Guanacos grazed in the wetlands here.
Jason sitting in the lee of a bush while I looked at the pretty rocks on the shore.
There were six campsites, each with their own brick BBQ, picnic table and water spigot for fresh water. We cooked sausages on the grill for dinner. We don't have grilling equipment in the van, so we improvised to use these facilities. We did roast some marshmallows over the flames for dessert, too.
Our BBQ meal at the free campground.
This loica lurked around hoping for crumbs. Red-orange breast like a robin, but a different species altogether. Some refer to it as a long-tailed warbler.
Jason along the trail on our hike. We are camped way back beyond those tall trees on the right.
Lots of petrified wood in this area. There are several places that denote petrified forests here in the middle of Argentina. Makes for great looking rocks.
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