Day 156: January 18, 2008 San Julián to Comodoro
Trip Start
Aug 15, 2007
1
159
202
Trip End
Mar 01, 2008
Comodoro Rivadavia,
Argentina
Friday, January 18, 2008
I got up at 8:30 and took a shower. As I was drying off, there was a knock at the door. It was Ariel bringing me 4 medialunas for breakfast. I boiled some water for coffee and had a leisurely breakfast. I was tempted to go to the internet place to upload yesterday's blog and fotos but got involved with a movie with Susan Sarandon instead; I never found out the title. By the time it was over, it was getting near the time for me to get to the bus terminal. I paid Ariel for the excursion and the room. Even though it was a quintuple, he charged me the single rate. Then, I took a taxi to the bus terminal and waited for my 1:15 bus to arrive. When 1:15 came, I realized the error I had made.
The constant switching between the 12- and 24-hour clocks that is done in Argentina catches up with me about once/visit. This time, however, a comedy of things that could only happen in Argentina played a contributing role. I had to buy my ticket online because not one of the six companies that goes to Comodoro could sell me a ticket when I was at the terminal yesterday afternoon. When I bought my ticket from Río Gallegos to San Julián, I bought it at the Andesmar window but the ticket was with Tramat, an affiliated company. The bus arrived in San Julian late, at about 2:15 PM. When I bought my online ticket through the Andesmar site, I saw there was a 1:15 bus to Comodoro Rivadavia. I assumed that was the same one since the other buses left at 23:00. It never registered with me that they were using the 24-hour clock, even though all public transportation does. Later, when I asked the Andesmar guy at the desk why the Tramat buses weren't listed on the website, he told me it was because they were a different company. When my bus arrived today, however, it was an Andesmar bus, not Tramat! Naturally, they wouldn't refund my ticket so I bought another one and got on the 2:00 Andesmar/Tramat bus at 2:30.
I sat by a window on the right side of the bus, watching the Patagonian landscape slide by. South of the Puerto Deseado turnoff, is a nice long set of white cliffs that looks usable for magnetostratigraphy. That area must have been a large river/estuary/bay prior to the more recent uplift events. A similar area was present just south of Caleta Olivia.
Caleta Olivia is another ugly, dumpy, trash-covered, Patagonian coastal city, which Patagonians seem to like. It is mainly an oil town, situated on the southwestern shore of the beautiful Golfo de San Jorge in northernmost Santa Cruz province. Fortunately, the driver skillfully maneuvered around the police checkpoint, which in the past was always a major waste of time. Between Caleta Olivia and Rada Tilly, I spotted a coastal section that I think we can sample. I believe the roadcuts south of Rada Tilly will match up with it to give us a complete section. With luck, the roadcuts on the road that heads west into the interior will allow an upward continuation of the section. I will try to check all of these things out before Will arrives.
We arrived in Comodoro Rivadavia, another ugly town in a beautiful place. It is on the central coast of the Golfo de San Jorge in southernmost Chubut province. For all of the bad things that people say about it, I have always found it quite accommodating and functional. It is also an oil city by I was surprised and happy to see a wind farm on Cerro Chenque, the meseta above the city. I've heard that Caleta Olivia is putting one in too. Sigh... 10 years ago, I tried to promote wind farms in Patagonia but no one would listen. That's a wave I'd still like to ride.
I lugged my three bags to the tourist information desk in the bus terminal and got a single at the Hotel Encina on the south side of the city in a nice, clean, trash-free residential/commercial area. The cab driver and I had a good talk on the way over. Even though there are two beds in the room, they are charging the single price! I had dinner at an okay restaurant/parilla with horrible service. Fortunately, a soccer match between River and Racing that was being played in Salta was on so I watched that. It was still 0-0 when I left. I walked back to the hotel and wrote this before turning in.
