Off to the south!
Trip Start
Mar 01, 2006
1
267
551
Trip End
Dec 01, 2007
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Bahia Blanca,
Argentina
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
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Even though I was tired, it was not easy to fall asleep in the bus. Always that thing with travelling, where the mind rushes on and on, switching between two very different exercises. One consists in reminding, accumulating, saving, interpreting, the experience that just ended when you boarded that bus. I think we need sense when we look back at something. At least I do. The brain tries to compile the memories in an order, a hierarchy, a sequence of factual events and subjective treatments, into something that has sense.
The second exercise is the projection forward, the interrogation about what you are going to find, what sense it will have, how it connects to what you did, how it will connect and become part of what you are.
I arrived in Bahia Blanca early in the morning. Had a good cofee at the bus station waiting for the ticket offices to open. I got my ticket to Sierra de la Ventana, but the bus schedules were such that I would have to spend two nights there (buses running around midday only). I bought my ticket for the next step south too, from Bahia Blanca to Puerto Madryn, as it is necessary to book in advance.
I had a few hours before my noon bus, so I went into town for a walking tour. A few old buildings, an ugly mix of old and new and telecom masts. Further, nice houses of wealthy appearence, quiet streets lined with trees. A lot of shops, a reasonable amount of bars and restaurants: a city, not too big, not too small. It is still difficult though, for a french mind, to accept that a city has a square pattern of streets: blocks of standard size, 100 numbers per block, extending from the main plaza. But that is very efficient and practical, of course. Especially since the numbers of two parallel streets are the same at the same level... too smart for us!
I spent a bit of time on internet, almost missed my bus. It looked crappy, old, rusty, smelly and noisy. It had the most comfortable seats ever, I slept better than in a cama.
Arrived in Sierra de la Ventana. Everything was closed between 1 and 4 pm, including the tourist office. I walked around town looking for accomodation. The town is small, one building out of three offer accomodation, but either they were full, or the price was around 60-80 pesos (15-20 euros). I could not find cheaper, I started to hate the place. I even considered going back hitchiking to Bahia Blanca, even though everybody was very helpful in the hotels.
I still waited for the tourist office to open, and there they pointed me to a few places I had not been, one of which I chose to stay at for 36 pesos, that's still 9 euros but ok.
No kitchen, no breakfast... that is not very practical. I went out to visit the town, bought all I needed to prepare the sandwiches for the hike on the next day, got back to the hotel...
Opened a bottle of Borgona, which is a blend of Malbec and Syrah, and had blue cheese on crackers (learned the cheese-on-cracker thing from the aussies and kiwis, it is real good).
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Comments
mr frize
remonte remonte tu va geler si tu descent trop.
Il fait froid en bas
Re: mr frize
Ben ouais, mais... c'est maintenant ou jamais, dans quelques semaines ca va peler pour de bon, et c'est pour ca que je trace fissa a Ushuaia, pour ensuite remonter la cordillere. Ca va etre trop bien!