In the past three days I’ve hitchhiked more than 1,500 km and I feel like, in a way, I started out in Mackenzie Country (NZ) with a view of two lakes that look very similar to Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki, then I passed through Outback New South Wales, and then ended up on the West Coast of NZ, with wind, heat, rain, and cold to match each region. The other day I mentioned how travel is exhausting and brutal. After three days in El Calafate, it was time to strap on my backpack, lace up my boots, and begin the nearly 3,000-km journey to Buenos Aires. It was very windy and drizzly when I started out, and I had a bit of trouble getting out of El Calafate, even though my host, Fidel would drop me at the edge of town. Two short lifts would get me to a police checkpoint where they took my passport details and offered me some mate. I think I’ve become an honourary Argentine with my love for mate. One more lift would get me to the turnoff only about 20 km away after nearly four hours on the road. I had an awful start to such a long journey. Not far away, a cute little Mexican girl was dropped, and I decided we should hitchhike together. She lives in El Chalten and makes handicrafts, and she made a trip all the way to Puerto Natales just to get a new passport stamp. Early in the afternoon I finally had a good, solid lift. They were going to Gobernador Grigores, 270 km away. At the turnoff to El Chalten, we dropped off Alma, the Mexican girl and then suggested to the driver that two other girls across the road heading north could ride in the bed of the truck (which is legal in Argentina). From the get-go I’ve been very tired, and sitting in a vehicle for a few hours is a good time for a power nap. Patagonia’s landscape looks so much like the South Island it’s hard to believe I’m not in New Zealand.
It turned out the girls we picked up were the Ecuadorian lesbian couple I met at the border a few days ago. Their names are Stefania and Carolina (Caro). Getting dropped in Gobernador Grigores, it was sunny and cool, but extremely windy. I went inside the servo for a Red Bull and to sit for a bit. A couple with their motorcycles called in; they started in Colombia and are finishing in Ushuaia. Stefania and Caro walked ahead and hoped to hitch from a better spot but it was a fair walk to any main road and I thought it might be best if we try to hitch at least a moderate distance apart. For me, it's difficult to walk very far because I have so much extra unnecessary gear that I'm not willing to part with. With the sun dipping toward the horizon and the wind acting as a battering ram, we kept our fingers crossed and...a ute stopped! A middle-aged man named Cristian was driving to Perito Moreno (the town, not the glacier) to watch his daughter graduate from high school. How lucky the three of us were to be inside a warm vehicle with the windows up. The landscape looks somewhat like a colder version of the Australian Outback. We didn't reach Perito Moreno until 9 PM and we wondered if we should continue on or camp somewhere nearby. Caro and Stefania both speak reasonable English and were trying to reach Bariloche as well, but we decided we should all camp together in Perito Moreno. They charged their phones whilst I had a ham & cheese sandwich and topped up my water bottle with hot water. In the dark, we'd walk only a short distance up the road where we'd both pitch our tents. I would thank them for being my camping partners the other night because one of the worst feelings when dealing with depression is nobody to talk to. It turned out there were another couple freedom camping with their dog only a few metres away.
I woke up before Caro & Stefania as it was decided it'd be better for us to hitchhike separately. Sunny but windy it was as typical Patagonian weather. From Perito Moreno, it was still a long way north and I was hoping for some good lifts to get me to Bariloche today. Luck would be on my side early as I was picked up by a retired mechanic on his way to Comodoro Rivadavia, therefore I'd be dropped at the turnoff to Bariloche. It wasn't raining but it was extremely windy as I glanced at one of the small shrines that dot roadsides around the country.
Many of them feature pictures of Jesus and some of them even have money and wine left there. A man named Sebastian travelling with his little boy would stop for me. They were driving to Esquel, more than 300 km north. Sebastian works for a local radio station and mate was passed around as I chatted as best I could in broken Spanish. When we stopped for lunch, he bought me a ham & cheese sandwich. Put a blindfold on me and then take away the Spanish signs, I'd think I was in the Outback.
When Sebastian and his son dropped me at the turnoff to Esquel, I was less than 300 km and perhaps one good lift away from Bariloche.
My next lift, with an off-duty courier driver, would get me to the hippie town of El Bolson. Less than 100 km away from Bariloche, my luck with both lifts and the weather would turn to shit. I felt like I stepped out into Fox Glacier with the lush landscape and pouring rain to match.
I'd be dropped at a servo where I'd at least have some shelter, but I was determined to reach Bariloche. It was far too wet to camp on the side of the road and there was nowhere to stay nearby. The servo had no wifi, so with what little credit I had left I sought a CSer in El Bolson but there are no active hosts nearby. Luck changed a bit for me as, after hanging out at the servo for the better part of three hours, I walked up to a couple in a ute and started speaking in Spanish. I was asked if I spoke English and their names are Oscar and Laura. Oscar is from El Bolson but has ridden his bicycle in many countries. Though I wasn't up for drinking, I took up the offer when Oscar shouted me a beer. This journey has turned into a true adventure despite what I'm going through. It was suggested I could sleep at either the fire station or at the hospital but when both options failed, I was invited to sleep on the floor at Laura's house. Oscar slept on one sleeping pad and I slept on another. In awe I was last night as its wonderful how the universe makes things fall into place.
Oscar would wake me early today and he would take me in his ute to the northern edge of town. The rain was on-again, off-again this morning as I called into a small shop selling fresh meats, cheeses, honey, and so forth. The owner was rather hostile telling me to leave with "esta mi negocio" even though it was the only shelter from the rain. Fortunately I wasn't standing out there long as I'd get a lift north. The lilacs are in full bloom just as they are on the South Island. Bariloche ahoy! I was dropped at the beginning of Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi, and then after another police checkpoint (they're really just a formality here, as the police have even offered me mate), I'd get picked up by a group of Israelis heading to Bariloche.
After several hairpin turns to go with some gorgeous landscapes, I'd be dropped in Bariloche. I was ready to put my backpack down and have some hot cocoa at Rapa Nui chocolate shop. To those planning on hitchhiking in Argentina, do not underestimate the sheer size of the country. My journey is still far from over and, in fact, Bariloche is nearer to El Calafate than to Buenos Aires.
Here in Bariloche, I'm staying with a CSer named Leo who is fairly new to the CS community. His place has a gorgeous lakefront view and before long, mate was passed back and forth. Depression, I'm gonna say I got the better of you these past couple of days as I've made it this far through this stormy sea. Is there a sense of calm coming...
