14 January 2011

I left Lago Puelo in a rush this morning, eager to be alone on the road once more. I didn’t even pick up the two backpackers outside of El Bolson. I felt bad a little but they would survive.

I got to Bariloche around eleven. I stopped at a mechanic/gomeria to see about the crack in my window but he said he couldn’t do it and recommended someone else whom I couldn’t find. I parked and walked downtown in search of chocolate and wild boar. I also took my laptop in case I found wi-fi as well.

I bought a few tasty chocolates at a confectionary called Mamuschka. There was a matryoshka russian doll motif. The decor and employee dress was very European. Not Russian at all. I bought several samples of rich delicious chocolate and they went down fast. They were wonderfully delicious.

I walked around a bit down the tourist strip. Tourism is the main source of income for Bariloche. Wealthy Brazilians and Argentines vacation here in the summer to ski on the beautiful lake and in the winter to ski on the beautiful mountains. There is a wall with two arches which encloses a small area with the bronze statue of a horse and rider. I found a cafe with wi-fi.

Finding a restaurant with wild boar, jabalí, proved difficult. I wandered the streets for about half an hour before I entered the first place I saw that had it on the menu. The waiter said they were out but as soon as I got up to leave he shouted at the cook to ask if there might be any wild boar remaining and thankfully there were two orders still in the fridge. It turned out to be not so great. Pretty ordinary actually. It reminded me of dinners my mother used to cook when she boiled the meat and it would curl up and little pools of meat water juice would form in the cup.

I read a few passages of “In Patagonia” while waiting for my food. I finished the book sitting on a low wall overlooking Lago Nahuel Huapi. While being an entertaining read, it sure wasn’t “On the Road.” So I read “In Patagonia.” Great.

The gas station only allowed me to fill up 20 liters which was a 100 pesos limit. A little worrisome. The odometer messed up when I tried to reset it which was a pain. My gas gauge does not function so the odometer is very necessary for alerting me to when I should fill up the tank.

I bypassed two backpackers and instead picked up a single guy with a small bag. His name was Julio. I dropped him off at the intersection of highways 40 and 237. Almost immediately I picked up another guy hitchhiking. I drove him about thirty miles.

Volcano Lanín? 

Approaching Zapala there were all kinds of bicyclists and joggers. A bit strange to see. I got gas and gave a lift to a man and his son thirty miles up the road to Las Lajas. In Las Lajas the road turned to dirt in a neighborhood but almost immediately reverted back to pavement when I crossed the river.

Vote for the Moustache Party

I stopped to take a picture of a dead cow. The animal was completely hollow. There was a large circular cut on its anus and its underbelly was also sliced open. All the guts were gone but the bones and hide remained. I kicked it and it was very stiff.

This is when I noticed my rear driver side tire was completely ruined. There was a cut and a large air bubble on the sidewall. It’s only a matter of time before it goes. Probably from the  hundreds of miles of gravel roads in the past two days. The mood immediately turned somber. Julio said it was all pavement between Bariloche and Mendoza. There is only providence on which to rely. I also noticed my right headlight was out. More problems.

At Chos Malal the police stopped me to check my papers while about ten other cars and trucks sped on by. I saw a sign for Route 40 and got out to take a picture. That’s when I saw a little bit of light emanating from the dead headlight. I popped open the hood to have a look and saw the light had simply slipped out of place, again probably due to the gravelly, bumpy roads. Putting it back in place took no time and I was soon back on the road.

The roads were good for about 150 more miles then there was 30 miles of dirt. But it was better than the previous gravel and dirt roads because it was smooth with no large mini boulders and some of the pavement was still on the ground. It was bumpy but all in all it was quite smooth. No problems with the bad tire yet but it is a ticking time bomb and I hope it holds until Mendoza.

In Bariloche I saw three girls who were friends with Jordan and who had been at Onda Azul. We ate dinner with them. I did not stop to say hello. They were at a table drinking coffee and smoking. I wonder who else I will run into. I wonder if I will see Jordan again.