Road Trip (Pt 1)

We decided to have a lazy day last Sunday. Idle minds accordingly went out to lunch and ate too much. Here is a picture of dessert.

The restaurant door had a very interesting counter weight. Finally evidence that pumpkins can be useful.

We thought we'd better walk off lunch so we drove around to Llao Llao Park
and walked along yet another arm of Lake Nahuel Huapi with yet more beautiful views.

On Monday we headed off on a road trip for 3 days. First stop was the delightful town of Villa La Angostura on the opposite side of the lake. It took us 2 hours to drive there and at one point along the way the temperature dropped to minus 7 degrees. The aim of visiting Villa La Angostura was to walk the Quetrihue Peninsula, which juts into the lake. It is a national park and the walk out and back was 24kms. When we started at 11 am it was cold and grey but the sun came out eventually and it warmed up a little. Not only did we get some more good views of Lake Nahuel Huapi but there was a large internal lake on the peninsula that was very beautiful.

When we reached the end of the peninsula we stopped to have a cafe con leche and chocolate caliente and the little restaurant had a fascinating floor.

A boat coming into the jetty at the end of the peninsula. You can get a boat out and back. We think that's what the time poor people do.

On the way back we clambered up to a couple of lookouts that we hadn't seen on the way out. It was difficult after having walked over 20 kms but well worth it.

A little bit of motoring trivia.  Australia and Argentina have shared some notable similarities at times in their history eg both countries were amazingly wealthy at the end of the 19th century as a result of farming.  In a similar vein the first model Ford Falcon was produced in both countries.  The difference is that whilst in Australia the first generation models were made between 1960 and1966 and then were replaced by a new generation (in fact 6 subsequent generations and counting), Argentina stuck with this first generation from 1962 until 1991 when it was finally put out of its misery.  I think this succinctly demonstrates the ways in which Australia and Argentina ended up in very different places by the end of the 20^th century.

That evening we did quite a bit of shopping before enjoying a wonderful meal at a snazzy parilla. I had the most wonderful piece of tenderloin and we enjoyed a lovely shiraz from the San Juan region. The next day we drove the Route of the Seven Lakes from Villa La Angostura to San Martin de los Andes. This is a must do if you are in the area and have the time.