Today we´re in Neuquén, the capital of Neuquén province, the northernmost part of Patagonia.
Up until last night we were in San Rafael. Tomorrow we´re heading back into the Andes to San Martín de los Andes which is apparently a place where everyone thinks they´re Swiss- chocolates and fondue and log cabins.
We stayed in Hostel Caminito in San Rafael, it was run by Jesús and Marta. Very friendly people but with the organizational skills of a dead camel. We did a day´s excursion to Cañon Atuel, a very impressive canyon, it was meant to finish at 7, back at the Hostel, Liz and I, and three Porteñas (i.e. girls from BA) added on a spot of nocturnal rafting. Jesús dropped us at the place for the rafting and hung around, with the other 7 people on the excursion, until 9:30 and, after saying he´d come and get us at 2am, went off with his contracted driver in a foul mood (the driver did a 14 hour day when he thought it would be 8).
We did the rafting and it was great, screams and the like from the girls... I don´t think I screamed... I didn´t want my mouth open too long because I was in front and therefore:
a) soaked and b) paddling like a paddly thing.
When we got back we had a melon filled with wine (because, you know, we´re tourists now) and begged some sandwiches off a reluctant cafe owner who said he was closed (the porteñas were particularly useful). While we were eating there was a phone call saying Jesús was drunk and wouldn´t be coming to pick us up. Apparently they had got back to the hostel and had a party (in the hostel itself the signs saying quiet state "after 2am"). We were an hour away.
Fortunately the last bus was just heading up the valley and the chicas swung into action...They were like a commando unit. After a shouted "vamos" one ran to stop the bus, another grabbed the bags and the third forced the cafe owner to do some lightning fast bill calculating. We made it back.
Despite the complete lack of profesionalism, the hostel was great fun. We spoke a lot of Spanish and one guy there was a big blues fan (and guitarist) so we had a bit of a session which endeared me to a few people.
Tonight we´re in a hotel because Neuquén city is not touristy enought to rate a hostel. We stopped here to go to El Chocón, where there´s a museum devoted to the find of the biggest dinosaur in the world. The museum, by contrast, is not that big but the fossils are. There´s also a really well preserved set of footprints but the lady in the museum said that it was nearly an hour´s walk away, and they were covered by the man made lake anyway. There´s not much else to do in El Chocón, and there are only three buses a day so we came back, relishing the aircon.
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