Day 10 - Argentina 2025: Bariloche to Esquel

Another pleasant day. I left late, at 9 am, and had an easy drive of 300 km to Esquel. I picked up a total of three hitchhikers, so I had good conversation for at least part of the way. About 50 km outside of Bariloche the road plummets from the high foothills to the low foothills following a deep gorge (I am of course thinking on the way back, imagining heavy traffic, and had to conclude that I will have to spend my last night in Bariloche and not in El Bolsón). The landscape is spectacular, ranging from the high elevation alerces forest to patchy clumps of pines and broad expanses of scrub grass (not unlike what you would see coming down on the east side of the Sierra to Bridgeport and Mono Lake). 

I stopped at the Museo Leleque, which is a small but informative collection about the native people of Patagonia (the Tehuelches in Patagonia proper and the Onas in Tierra del Fuego). South America was colonized by people coming from Asia and North America about 13,000 years BC. The Tehuelches were hunter gatherers that used paleolithic technologies for their spears and knives, but they developed the bolas as well, and were efficient hunters of ñandús (the South American ostrich) and guanacos (a plains-dwelling camelid cousin of the mountain llama). They came in (peaceful) contact with the Europeans in the 17th century, and by the 18th century had been displaced north and mixed with the local tribes and the Araucanos (coming from Chile), to give rise to the Mapuche people, who were famous for their war spirit and sometimes violent relations with the European pioneers.

After crossing many mesas and rolling hills covered with scrub grass I finally made it to Esquel, a comfortable small town that reminds me a lot of Bishop, California. I have rented a small apartment for a couple of nights, and tomorrow I will visit the Parque Nacional de Los Alerces. I have found that spending at least a couple of nights at every place gives me enough time to soak in the vibes of a place much better. For example, since I have a full apartment I went to the supermarket and bought some basics so I can have dinner at home.