The hiking begins...

February 22/23

Hiking... but when?

A question that we have asked ourselves several times before.
But with a question comes an answer.

Parque Ernesto Tornquist!

I had already evaluated the info material that had accumulated and accordingly our first trip was not a problem.

Half an hour by bus to Sierra de la Ventana.

The closer we got to the mountains, the more our excitement grew, because we were all itching to climb our first hill or mountain.

However, our plans changed a bit on site. We learned about the different options in the 2 parks. 

Which ones were self-guided and which ones were guided, and which ones were free and which ones were not.

In the end, we decided not to go to any of the parks (which also costs 100 peso per person).
On the other side of the street was a small forest and behind it was a hill with a smaller boulder field.

The forest alone was a natural spectacle...
While one part was green and reminded me a lot of the Thuringian Forest, the back area was a bit darker...

Burned and soaked in a deep black, trees and branches lined the area. 

All you could see was ashes. Occasionally a few sparse bushes, but hardly worth mentioning.

Detached from this frightening and yet fascinating image, we began our ascent.

It may not have been an official path, but as they say;

Where there's a will, there's a way!

On the way up, we discovered something that very few have seen in the wild...

A tarantula!

Truly impressive, but also a bit intimidating. It was quite large...

On the way back, we found it again. This time, it was also outside of its cave. Perfect for a nice photo 😉

At the summit of the hill, we realized how vast Sierra de la Ventana was.
We could see dozens and dozens of kilometers.

Whether it was the lean flatland, which was occasionally interrupted by a green area, or the surrounding hills or mountains.

All together? 

Mui lindo y hermoso (Very beautiful)

But what could be better than eating the remnants of our 5-star dinner.

A little later, time brought us back to reality. Our bus was leaving in 30 minutes 😲

Quickly, but with a sense of security, we hiked to the bus stop just in time.

The next morning, it was time to get up early again. The bus to the park doesn't wait for us after all!

This time we got off at the first park and began the ascent to Cerro Bahia Blanca after a nice fruit breakfast.

A truly beautiful hiking trail. It alternated between steep 'stairs' (easy to walk on), switchbacks, and a straight, sandy section.

After three quarters of an hour, we reached the top (we were really fast) and enjoyed the view of the surrounding hills and mountain ranges.
After half an hour, we were already back down.

 It wasn't really a mountain, more like a hill.
But a beautiful hill!

There was still another route on the agenda in the other park, but how do we get there? 🤔

Hitchhiking! 

To avoid being caught by the police, we thought about walking along the road while hitchhiking.

But that never happened...

We had just left the entrance to the park when a car pulled up next to us and a woman started speaking to us in Spanish, then in English.

Since my English was the best, I stepped forward.

The surprise?

She asked if we wanted a ride somewhere. Hard to believe, right? Especially since the couple wanted to go in the same direction.

If hitchhiking is always this easy... Well then 😂

When we arrived at the other park, we walked into a ravine. Unfortunately, we didn't have more time for this 1-hour tour, as the park closed at 4 o'clock.

4 o'clock? What kind of time is that?!?!

The ravine was definitely very beautiful.
A small climbing tour over rocks and on both sides different shaped, high cliffs.

We didn't let the tranquility escape us and so we had lunch on a large rock with a view of the ravine.

The way back was no problem either, as a nice young couple agreed, after we asked, to take us back home.

But after such a long hike, we definitely deserved a nice dinner.

What could be more perfect than a rice pan 🤔 Nothing 😉😂

Eduardo was really excited, even though he didn't like whipped cream at all.
Before we ate, Eduardo, like the past few days, said grace.

Somehow it was something special!

He thanked for the delicious food and asked for protection on our journey.

Although I am an agnostic, I have to admit that I really enjoyed these minutes.

The five of us chatted about this and that until it got late.
The group disbanded and the day came to an end...