Trip to Bariloche

8.2. El Chalten to Perito Moreno

Today is the day of departure. El Chalten is really worth a visit. We reluctantly leave, also because of our new friends Baruch and Veronica.

We go to the mechanic where we delivered the money to get a spare part for our landlord. Unfortunately, he is closed today and all attempts to reach him fail. Since one of our tires has lost air, we have to inflate it at the tire shop. Even after that, the mechanic is still not back and we decide to leave. The drive leads through the Pampa, first to Gobiernador Gregores, where we refuel and withdraw money. The fees are almost 15%!!!!!

We have never seen such a wide sky anywhere like here in Argentina, simply breathtaking. Fortunately, we can pay with Chilean pesos at another gas station and do some shopping before we unexpectedly reach the turnoff to Cuevas de los Manos. The rock drawings and prints are the oldest artworks in South America and worth the 100km detour. Unfortunately, we arrive too late and we are not allowed to camp here... A family comes back from the second-to-last tour and tells us that the last tour has already started but only ten minutes ago. They tell us to step over the barrier and catch up with the group, we can pay afterwards. So we run along the path towards the rocks and suddenly find ourselves alone in front of the handprints that were applied here on the rock almost 10,000 years ago with different colors. We don't see the group, so we decide to sneak away and finish the "self-guided tour" without paying an entrance fee... After that, we drive for another two hours to Perito Moreno (not the glacier!), where we get something to eat at a restaurant. The wine is excellent! Amelia finds a campsite in the city on the i-Overlander app, owned by Raúl, a city character who talks a lot but says little, but is very kind. And that's exactly how it is! He can hear us already at the entrance, directs us and plays us several voice messages from a Swiss woman he met, because we are also Swiss and probably know her ;)

We go to sleep after a 9-hour drive.

9.2. Perito Moreno to Bariloche

We say goodbye to Raúl and continue our journey towards Bariloche. On the way, in Gobiernador Costa, we refuel and ask at the hospital if an antibody test from Amelia could possibly enable her to have a recovery certificate in Argentina. They confirm and we may have created another option to secure our onward journey. In Esquel, we have to refuel again to cover the remaining kilometers to Bariloche. It takes a little longer to reach the tourist metropolis and we stay at a campsite that is rather expensive and a bit run-down. The search for a restaurant turns out to be unsuccessful and we return to the campsite to cook ourselves, as not all places accept credit cards and we don't have cash anymore.