About Route 40 to Los Antiguos

We continue north on the well-maintained Route 40. Our next destination is the Cueva de las Manos in the Santa Cruz Province. In 1960, researchers discovered the caves with their millennia-old paintings, which were already known to the local inhabitants. The walls are covered with handprints, with color pigments blown over the mostly left hands using a kind of pipe as a template. Researchers believe that these depictions are 9,000 to 13,000 years old, making them the oldest human-made artwork in South America. Since 1999, the caves have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Of course, we want to see them, so we turn off Route 40 and take a 50 km long gravel road to the caves and the Pinturas Canyon. Gravel is one thing, but a bumpy washboard road is another. It takes us more than 1.5 hours to cover the 50 km, and by the end, we feel like our bones need to be rearranged. But the breathtaking view of the canyon compensates for the hardships.

The caves, more like corridors along the rock, can only be visited on a guided tour. Luckily, the next tour is about to start, and the young park ranger speaks good English! It is impressive how well-preserved these wall paintings are and how many famous handprints there are, as well as hunting scenes, pregnant guanacos, rheas, wildcats, and geometric patterns. After the interesting tour, we shake and bump our way back to Route 40 with our Dubs and only find a parking spot for the night in the next town when it's already dark. We don't like doing that because you can't really see where you end up. But we were lucky, and even in the bright morning light, the spot appeared peaceful and tidy.

We continue along the picturesque Lago Buenos Aires, always with a view of the snow-capped Andes, until we reach Los Antiguos. Here, there is a mild microclimate, which is why the people of Patagonia used to bring their elderly here (Los Antiguos means "The Ancients" in Spanish). Today, it is the center for fruit cultivation, especially cherries thrive here. Unfortunately, we are too late in the year, but we bought a large bowl of strawberries and enjoyed them after the almost fruitless time in Tierra del Fuego.

Since it's Sunday, we treat ourselves to a classic lunch, of course, the Menú del Día, which, as expected, is an asado. The restaurant is full, and the atmosphere is good, so we enjoy the mixed grill and take a walk on the beach afterwards. We don't really feel the mild microclimate, but we do feel the famous Patagonian wind. Luckily, there is something we find in every city and almost every village: an open-air fitness center! Metal equipment, similar to what we know from gyms, can often be found in village squares, playgrounds, beach promenades, and parks. And after a workout like that, there's still room for ice cream... but dinner is definitely out.