Entry #14:

 

12th February Rio Mayo

After the enforced layover at Rio Mayo for repairs to Rusty’s spring, we left on a bright but windy morning, the steep climb out of the town was on paved road and relief was the feeling about less ripio for the day.

The strong wind from the west was at first on our nearside front, briefly behind and then almost dead on the nose, slowing our progress, in particular Rusty which made hard work of the conditions and the state of the steering geometry.

The very long straights were a lottery as the surface was extremely poor and with a quartering wind, passing trucks and high-speed cars, there was no time to relax the constant vigilance needed to avoid the enormous potholes and the speeding vehicles.

After 230Kms we reached Gobernador Costa, where we had intended to stop overnight, however as it was only 15.30 and none of us felt like spending any leisure time in this unprepossessing town, by mutual consent we pushed on. The problem was however that our next possible destination was Esquel a further 171Kms.

We pressed on through Tecka as dusk drew in, our need to make Esquel by twilight pressing, as lights are a bit scarce on the battered remnants of four Austin’s. Although
Route 40 here is paved, two sections of about 25Kms are under reconstruction and we cautiously covered these parts in trepidation of another breakage. An unfortunate driver with caravan belted past, one wheel of the van wobbling perilously, we passed him just off the ripio section with the axle now on the ground.

Descending the last few miles into Esquel, the scenery at last began to improve and trees, which had been notable by their absence for days, appeared along the route. We arrived in the dusk and pulled into the hotel car park. Having called from Gob. Costa to make a booking for the hotel, it was astonishing to be told that in fact a previous booking was being honoured and we would have to find somewhere else. A few blunt words from River and three rooms were found and we piled in with relief. The prospect of more miles on the day’s total of 267 miles was too much to contemplate.

13th February Esquel

We awoke to the sight of mountains and hilly ground around the town from the bedroom window. Holding a quick conference at breakfast, we decided to stay for a day, to allow Vince an opportunity to tackle the very difficult steering experienced on Rusty. River, Diana and I set about finding trips from the town and forward booking accommodation for the next few days.

In the afternoon we all enjoyed a trip on the Old Patagonian Express “La Trochita”, a narrow gauge railway which in 1947 was completed, a length of 402Kms from Esquel to the main line from Bariloche to Carmen de Patagones on the Atlantic coast. Closed in 1993 to railway is now owned by the Province and runs 1 hour to Nahuel Pan and return, although there are occasional 165Km journeys to El Maiten with a return on the following day. The locomotives were from Russia, Germany and America and the stock and line from Europe, some of it surplus first world war equipment.

The railway is idiosyncratic in its running and whilst halted for an hour at the destination, the footplate was unmanned and all and sundry mounted to have their photograph taken. The carriage end platforms are unguarded, but passengers may ride the journey on them in order to take pictures. Three ungated level crossings are made and the enthusiastic reception of motorist confirms the story that the railway is loved by all the locals, many of whom come out of their houses to wave and clap.

We also found a general store that was an absolute delight. A large store it had around its perimeter, ironmongery, horse and domestic animal items, corn and feed, foodstuffs, including dried sausage, eggs and cheese, household cleaning items, dried goods, men’s fashions, women’s fashion, cloth, hats, trousers, haberdashery and in the centre a selection of china, glass, stoves, solid fuel heaters and miscellaneous items. The string section alone was enough to make me go weak at the knees.

Service at any counter was obtained by taking a numbered card from a stack on a spike and going to the appropriate counter to be served with your request. On choosing the item a receipt was issued to be taken to the cash office where the price was paid and the stamped receipt taken back to the counter for retrieving the goods. The final act was presumably that someone would gather up the numbered cards and returning them in the correct order on the spike. The shop was opened in the 1920’s and is run by the children of the founder. It was a wonderful experience and I know several items were bought just to sample the service, including Chris who purchased a very handsome beret!

14th February Esquel

Leaving before 09.00 we made for the Parquey Nacional Los Alerces. Turning off the main road we were 15 Kms towards the park when we came to a road closed barrier and had to retrace our steps and gain entry via Trevelin, which is less than 20Kms from the border with Chile and closer to the Pacific than our destination that night.

The Andes to our left we climbed the ripio into the park and enjoyed the scenery and magnificent sky.

The park roads were quite bad and we came across a vehicle that had suffered a similar fate to our king pin problem. However with a modern vehicle it is no easy matter to solve.

We passed several beautiful lakes and enjoyed the wooded aspect of the park. Sadly we did not have time to take a boat trip to the far shore of a lake where some of the oldest trees in South America grow, reputedly 4000 years old, matching the Californian redwoods in the same family.

We had decided to find the estancia said to have belonged to Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. We passed out of the park and on to Cholila, where we got directions and followed the long dusty ripio out of town.

Eventually down a small side turning we came to a farm gate and at the end of a track the buildings, lived in until recently by the owner who said he bought the farm from Butch Cassidy.

Pressing on as the day wound down we reached El Bolson in the early evening as the craft market was closing down in the town centre. The drive had been through some fantastic countryside and I could have easily spent several days exploring the lakes and woods we had passed. It is not difficult to imagine how remote this area would have been in the time of the Cassidy/Sundance ownership. It is said that the trees were not then planted and that the views from the farm would have allowed any approach to be observed from afar.

We had chosen our hotel Hosteria Cabanas Del Campo with care, located as it was next to the local microbrewery. The place was packed and doing a roaring trade, we enjoyed both a very good supper and some excellent beer. I slept particularly well.

15th February, Hosteria Cabanas Del Campo

We were treated to a very good breakfast the following morning with some superb home made jams. Cristina and her father Federico, ran a very welcoming and pretty motel style place.

The arrangement was that we would meet Mac and Phyllis on the road from El Bolson to Bariloche where they live during the summer. Mac and Phyllis who we had last met in Buenos Aries at their home to see some of Mac’s cars had expressed a desire to join us for a part of the road run.

We had about 55Kms to go and arrived to see a welcoming gathering of very interesting cars. Mac and Phyllis had arrived in their 16/45 Wolseley, originally a 4 door sedan, one of two imported for railway company traffic managers it was rescued by Mac as a basket case and restored with a new body and fittings in the style of a Weyman skiff. This is one of only 11 on the Wolseley Register and therefore probably the world. With them was Martin Ross who later gave up his seat to travel in Crusty back to Bariloche.

The other cars and owners were, "Tavo" Amadeo, founder of the Club de Autos Sport y Clàsicos de Bariloche (CASCLAB) in his RV sports car. Mariano Ruiz, wife Bea (Beatriz) and sons Joaquim, Pancho and Juan in a 1929 Ford A tourer. Jose Bellora and Patricia in a Porsche 911 of 1970 vintage, or thereabouts. Paco Garcia in a Fiat 800 with a Vignale body of 1967/68. Gustavo Lanus in the (only) LN Special built by his grandfather and his friend Roberto Noccetti (hence "LN"). 

Coffee and biscuits were kindly provided and after introductions and mutual admiration of machinery, arrangements were made to swap seats and experience some riding differences.

Martin Ross very kindly gave up his seat in the Wolseley and I had the thrill of riding with Mac and Phyllis. The car is truly a magnificent creation. Almost all that you see in the pictures is in the style of Weyman, the mechanics are of course principle Wolseley, but as a whole the car looks just ‘right’. It drives very well and has a very good turn of speed and plenty of torque from its four cylinder 2 litre engine. Can you tell if I enjoyed myself?

We were lead to our hotel to get established and arranged to meet the following evening for supper and conversation. We had enjoyed a splendid day amongst new friends and old acquaintances and looked forward to our stay in San Carlos De Bariloche