Afternoon tea and scones in Trevelin
Trip Start
May 20, 2010
1
104
195
Trip End
Sep 05, 2011
Trevelin, Patagonia, Argentina
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Day : 247
Temperature : 15 degrees....getting colder!!!
Weather : Mostly sunny
OK, apologies for not blogging over the past few days but we have been having some dilemas which I'll fill you in on in a moment.
On our last day in Arelauquen / Bariloche we were due to go up the Cerro Cathedral. Unfortunately we woke up to low cloud, drizzly rain, and visibility about as far as your arm! Absolutely pants! The temperature had also plummeted. It was about 15 degres and we soon realised that we really are going to need more clothes when we get further south. Anyway, there wasn't much that we could do that day, other than head into town and try to get some more money out of any ATM which happened to contain cash, which we successfully managed to do.
The following day we then headed south to the town of Esquel, about 4 hours from Bariloche. Once again we were treated to fantastic scenery during the journey. We found the cheapest place that we could...£20 for both of us per night. High season in Argentina is not cheap. Anyway, we were planning on staying here for a few days and visiting the national park that is close by. However, having had a closer look at our budget we have had to prioritise. We would love to visit lots of places on our way south and visit the many different national parks on the way, but we know that we are going to want to do lots of stuff further south, and these things will not be cheap. Neither will accommodation. We were also planning on visiting an estancia near the town of Perito Moreno (not the glacier), but we've been pointed in the direction of an estancia near Torres del Paine in Chile, off the beaten track which looks AWESOME and we are currently trying to organise a 5 day drip with horseriding there.
The problem we have is that for us to do a day trip independently into the national park near Esquel, it will cost us £16 for both of our entry fees, plus nearly £15 for return bus fares. We would stay in the park but you the accommodation is even more expensive and then there are still park fees. Even a day trip would be over £30. Add up all these little day trips if we stopped frequently all the way down south, and you have us spending a lot of money. So, we have decided to save our money, and head straight south to the main highlights...El Chalten and Mount Fitz Roy and surrounding mountains, El Calafate and the Perito Moreno Glacier and then hopefully the estancia near Puerto Natales in Chile for horse riding, the Torres del Pain National Park, and then Tierra del Fuego at the very bottom.
By the time we had made this decision, there was not another bus heading south for 2 days. So we have spent our time here organising things. Tomorrow we have a 10 hour bus journey to the town of Perito Moreno. We will stay overnight in a hostel (arranged by the bus company) and the following day we have another mammoth journey south to El Chalten where it looks like I'll be spending my birthday....very excited!!!
Today, we did manage to visit the small town of Trevelin, which, as it sounds, has Welsh history. We arrived around lunch time, to discover that everything was shut for siesta, and the tea houses opened at 3.30pm. So we took the opportunity to go for a walk along the river, marvelling at the mountains in the background. We finally had afternoon tea in a "Casa de Te"...a Tea House, where we were served "proper" tea with cold milk, cakes and scones with butter and jam....how British are we!!!!!! Although, it was like a blast from the past and I felt like I was sitting in a cafe in the 1980's!! I had to remind myself that I was in the middle of Patagonia! But it was still pretty cool!
OK folks, that's all I've got for you right now. Stay tuned for, hopefully, some amazing adventures to come in the next few days.............
Comments
Great to see a Briard like Billy!! Esther & I miss him very much.
Missing you guys ...
afternoon tea looks fab ... love that !
Going to " River Cottage " this weekend !! can't wait :)
xxxxxxx
Intersting about the Trevelin Welsh town...but looks a bit colder than rest of the trip.
Antony.