Rio Pinturo
Midway down Ruta 40 is a rather sad town called Perito Merino where fence posts seem to have been erected just to catch plastic bags. It´s also home to some of the worst pizza in Argentina, but that´s a different story. What really matters is that after a full day´s bus ride from El Bolson we were able to shower and sleep, gathering our strength for the loooong gravel road through the Patagonia steppe to El Chalten. 500 kilometers on dirt!
Git along little dogies!
To break up the off-road monotony we detoured out of town to visit another UNESCO site (we´re collecting the whole set!). This time it was Cuevas de las manos or ¨caves of the hands,¨ where between 9,000 and 3,000 years ago, pre-Tehuelche people left their mark high on the walls of a canyon. The result is a mosaic of rust-colored silhouettes of hands and some adorable sketches of guanacos, the pride of the pampas.
The descent into the Rio Pinturas valley is reminiscent of Zion in southern Utah -- as is the green river valley below -- but the wind is uniquely Patagonian. We were nearly blown down several times as we walked along the trail with a hearty assemblage of Argentinians, Italians, Israelis, and one very cute dog.
Flaca
Mama guanacos and wee guanachitos
The choique birds even make an appearance -- apparently standing on one leg to do so
One theory
Git along little dogies!
To break up the off-road monotony we detoured out of town to visit another UNESCO site (we´re collecting the whole set!). This time it was Cuevas de las manos or ¨caves of the hands,¨ where between 9,000 and 3,000 years ago, pre-Tehuelche people left their mark high on the walls of a canyon. The result is a mosaic of rust-colored silhouettes of hands and some adorable sketches of guanacos, the pride of the pampas.
The descent into the Rio Pinturas valley is reminiscent of Zion in southern Utah -- as is the green river valley below -- but the wind is uniquely Patagonian. We were nearly blown down several times as we walked along the trail with a hearty assemblage of Argentinians, Italians, Israelis, and one very cute dog.
Flaca
Mama guanacos and wee guanachitos
The choique birds even make an appearance -- apparently standing on one leg to do so
One theory
That cave of hands reminds me of Chaco Canyon. Have you ever been there? I think you should go when you need a stateside vacation someday. I camped there alone, and felt very safe. It was incredibly beautiful and remote.
ReplyDeleteThat dog looks pretty big. He could give my cats a run for their money.
This is going to sound odd...but those glyphs are remarkably modern-looking. I've only seen glyphs in Albuquerque, so my experience isn't terribly vast. They're so funny. The first wide shot of them almost looks like feathers!
ReplyDeleteI think it looks like feathers too! I agree that they´re strangely modern-looking -- like they had bottles of spray paint.
ReplyDelete