We were happy to arrive in El Bolsón after 2 long 12 hour days on a bus heading north on the adventurous (code word for unpaved) Ruta 40.

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El Bolsón is a hippy town with a lively craft and organic food market. The delicious berries and cherries are in season. We spent a pleasant afternoon sampling the local homemade beer, lying on the grass listening to music.

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Not far our of town is el Bosque Tallado, a forest of huge sculptures carved out of trees burnt in a forest fire. We also trekked beside the Rio Azul (blue river) up to el Cajón del Azul, a narrow canyon 3 metres wide and 40 metres deep.

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To go back in time it is possible to ride la trochita (the old Patagonian Express steam train) on a 2 hour round trip from Esquel.  It was from there we accessed the National Park Los Alerces, hiking above the tree line and were almost blown off a steep ridge by the strong gusts of wind.

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Before leaving we made a special trip to Trevelin, where the Welsh settled in the mid 1800´s, to sample a Welsh afternoon tea at one of the Casas de Té.

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