Day 164 – 2nd March 2006

It was an early start as I was heading for a day of walking in the National Park Los Alerces. This park is named after the Alerce tree that is only found in this part of the world. Not a very interesting fact, but a fact nonetheless.

After a two hour bus journey we made it and I picked up a list of hiking trails from the park guards office. I set out to hike a few, starting with one that went alongside a river which linked two lakes, and then going onto a trail which ended up at a mirador looking out over three lakes and two rivers. Both were pretty decent and both were made even more enjoyable by the lack of people in the park.

By the time I had reached the mirador it was getting towards lunchtime and I thought it was a good a spot as I was going to find, so I sat down looking out over the area and ate my pack up. I sat there looking out across the valley for about an hour in total before making the easy walk back down.

By this time it was early afternoon and it was a scorcher. This made me alter my plan slightly. I was planning to hike another trail, and even started out upon it, but as I walking alongside the riverbank it looked really inviting for a little dip, so I found a grassy bank, stripped down to my boxers and waded in.

The waters were crystal clear, but also icy. It took me a while to get the will to do it but I managed to submerge myself in the water eventually. Refreshing is the word I would use to describe the experience. I spent the majority of the afternoon onthe riverbank, alternating between wading in and drying off.

By the time my bus came to take me back to Esquel I decided that this was my favourite National Park in Patagonia to date. The others (Torres del Paine and Perito Moreno) were more stunningly beautiful but this one had a better climate, some great views, plus swimming opportunities and hardly any other people. Anyone heading to the Lake District area of Argentina I would definately recommend taking a few days and heading to Esquel and the surrounding area.