Gorgeous canyon lake islandsBeing that it is winter, not all outdoor activites were available such as rafting and rapelling, but the all day tour we took in the Atuel Canyon was unbelievable. We had been situated at our hostel and had had an asado the night before leaving. The meat was decent, but the veggies were amazing off the grill. The asado to come was even more memorable.
Chow time!We took off for the canyon at 9:30 am with the dueño of the hostel in his Land Rover Discovery. Within 20 minutes we were driving along the river and entering the canyon. It seemed cool until we got deep into it and it was unforgettebly amazing...just look at the pics. The canyon is centuries old and the rock formations are one of a kind.
In order to use the river for electricity and water, the Argy´s have built a system of dique´s (dams) that create the massive natural lakes you see in the photos. The water is all snow melt so it is as fresh as can be. The whole car ride we were drinking maté and jamming out. Every now and then we would stop for photos or a quick hike, but there was one free climb that the dueño and I did alone that was truly intense. After the climb´s decent we pulled off on a separate canyon alley and hiked for 45 minutes while one dude grilled out chorizo asado style...the best I´ve ever had!
After that we had a tasty dessert and trekked on in the Discovery landing us back at another Bodega, Bodega Vieja, before returning to the hostel at 7:30 pm...Long Day!
The next day we went to see a few other dique´s in the area, and also visited Villa 25 de Mayo, a tiny pueblo with the nicest people we have ever met. We hitched a ride with an Indio who was extremely knowledgable about the region. Overall, San Rafael was amazing and we can only imagine how intense it can be during the Argy summer months. We are now in Bariloche and there is more to come. See you soon, Chao.
If only it were summer!!!
