Lonquimay Part II

So it's a go after all, and I am ecstatic! While getting set up in my room and preparing things for tomorrow morning (I am leaving a lot of my stuff here at the hotel, including most trekking food and running gear, where I will be back Saturday night) I decided that I would take the bus to Lonquimay park on the 21st after all, and just make it a very shortened version of the trek. But when I went to get my ticket, somebody had just returned theirs for the 17th and they sold it to me, so here I go to Lonquimay on Sunday! My return bus is pre-dawn on the 25th though, I hope it is not too complicated to get to. I guess you're getting old when the idea of spending a night sitting (or, if you're lucky, lying down on some chairs) in a bus station is not so appealing anymore.

This means that my trip to Copahue tomorrow will be somewhat shortened, and I may not make the top of the volcanoe, though I will try. I will only be there about 24 hours, with all the bus schedules and the such, and it is about 10 to 12 hours of trekking, which is a lot for a day, and the only campground is rather inconveniently located away from the trail. I will see when I get there.

I got a very nasty surprise though. In Bariloche, I bought some fuel for my camping stove, and transfered it to my bottle. Now I discover the bottle leaks. I am pretty sure it cannot be used in those circumstances. Guess it got too banged up somewhere on the way here. I won't need it for this short trek, but the longer 6 day one... that is going to be a pain! At least, it looks hot there, something I don't normally rejoice over, and when I did another trek in the region (Puyehue volcanoe), it certainly was very warm, at least during the day. I hope it doesn't get so cold that I am going to be miserable not being able to eat warm food and drinks. I will bring my thermos anyway and see if I can bumm hot water from other people at the campgrounds, which is what I did once when I couldn't get my stove to work. My food is very fast cooking (brought lots of couscous, and quick oats, and some freeze-dried food) so worst case scenario, I can let it sit in cold water and eat it that way. Yuck. At least, near the end, there is a refugio where one can actually buy food. I will be looking forward to warm stuff then! The frustrating bit is that I brought 3 bottles; one belongs to Julio, he asked me to get it for him, and I've already sent it off to Puerto Madryn. The other is just a little one that I had brought to have extra fuel for our course, and I left it in Bariloche along with the rest of my ice gear. Grrrrrrr!

But it doesn't matter, I will manage, it is only for the next bit, I am lucky that it is not in a frigid place. I will have bottles for everything else. Now I am nice and showered, feeling calm after a quick, half hour run along the highway (how inspiring!) where, despite how I got dust all over myself and despite all the bugs I ate, (made me think of Montreal in the summer, that!) I felt really happy to be moving about so long on the bus. Now I am about to go to dinner. It's almost 10pm, normal dinner time here. Argentines loathe eating when it is still light out, which makes this the norm.

So tomorrow I actually start doing something, finally!! Should be able to write again on Saturday.