Feb. 6 – bus south across the Patagonian pampa

This day was a 14-hour bus ride, almost all on gravel roads. The landscape was incredible – dry, dusty plains that went on forever, with almost not signs of people except for the occasional vehicles on the road. The bus was outfitted with special hydraulic mini-engines on the tires so that even if we got a flat the tire would stay inflated! We saw ñandú (ostrich like animals), coiques (mini ñandús), huemel (kind of like mini, skinny, hairy llamas), armadillos, condors, rabbits. The woman who sold us the tickets said “Vas a ver la nada” – “You will see what nothing is”, and that was a good description. It was fascinating. And tiring, after 14 hours.
We arrived in El Chaltén at about 11 pm, a dusty town seemingly spreading out of the pampa, exploding with tourist growth. We made it to a family-run campground and set up and quickly fell asleep (after sharing a little mate with some friendly Argentinians).