Al gave me a ride to the hippie mecca El Bolson. El Bolson is the breadbasket of Argentina as it has a micro climate conducive to growing fruits and vegetables. it is in an attractive location in between to mountain ranges. We arrived just as the feria artesenal was starting. I was hoping to buy gifts for everyone since everything at this fair is supposed to be handmade. However, most of it was hippie junk. I did however buy a nice belt, small leather purse, and 2 mate gourds for under $50 USD total. The only other thing in town that ressembled hippie ville was the superior recycling program. Indeed, El Bolson is light years ahead of Anchorage in this regard. Otherwise, the town was full of junk food and cheap tourist attractions rather than the creative vegetarian faire and earthy markets I was expecting.
With my bags safely secured in Al´s vehicle, I set about the task of finding a hostel. No sooner had I left Al´s side when I encountered my friend Alexis who I met in Torres del Paine and saw again in El Chalten. He recognized me from behind by my scarf! I should have stayed at the same hostel as Alexis, but no, I went with the ¨Our Pick¨ from my Lonely Planet guide and ended up at the hostel from hell bunking in a tiny room with two young argentine boys and a unisex bathroom with minimal privacy with its saloon style doors. Ironically, this is the only time I prepaid for accomodations and I paid 2 nights!
Alexis had been in town for a week trekking and suggested we go to Parque Nacional Lago Puelo for an afternoon hike. Sounded good after 3 days with no exercise. No sooner had we gone 15 minutes on the trail than the skies opened up. We kept going thinking it would stop, but it didn´t. Soaked, we returned to El Bolson and had a late dinner. BTW, I didn´t take any photos because I didn´t want to get my camera wet.
To make things worse, it is the annual Lupulo festival in El Bolson. Lupulo, I think, means hops in English, ergo it is a beer festival and every young yahoo is in town partying. My roomates returned at 5:30 am!
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