Don´t Trust the Swiss: Too Neutral
OK, so the 25km walk that I headed out for this morning turned into about 60km when I decided to take advice from a Swiss guy that travelled down from Bariloche on our tour. I stated walking down the road that he suggested, I even confirmed the road on the map, which unfortunately for me didn´t show distances. I walked for about an hour before I decided that I might as well hitch to the path entrance.
The first car that drove past decided to stop and give me a lift. They knew the entrance that I was talking about so I thought all was good and that I was actually saving time as I did not have to walk as far so I would definitely be able to make the bus tonight. The guy pointed me in the right direction and I was off.
The path seemed a little less busy than the others I have been on throughout Patagonia and was not exactly marked, but I trekked on. After about 45 minutes I came across someone who I was able to chat with and find out exactly what I was supposed to be doing. He told me that the trip I was taking was definitely possible, but was about 5 hours from where I was, which was a little frustrating considering the original trek commencing 5 minutes away from where I was staying was only 4 hours in each direction and it had taken me over 2 hours to get to where I was now. Some shortcut?!
Fuck this, I thought as I headed back to the road, I haven´t got time for this; I´ve got to be on a bus to Calafate in 6 hours. I headed back to the road where I thought it would once again be easy to grab a ride, but ended up walking about 1 1/2 hours before anyone even shot past. It could be worse I guess, I could still be sweating, struggling with tired legs and only half way back to the hostel by now.
My advice to you: Don´t trust the Swiss & only ever ask a local for directions.
All was not lost; I was able to catch a glimpse of Mount Fitzroy before it clouded over which possibly may have been missed should I have gone the original way into the park due to the angle of the track. Hey, you gotta look at the positives.
The first car that drove past decided to stop and give me a lift. They knew the entrance that I was talking about so I thought all was good and that I was actually saving time as I did not have to walk as far so I would definitely be able to make the bus tonight. The guy pointed me in the right direction and I was off.
The path seemed a little less busy than the others I have been on throughout Patagonia and was not exactly marked, but I trekked on. After about 45 minutes I came across someone who I was able to chat with and find out exactly what I was supposed to be doing. He told me that the trip I was taking was definitely possible, but was about 5 hours from where I was, which was a little frustrating considering the original trek commencing 5 minutes away from where I was staying was only 4 hours in each direction and it had taken me over 2 hours to get to where I was now. Some shortcut?!
Fuck this, I thought as I headed back to the road, I haven´t got time for this; I´ve got to be on a bus to Calafate in 6 hours. I headed back to the road where I thought it would once again be easy to grab a ride, but ended up walking about 1 1/2 hours before anyone even shot past. It could be worse I guess, I could still be sweating, struggling with tired legs and only half way back to the hostel by now.
My advice to you: Don´t trust the Swiss & only ever ask a local for directions.
All was not lost; I was able to catch a glimpse of Mount Fitzroy before it clouded over which possibly may have been missed should I have gone the original way into the park due to the angle of the track. Hey, you gotta look at the positives.
posted by Sanchez at 4:53 AM
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