Lago Posadas
After these two days of rest, we take the road of ripio for a lake little visited by tourists because quite far from the main axis.
We have two possibilities to reach " Lago Posada "either take the " Ruta 41 " not recommended by tourist offices or make a detour of 50 km.
Luciana takes the first option and we take the second.
Ripios are equal to themselves ... A mix of good and bad conditions, we drive between 20 and 40 km/h.
Upon our arrival in this village lost at the bottom of the valley, we discover an extraordinary spectacle ... a panel of colors between the turquoise blue of the lake and the various rock formations drawing on yellow ochre.
Here ,no hiking, only a viewpoint overlooking the "San Lorenzo " which culminates at 3 706 m and an isthmus that we can not discover, the road being impraticacle for a camper.
It’s nice and warm we stay there two days.
Portal Del Sauco
Upon awakening, we meet "Luciana" from Buenos Aires who travels in a van.
We are parked in a parking lot close to a house inhabited by national park employees and we find out that we can have access to WIFI.
We talk with Luciana who is heading as we are, to the "Portal Del Sauco"
It’s a recent and not very well known park located along the "Rio Blanco", in a green and flowery plain.
On our arrival, Luciana welcomes us in this rural campsite, the guard returning only at the end of the evening.
In the afternoon we take the 7 km hiking trail that leads us to the viewpoint through the steppe of Patagonia.
At the beginning of the hike, a sign warns us about the possible presence of pumas and gives us advice in case of such a meeting ... Great!!!
We did not see a puma but some carcasses of Guanacos ...
The site is beautiful we decide to stay two days there.
Parque Provincial " Cueva De Las Manos
We take a small part of the very famous route 40 which connects La Quiaca with the Bolivian border to Cape Virgenes in the extreme south of Patagonia.
Our destination for the next two days: "Cueva de las Manos".
This cave of the hands, in the long canyon of the río Pinturas, is one of the oldest sites of rock art.
This site, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has not yet to reveal all its secrets.
The paintings were made over several thousand years, from the 12th century BC to the 11th century, and scientists have classified them into three periods:
- The 12,000-year-old archaic paintings: famous hands (more than 800), painted in negative, and simple geometric figures.
- The scenes of hunting guanaco, nandou and puma with human representations, which could symbolize fertility rituals.
- The more recent paintings (-1500 to 1000) with many geometric and symbolic figures, a more abstract art.
We dedicate our first day to " Portal Canadon Pinturas "
We are greeted by two charming guards who give us all the information on the site but also the state of roads in the entire region and the distance between each sites.
The Cañadón Pinturas Portal is one of the entrances to the "Cueva de las Manos" which counts three of them.
This one saves us from taking a 94 km ripio road back and forth ... Of course there is a condition.... A 7 km trek to and from the cave (descent and climb in a canyon).
Before settling in the campsite, we hike around the canyon.
The next day we go to the cave. We follow the path from the cliff where we are parked ... Descend the "rio pinturas" and climb up to the cave... 1 hour walk
The visit of the cave can only be done with a guide, so we integrate a group of elderly people, mainly women, some of whom walk only with crutches!
The visit is made to the rhythm of our new friends who suffer along this corridor. Our guide, delighted to have French tourists, leads us through the history of this colorful and full of symbols cave.
After a short break for lunch, we return to the other side of the river by taking the same path.
On the way back we visit the " Planetario "
The thematic rooms invite us to explore the geological formation of the region since the appearance of humans on the planet and the evolution of its species.
We are witnessing a 30 minute projection in a freezing temperature ... Not that fun!!!
At the exit the sun warms our old bones and we decide to continue our route. We land on a parking lot in the middle of nowhere.
Perito Moreno
We leave our beautiful camp at the lake for "Perito Moreno".
A little bigger town where we find enough to make a complete supply for several days in a supermarket.
Indeed, we continue to descend towards the "Land of Fire" by crossing many national parks where shops and service stations are almost non-existent.
In all the brochures that are given by the tourist offices an alert on the rarity of gas pumps is specified and this is confirmed by the hotesses who advise us to have a jerry can of gasoline!
From today, we will cross a region of steppes, lagoons, glaciers and mountains with snowy peaks.
We spend the entire week preparing our next few days trip.
All parks offer hiking or other activities with various difficulties. In some parks we are allowed to stay overnight on more or less developed areas, while others refuse.
We calculate the number of kilometers between each service station, then we check the condition of the roads (some are closed - asphaltedor not).
Our plan is clear .... We can leave
ROAD BOOK 187
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