Danny had a hostel for us the first night in San Carlos Bariloche...
"Inventory Control-
Tent, sleeping bag, clothes, pants, shorts, socks, bungee cords, fishing gear, fly rods, reels, ipod/charger, phones/chargers, books, journal, fleece, sweat shirt, gyno light, wallet, pills in case, ear plugs, diddy bag, waders, boots, hiking boots, sunglasses and a hat."
Below are shots and descriptions along with excerpts from the journal I kept while fishing in Argentina. Good or bad it is defiantly raw.
My first cup of Mate in the lobby.
"I am now in Bariloche. After checking into Danny and I's room at the Tango Inn Hostel on Salto Street we ran out for a bite to eat at the local pizza shop. We had two empanadas each with hard to find hot sauce (Chimi-churie) and a pizza. We split a liter of Quilmes.The pizza was good and after we finished I went to the ATM to get some peso's. In my ignorance I assumed everywhere in Argentina excepted dollars... After I left the ATM Machine I realized I left my card in the ATM. I think it ate the card and I will go get it in the morning. I hope that is all there is to it. None the less I am not happy with the start to the trip."
Heading north to Junin and the Chimehuin....
The Limay. The scenery was awesome along the way. Reminded me of the high desert in Oregon near Bend. Huge body of water...
Hi!
The bus broke down so we wandered around the rocks. Pretty good views all around.
"Our bus ride from Bariloche was interesting. A three hour ride ended up being close to seven. The bus broke down and we sat on a rock overlooking a nice mountain. I started re-reading Sidhartha. What a place to read."
Danny J
Once we landed in Junin I watched the gear while Danny ran into the store for dinner supplies.
Ezekiel, Danny and Abere. These guys were awesome! Danny had been spending time with these guys before I arrived.They helped us set up/break camp and cooked us dinner... Danny had a crew of good buddies and word spread quick he was back in town after picking up the big gringo.
"After we got to town Danny quickly ran into several friends. Before long we had Abere and Ezekiel cooking us dinner. They are very efficient cookers and I learned a lot just by watching them. Slept ok last night."
Lupines on the Chimehuen. A truck packed with fly fishermen drove past us while we were hitch hiking out to the river. To our surprise the driver circled back after he dropped his buddies, picked us up and we joined the group of guys on holiday from Mendoza on the river. We watched as the head honcho pulled fish after fish out... He finally invited me out in the river for a try with his streamer rig.
"John gave me my first streamer lesson and I hooked one but it got off. We did a ton of walking today with no fish to show for it. I guess I can't show up in a foreign land and expect to catch fish right off the bat. I hope to catch some tomorrow."
Camp in Junin finally.
"We walked 10-12 kilometers today and I have a bad rash between my legs. hehe"
The street signs are trout! Every single street sign in Junin is in the shape of the trout. "The trout capital of the world..."
Hot dog in the downtown plaza... With some chimi-churrie on top. They locals always laughed when we asked for the special sauce.
Really cool trees..
The bridge in Junin.
First fish in Argentina. Monkey of my back forsure...
Un real beauty and a big river. We had to be careful wading...
Lupines on the other end of the world...
Caught a few but we didn't have any idea of what we were in for in Alumine.
First night in Alumine. Diego picked us up at the bus stop and suggested we check into the local 5 star hotel. We said we were in the market for a camp ground. Of our 12 nights in Argentina we camped 11 nights.
"Camp in Alumine was nice. We got in around 11:00 PM and Diego gave us a ride to camp. Slept well and we were ready when Diego pulled up at 8:30."
Getting ready to shove off for the day.
I will never forget the first couple of takes. I was so anxious that I lost a couple then snapped my fly off on the take. I went to rig up again and my hands were shaking. Once I got the butterflies out I settled in and started hooking and landing fish. Cruising rainbows in slow water eating big Diego stimi's.
To this day- The best session ever.
Probably one of the fishes of the trip for me...
Huge fights.
After a little research I found out that all the Rainbows in Arg are from the McCloud River in Nor Cal brought here as eggs and spread throughout as Patagonia was explored/settled (thanks for the guide book Mom and Dad).
The hay day may have be over by the 1930's in Patagonia but it's still pretty damn good. Plan the next trip at the right time of year and we could get some big browns (fish of a life time) real easy.
Real freaks!
"We then stopped for lunch and it was already cooked and set up for us by one of Diego's employee's. Holy shit it hit the spot. Potatoes with eggs and steaks. Beer to wash it down. It was a beautiful river and in all I caught five 15"+ Rainbows and one nice brown."
Said nice brown.
I caught him a couple inches off shore in shallow water.
Pumped for our bus ride back to Junin where they (the rowdy crew led by Luca) were throwing a party for us for New Years Eve.
Due to some translation hiccups we found out our tickets were for 6:00 Am the day after New Years Day. Not 6:00 PM on New Years Eve. Bound to happen to the best of them.
I quickly made a sign and put on a sad face for hitch hiking to Junin. No luck though. Pretty remote...
" I am now sitting on the outskirts of town trying to hitch hike 80 kilometers back to Junin in times for New Years. It's not looking good though. The next bus south isn't until Saturday and today is Thursday. Who knows what will happen."
Back at camp for New Years Eve.
Danny J gearing up.
Thanks to Pat for letting me borrow his tent.
Sweet spot in the sand. Cougars were all over that night...
Self portrait before the cougar went running through camp.
During the fire works a cougar ran by us right after our toast. Running mock 3 up the river bank away from the fire works. I seriously thought I saw a ghost and we picked up his trail in the wet sand... Le Puma forsure.
Beach volley ball among the rafter community. This section of the Alumine is intense and there were always happy river runners around.
Mate and a song.
"A little puppy took to our camp site and we hooked him up with scraps. We have spotted Hawks, Lizards, Red Deer, Alpaca, Flamingo, Doves, Cranes, Wild Dogs and of course Trout."
Made good use of our time in Alumine. Figured out that they love the prince nypmth dropper...
Kept one for the pan and added it to our pasta dish.
Self portrait in San Martin de las Andes.
Near the outlet of the lake.
Another shot.
Cheese.
Camp ground.
One of the better dinners we had. To give you a a sense of what we would cook- "My turn to cook tonight. I sauteed some garlic, butter, salt, diced ham and hard boiled eggs, added squash, lettuce, onions and poured it all over noodles. We also have some great sourdough bread. It was the best meal we have made so far."
Danny rocking a few out.
Our stay in San martin was short lived. This spot reminded me of Park City and was not suited to a couple of guys with no car. There are good rivers in the area but not practical unless you have a car/guide.
"San Martin is very touristy and reminds me a lot of Park City or Aspen. A cute main street with high end shoppes and restaurants. I bought a mate cup at a street fair and I got some earrings for Ashley."
We did a big loop from Bariloche to Junin to San Martin and south to El Boson was next....
It was a 12 hour bus ride but we made it. Couldn't have been a prettier drive through the Andes.
We had heard about a brewery with a camp ground out back so we settled in there... This goes down as the best beer I have ever had. I will never forget it.
My rig on any given night.
The mountains reminded of the Tetons back home. Very dramatic..
Ran into a couple of green missionaries from rural Utah and Idaho. They loved hearing english and catching up on Utah news. They couldn't believe their eyes...
Cool city park where we made lunch.
Finally got on the water. Rio Azul...
Another shot of the Tetons of Patagonia.
Nice brown.
Danny on the bridge.. Danny caught a monster brown on a streamer this day.
Little restaraunt while we waited for a cab back to camp.
Of course I was the bitch of the relationship... haha. Classic.
One last look at the cervezaria El Bolson.
Last night on the outskirts of Bariloche.
Went to town before my flight.
Sewing a badge of honor onto my pack.
Tree at camp ground.
Pretty plush camp spot for Patagonia.
Last supper. Steak and potatoes naturally.
The cab driver snapped this when he picked me up for the airport.
A look back at the mountains on the way to the airport.
"When we were done shopping for gifts we went to the grocery store for dinner supplies. We got our usual of steak and potatoes with fresh bread. We walked two miles back to our camp ground and cooked dinner over coals that night. I decided to make a steak, potato and cheese sandwich for dinner.
We had a few beers and one last mate session and we went to bed. It was a very cold night and I woke up early to check my email. I arranged for a taxi and began to pack up my stuff. Once I was packed Danny got out of bed to see me off. We waited for my taxi in the sun and talked about the trips highlights."
