Malargüe

We had planned to meet back up with our friends on Friday night to see the show at the planetarium. As it was now only Thursday, we decided to wild camp a bit before the town. We thought we’d prefer a night’s free wild camping by the river rather than an additional night on the street in the town. After the tough drive out of Valle Hermoso, we slowly made our way down into Las Leñas and to the welcome sight of tarmac. It’s always a relief to come off a tough dirt road and then hit a smooth surface once again. All the creaking and banging stops and you can be sure nothing crucial has fallen off!

The river we had crossed back and forth several times in its infancy in the mountains now widened and joined forces with other tributaries into something much bigger. We decided we’d try and camp somewhere on its banks, just before the main road. First, we stopped off to see this huge sinkhole, Pozo de las Ánimas (Well of the Souls).

Now it was an easy cruise down the valley until we reached a nice spot down by the river where we could spend the night. It was a fair distance from the busy road and we slid down a small stony access track to park directly by the river. Probably not advisable during rainy season. The girls bounded off into the bushes, hunting the giant bugs that crawled around, and we gathered firewood for a fire that would never happen due to the weather turning on us. Even though it rained heavily, it wasn’t for long. That was probably a good thing considering our current location. Not a soul came near us and we slept to the sounds of the river, one of my favourite things.

The following morning, we met up with our friends in the small town of Malargüe. We parked up just outside the planetarium, but it didn’t look like we’d be enjoying the show that night. Once again the weather forced us both inside. The next day didn’t get much better. Cinta went into town to get money from Western Union and ended up trapped there for hours as a sudden torrential downpour caused some serious flash flooding. While there are large drainage systems here, a lot of the ones we’d seen were blocked. I suppose they weren’t expecting this kind of weather now. We were fine in our car park, which only disappeared under a few inches of water, but as we watched it chuck it down, we weren’t surprised at the flooding and we were grateful we hadn’t chosen this night to stay by the river.

The storm passed by the next day and the sun returned. We headed out into town to do some shopping, stopping first at a very cheap greengrocer and also stocking up heavily on some cheap cat food. We had decided, with the rate that the engine was burning oil, that this problem could not be ignored. It would cost us more in oil than to repair it properly; we were working our way through a litre in no time. Aside from that, despite the fact it was running okay now, burning this kind of oil and dirtying the insides of the combustion chamber would soon take its toll. Better to act now while we could still drive. In light of this decision, we had decided to return to Chile. The capital was about an eight-hour drive and once we were there we would be able to find parts more easily and also import them if needed. If we remained in Argentina, we would be located in a much smaller city, in a country where there are far fewer Subarus and also where importing things is nigh on impossible. On paper, it was a no-brainer really. Still, we would have been reluctant to go back if it hadn’t been for news of our other friends.

Louis and Kareen, our partners in crime from the Laguna Route, which had also been the time we destroyed the engine, were close. They were heading to Santiago to sell their camper and finish off their trip. Just an hour south of us, they planned to cross the border back into Chile. They were still quite far south however, and we planned to meet up with them in a few days near Bardas Blancas. From there, we’d cross the Andes together and drive up to Santiago. While it felt a bit sad to be leaving again already, especially for such a negative reason, we were excited to see them again and that made the whole thing just a bit more palatable.

In the meantime, we had a few days to kill. Matt and Cinta suggested going to a cheap restaurant out of town for some food and then spending the night camped by the river. This sounded like the perfect solution, so we headed just south of Malargüe to a small restaurant and campsite located on the outskirts of the town.

The problem with knowing the price of anything in Argentina is that the economy has been through such radical changes that the prices are in constant flux. The restaurant cost 5,000 pesos two months ago, but when we turned up they were asking for 18,000. It wasn’t so long since we’d been eating plates of trout in Bolivia for £2, so the thought of paying £15 for it was a bit off-putting. We decided instead to just head around to the river and enjoy a sunny afternoon there. Things were a pleasant temperature up here, with just enough altitude to turn the roasting hot sun into a pleasantly warm day.

The next day, we decided we would wait here until Louis and Kareen were ready to meet us. So we headed back into Malargüe to buy enough groceries to last. We also bought 5 litres of oil, to try and get us back to Chile without causing any further damage to the engine. As we bumped along the washboard road back out of town, it became apparent that the front suspension wasn’t quite right. When we returned, we saw oil leaking from the front shock and when we tried to put air back in, we got nothing but a hiss. Another thing to add to the list for Chile then. Our friends had decided that they were going to head up into the mountains a bit more and do some exploring. Some thermals and the like. While they invited us to join, we declined. If the engine issues hadn’t been enough, the thought of off-roading with broken front suspension was not tempting. So it was here then that we parted ways again, although probably only for a short while as we both had Ushuaia firmly in our sights for the end of the year.

They headed off into the distance and we settled down to spend a few peaceful days by the river. In the evening, we walked the cats down the deserted dirt road. One night we even saw a skunk, but unfortunately I was too slow to get a picture of it. The smell, however, creates something of its own special memory! Instead, enjoy the stormy evening sunset, with some rather whimsical-looking horses.

Before we knew it, it was time to head south. We decided to go a day before our anticipated meet-up and find us both a nice spot to stop at. We also wanted the time to take it slow. Our front suspension clattered about and the loss of pressure meant that every time we hit a bump, the chassis hit the tyre on one side. Not only was this destroying the tyre, but it also meant that the steering wheel pulled violently to the side as the friction between tyre and metal acted as a brake. Therefore we bumped cautiously southward, taking our time and trying to limit further disasters. We passed the town and the road that we would take, which headed up to the border. Driving just a tiny bit further down, we decided to try a spot just by the river, in the middle of nowhere really. About three cars all pulled us over to tell us this wasn’t the main road. They all assumed the tourists were lost on the road out to some oil drilling station, but we thanked them for their kindness and assured them we were just looking for a spot to camp. We found ourselves a pretty place, again on the side of a burbling river.

The only downside was the horseflies. Back at the river, we’d had quite a lot of flies. In fact, in most of Argentina we’d had quite a lot of flies. As annoying as they were, at least they didn’t bite. Up at altitude in the valley, we’d also found another type of fly. These were big biting flies, but despite the painful nip, there was at least no itching afterwards. The flies here were somewhere in the middle, smaller and grey in comparison to their high-altitude cousins. These not only delivered a painful bite, but an incredibly itchy sting. There had been a few around the van by the end of the first evening, but in the morning we awoke to more of a swarm.

Lee likes to sit outside and enjoy his morning coffee, but soon he was forced inside, arms flailing, by a cloud of biting flies. Even though it was a very picturesque quiet place, it was not one to sit outside and chat with your friends. We packed up and moved on. We decided to climb a little way up the mountain towards the border, hoping that being a bit higher might mean fewer flies. Once again, we found a spot by the river and tentatively sat outside, waiting for the swarm. There were a few here, but nothing as bad as down there and so we told our friends to meet us here. We levelled ourselves out and washed a few bits in the river. The sun was fierce once again and there was no shade. We decided that once we were back in Chile, we’d buy an awning. A £200 saving was not worth skin cancer.

Luckily for our skin, our friends soon appeared and they had an awning! We sat outside in the shade and had a jolly good catch-up. It was strange that this was the end for them, like we were going back to begin all over again and for them this trip was done. By now, we’ve seen a lot of people leave. I was happy though that we would get to see them one final time and what a great time to have enjoyable company in the midst of an engine catastrophe.