The backwater town of Bajo Caracoles in rural Argentina would not be everybody’s holiday cup of tea. To begin with, it is quite literally in the middle of nowhere. The last census at the turn of the century noted the towns population at 31, and having spent a couple of nights there, I think this was actually rather generous.
On arrival, we popped our heads into the local shop /pub /restaurant /hotel /petrol station /tourist office where we had parked for the night (yes these all operate under the same roof, run by the same person!). The proprietor was stopped in their tracks by our arrival and we were quickly offered what was left on the menu. After politely declining, we did find something to buy from the shop and said our good nights. Before bed, we of course found time for a quick kick-around in front of the multi-purpose premises. We were mindful to avoid the arriving 18-wheelers, also pulling in as darkness prevailed.
Next morning we were on the road relatively early, as we knew we had a long day in store. A mere 50km away were the “Cuevas de los Manos”, or “Caves of the Hands, where cave art from more than 10,000 years is amazingly well preserved in an equally impressive canyon setting. However, almost all of these 50km would be via unpaved or “ripio” roads. 22 year old campervans and ripio are a bit like oil and vinegar, not mixing well at all. Having plenty of recent experience via the Caratera Austral, we knew this would be a slow grind to get to the caves.
So it proved. 3 hours of bouncing, rattling and shaking ensued as we crawled our way there. At one point, during a brief sandwich break, we witnessed the surreal sight of what can only be described as a plague of sinister looking black grasshoppers crossing the road all around us. Literally thousands and thousands of them flooded from south to north for as far as we could see in both directions. In an effort to avoid any unwanted visitors, we finished our lunches in record time and hit the road once again.
Arriving at the caves was mightily impressive. The setting is a huge, deep canyon, with lush vegetation at the bottom with the Pinturas River Canyon. This UNESCO site contains not only caves with stenciled outlines of human hands, there are also many depictions of animals such as guanacos and other hunting scenes. The different colours used bring the art to life in very impressive ways. Even more impressive was to then learn the great distances travelled by the hunter-gatherers to source the minerals used to make the colours. How and why these early artists went to all this trouble is still remarkable to me, but we can only thank them for the innovation, diligence and talent.
Our drive back to Bajo Caracoles seemed somehow quicker (it usually does)! This was helped by the kids settling in to watch a movie, and by the presence of a very cute armadillo who walked alongside our vehicle for a good 5 minutes (they are virtually blind and deaf so a 3.5 ton camper van did not manage to scare it away)! Having never seen one in the wild before, we were all thrilled with this experience.
After a leisurely breakfast and fill-up at the one-pump gas station, we headed back on the Ruta 40 northbound. After the excitement of the previous day, we anticipated a very uneventful few hours on the road. In a very good way, we were proved quite wrong!
Our first wildlife spot occurred not far from the turn-off to Bajo Caracoles. Yet again armadillo was on the menu (excuse the pun). This little fellow hung around for less time but was declared no less cute than the creature we had seen the previous day by our kids. Next up were guanacos (something that can be described as a cross between a llama and a deer), dozens of them on either side, and even right in the middle of the the road. Next we turned to the skies as flamingos and condors graced our cabin view. Farm animals reared their heads after this, with sheep, cows and horses all eager to wish us well. A grey fox was later spotted crossing the road stealthily, before numerous butterflies graced us with their presence. All this in just 2 hours of wilderness driving left kids and adults delighted for the rest of the day.
Our destination had been the town of Perito Moreno, where we arrived in the early afternoon. After eating in the camper van, we strolled the town, which turned out to be less-touristy and more locals-centered. We settled our sweet-toothed cravings in an ice-cream parlour, which had happy looking natives exiting in their droves. As usual this type of theory worked a charm, as we left bearing the very same satisfied grins.
Our wildlife extravaganza was complete soon after we found a small park for another football kick-around (yes we do that quite a lot)! This time, it was the role of three tiny puppies to leave us all oohing and aahing. I really thought Olivia would try and pocket one of them behind our backs as we left, but thankfully her honest nature overcame her hearts hankering.
I honestly had not expected a lot from our trip to Bajo Caracoles, Cuevas de los Manos and the drives either side of them. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the days were so enjoyable. The art and canyon were fantastic to see, and the plethora of such varied wildlife during the drives was amazing to see.
Maybe this is metaphor for life; the less we expect, the more we get. Or maybe it was just good timing and a keen eye. I will let you decide for yourself.
Click here to read the “Christmas On The Road (Part 1 of 2)” blog post
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