San Martin de Los Andes, Argentina - Day 3
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Our morning started in the town of San Martin de Los Andes. Andi might be addicted to the coffee and pastries at Unser Traum — we visited the bakery for the second day in a row. Our waitress was super friendly; she didn’t speak any English, but she was so patient with me as I did my best to order in Spanish.
Tory and Aden requested the same chocolate-dipped alfajores cookies they had yesterday at this bakery + hot chocolate and muffins for breakfast. Andi ordered avocado toast for his breakfast and I enjoyed hot tea. We peacefully sat by the big picture window and soaked up all the action happening around us during our breakfast.
Next, we hopped in the car and drove two hours north to Lanin National Park. The drive in and of itself was interesting as we passed through smaller towns like Junin de Los Andes. It’s always neat to get off the beaten path and see where real people live and work.
Entrance into Lanin National Park cost us $10,000 Argentine Pesos which seemed like an astronomical amount to Andi and I. $50 for four people, or half that ($25) using the Blue Dollar exchange. We still haven’t wrapped our brains around the dollars/pesos money conversion yet. If all the proceeds go to support the park, it’s worth it; just seemed high priced compared to the cost of everything else around here.
At the entrance of the park, Andi attempted to fly his drone. The winds were so strong today that the drone lost signal. Quickly, we drove the car downwind so the drone didn’t have to fly against the wind to make it back to us. I thought for sure it was a goner, but Andi saved it.
While packing for this trip, Andi went back and forth about bringing his drone. Half his backpack is camera/drone equipment which means less clothing and other personal items but I’m glad he brought it because the footage it is capturing here is epic. Such a different perspective than we’d otherwise see from our point of view on land.
Lanin National Park is one of Argentina’s largest national parks with 24 glacial lakes and Volcano Lanin located within its territory. We only scratched the surface in seeing all its beauty. There were lots of private campgrounds within the park offering hot showers and bathrooms. Since we also spend time camping in the USA, it was neat to see how Argentines vacation doing the same. There were also cabins for rent, and lots of sheep free-roaming around the forests and roadways.
Our airbnb owner told us about a spot in the park where we could cross Lake Paimun by boat. She said all we’d need to do is ring the bell and a man in a boat would come across from the other side to take us over. Tory wasn’t having any part of it. “What if we get across, but can’t get back to the other side again? What if doesn’t hear us and we’re stuck there?” It was too windy and cold today to take a boat across anyway. The weather was cloudy with temperatures in the mid-50’s, so not an ideal day for recreation on the water.
The beautiful Chapel of María Auxiliadora del Paimún is located here which was originally built by the Jesuits. It was also the first National Gendarmerie Chapel (or military) church in Argentina. I couldn’t get enough of this view; the chapel was absolutely stunning against the moody backdrop of the Andes Mountains. Andi flew his drone and took some breathtaking pictures and video.
We brought the makings for a picnic lunch and considered eating down by the water, but it was way too windy and cold. Instead, Andi and I decided we’d keep driving around the lake until we found a spot protected by the wind. There had to be somewhere! The wind in Patagonia is relentless.
Around the bend, we spotted the arc of a black sand beach that looked to be sheltered from the weather. The beach was located in a campground, so we paid $2,000 Argentine pesos ($10 US/or $5 on the Blue Dollar) to use the facilities for the day. There was a bath house with toilets (though Andi and Tory both said they were some of the dirtiest they’d ever seen), picnic tables, and a restaurant. We found an unoccupied campsite and set up our picnic on the table.
We didn’t swim, obviously, but the kids were really surprised the water was warm to the touch. Aden entertained himself by bouncing up and down on a wooden plank balanced precariously over the water. The end of the board was buried in the sand held down by a big rock. Seemed secure, right? Yikes. There was a high probability he was going to end up in the lake, but somehow managed to avoid it.
Andi and I set out a variety of prosciutto, salami, cheese, olives, and crackers on the table. We ate lunch, and then walked around the black sand beach and through the campground to check it out.
I was enamored by this tree! They were everywhere in Lanin National Park which works to protect them. The actual name is the Araucaria tree (nicknamed the monkey puzzle tree, or the Chilean pine). They are an evergreen native to central and southern Chile, and western Argentina. The tree has long pine branches (similar to a monkey’s tail) and circular-shaped pine cones. One of the trees looked like it had orange-colored pine bows on it. So neat!
We also saw a few resident llamas milling about the campground. I’m pretty sure they were domesticated, but they were still fun to see up close.
Next, we made our way to Volcano Lanin. Apparently, the snow-capped cone volcano is an impressive sight but we were robbed of its view today. At just over 12,000 feet, Volcano Lanin is one of the highest peaks in Patagonia.
From there, we made our way back to the entrance of Lanin National Park, and started our two-hour drive back to San Martin de Los Andes. What a cool adventure we had today! It felt good to get outside into nature again.
None of us felt like enduring a three-hour late night dinner, so Andi offered to stop by the grocery store and pick up some food to cook at home. He and Tory walked out of the store with brats, noodles, carrots, canned pears and new pillows. I had to laugh! Seriously though, the pillows are so terrible at this airbnb that Andi and I have both been sleeping terribly. For $6,000 pesos each, Andi said it was worth the splurge.
I wasn’t very hungry for dinner, so Andi, Tory and Aden ate while I caught up on some blogging. Dinner looks a little different when Dad is charge! He put Tory and Aden on clean up duty. They washed and dried all the dishes, wiped off the table, and put away leftovers in exchange for $1,000 pesos each. Andi said the kids gobbled down dinner — it was finally food they liked!
Tomorrow is a work day for Andi, and a bigger school day for the kids. It’s also our last day in San Martin de Los Andes, so I’m hoping the wind dies down enough for us to enjoy the beautiful Lacar Lake.
