San Rafael

Google maps had told me the journey would take about 3 hours so we set off on Friday morning early to try and get a head start on the blazing midday sun. We had booked 3 nights in Hotel Nitra in Valle Grande and we were looking forward to being alone for the first time since July last year. The sneaky sun was on to my plan and woke up early too to burn my arm and face through the window for the first hour or so until we changed direction. The Dakar Rally ensured that the road to San Rafael was busy in the opposite direction which wasn't a problem until the motorway stopped and the carriageways joined to make an overtaking nightmare.

The problem is here that there are many old trucks and cars on the road which lost their power a long time ago and these gutless snails get in the way of everyone else on the road which meant for me I had the feeling I was driving the wrong way on a dual carriageway because the spectators from the rally were doing their on racing and spending sometimes a heart stopping amount of time on my side of the road and I had my own overtaking problems to deal with as well. After a while the flow of traffic reduced and the drive was becoming a little easier, then once the towns had been passed and the trees that hug the outskirts slowly faded away we were faced with long straight roads on a flat landscape containing absolutely nothing except a few hardy shrubs and tumble weed.

For what seemed like hours we drove and drove in a straight line and then out of nowhere came a few curves and then trees started to appear, before long we were approaching a police check point that indicates you are entering another town. Finally we were back in the land of the living and it was comforting to be among other people again. 30 minutes later and we drove into the valley and were confronted with the rows of cabins and adventure adverts that lined the road.



Our hotel was adjacent to the river which was wide and fast flowing. We checked in and dumped the bags in the room and went to sit in the garden. There was a large pool with plenty of seating and sun beds, there was a poolside bar and we were starving so we ordered a couple of hamburgers and some drinks. The room was small and had an en-suite bathroom and digital tv but we wasn't to concerned because we planned to be outside most of the time. In the evening we explored up and down the valley stopping at a bar for mojito´s and then settled for a restaurant selling BBQ . The setting was quaint next to a pond with huge tables but it was the food we was interested in and it didn't disappoint.

Saturday we were up and down the river exploring when we came across a dam. We stopped to take a few photos and I noticed that the top of the dam had traffic lights so without delay we set off to find the way up there. The windy road took us through two short tunnels and then out on top of the dam wall. To one side we could see over the valley and straight down the almost vertical wall (James Bond would love to bungee down this one). To the other side as expected there was a huge lake with high rock boundaries and oddly a small beach across the other side.




In the evening we had dinner at a Restaurant at the top end of the river, we sat on the veranda and ate with the sound of millions of litres of water gushing past us.

Sunday morning we got up and drove to a place called el nihuill which is a man made lake with a dam. On the way there we stopped for fuel at a petrol station and as we approached Florencia said "your gonna love it in there" and behold my favourite creature the wasp and his angry friends were swarming all over the place. I am a self confessed big girl´s blouse when it comes to wasps, my friends will have great pleasure confirming that on several occasions I have been seen running around in a flap with my arms waving about when one is around me. Needless to say I made Florencia get out and do the deal and buy some refreshments while I stayed inside the car with the windows done up.

We then preceded with our journey and found a road which reminded me of the game ´Outrun´ before we eventually found the dammed lake we were looking for.

Disappointed with the time it took us to find and then get bored with the place we got back in the car and drove through the canyon for the journey back. The road was mostly gravel and we was told it would take about two and a half hours. Two and a half hours of dusty bumpy dirt and gravel track should have been the signal not to go down this road but to see the best of the canyon you need to persevere. My ass hurt and Florencia has a stiff neck now but we did see some amazing lakes and rock formations. woohoo.



I had never been so glad to see the water sport touts because that meant we was close to the action which also meant close to the hotel. A siesta was needed and after we had a beer by the river and watched the water go by until it was dark and time for bed but before we left we saw a fire flies glowing up above us as we looked at the countless stars in the sky.

Monday morning we left the hotel in search for our final and hopefully better destination ´Los Reyunos´ we past the wasps and drove for another hour and found "oh god another hydro electric power plant" complete with dam and lake. The only restaurant was not open and within 20 minutes we were wondering what to do now. We had a long journey home ahead so we got on with it. We had an excellent time and now we were all  exhausted.