Esquel is a small Patagonia town popular with Argentine vacationers located at the foothills of the Andes mountains. We stopped here to recharge after many weekends of hiking.
Best Thing I Ate This Week
Trucha at La Luna Restaurante
Trucha (trout) is the most popular fish served throughout Patagonia. It was brought to the region in the 1900s and thrived in the clear cold waters that contained abundant food. Today it can be found beside lamb on most menus of traditional restaurants throughout Patagonia.
La Luna Restaurante was recommended to us as a great neighborhood restaurant serving up regional specialties in a comfortable setting. This turned out to be true with great sports memorabilia and fun beverage decorations throughout the interior. They also had TVs displaying futbol games and many families enjoying comfort meals for dinner.
It was the perfect place to try trucha served with butter, herbs, and a side of grilled vegetables. The taste reminded me of grilled salmon, a favorite dish of mine to cook back home. I left satisfied and wanting to return to watch the next big match there over some craft beers.
An Interesting Fact I Learned
Alerce trees are 1000s of years old, making them some of the oldest in the world
Alerce Andino National Park in Chile and Los Alerces National Park in Argentina contain alerce trees that have been alive for 1000s of years. They only grow about 1 millimeter a year, but have been measured to be up to 60 meters tall. One researcher from Chile is currently in the process of validating a tree that he estimates to be nearly 5,000 years old which would be the oldest known tree in the world. While we did not visit this tree named Lanilawal, we did have the opportunity to visit Alerzal Milenario in Argentina which has an approximate age of 2,600 years.
Los Alerces are heavily protected, and our visit required us to go on a guided tour that only travels to the exclusive sector within the Los Alerces National Park once a day. We were required to pass through a cleaning agent with our shoes to avoid bringing containments with us into the area. While there, we were restricted from hiking alone, and we were prohibited to enter the secluded lakes because they still contained only native species. However, we were encouraged to hug the younger Alerces which are said to provide good energy and one day may grow to be gigantic long after we are gone.
My Travel Tip of the Week
Don’t be too upset if your travel activities are canceled
One of the top tourist activities in Esquel is to take a ride on La Trochita, a narrow gauge railway using steam locomotives. The journey is known as the Viejo Expreso Patagonico (Old Patagonian Express) and goes to a Mapuche community called Nahuel Pan about 18km away.
The first train arrived at Esquel in the 1940s, and you feel transported back in time when seeing the steam train parked at the station. The journey leaves the Andean foothills and passes out to the expansive Patagonian steppe. Along the way, people line up to wave at you on the journey, and local Mapuche musicians stop by your car to teach more about their history.
However, given the age of the train, it is possible that it can break down. This happened on our journey, preventing us from being able to go to Nahuel Pan. It was a big disappointment, but rather than be too upset or ruin the day, we thought of alternative plans. We instead went to an outpost of a famous local craft brewery called Cerveceria Blest and had a delicious dinner at popular local restaurant Don Chiquino which turned the day around.
My Additional Anecdote This Week
Take time to recover and relax while traveling
While traveling there is so much to do, see, and learn. It can be tempting to want to fill up every day and do every activity. This can lead to an immense exhaustion mentally but also physically depending on the activities. We spent a month in the rugged outdoors of southern Patagonia, taking advantage of the long summer days to do as much hiking and outdoor activities as possible. Our bodies were exhausted, and Esquel was the perfect location to slow things down.
While in the charming mountain town, we designated specific days not to do any activities which allowed us to truly relax. We also found gyms in town where we could go for recovery activities to help our sore bodies. An added bonus of this approach was that we were able to better appreciate everyday life in Esquel. At the end of our stay, we felt recharged and excited for the next part of our journey in Northern Patagonia.
