Set off after eating lots of tasty pastries purchased the day before. Great weather today with less wind. We set off along 'Ruta de los Siete Lagos' which turned out to justify its billing as one of the most scenic roads in South America. San Martin has an impressive lake with a steep tree covered rocky shoreline and sandy beach exposed to the wind! The road out was steep but quite dramatic with rocky cliffs and long distance views down Lago Lacar. The climbing continued for almost 18km through a countryside reminiscent of Snowdonia. We realized we must be getting fitter when we overtook a group of mountain bikers out for the day...it was case of the tortoise and the hare! We stopped at Lago Hermosa for a drink in a roadside café which sold ice cold bebidas and sat outside under the shade of an umbrella. When we set off I managed to clip into my pedals and forget to pedal forward (as you do) and did a stationary crash onto my right side! Amazingly the panniers acted like giant air bags so that no part of my body actually touched the ground…which was quite a nice surprise! Only my pride was wounded! Less than an hour later we arrived at the Lago Falkner campsite which boasted Helados (ice creams) and showers. It was an idyllic setting between lakeside trees with views down the lake. When we went for a shower in the outdoor wooden cubicles they were padlocked. Had a walk down the road to the site of a hosteria (which, was either being demolished or rebuilt) to find some impressive views across an adjacent lake called Lagos Villarino. The scenery was beautiful. On our way back we noticed the showers had been unlocked and there was a huge queue of people standing with giant bath towels and heavy bags of toiletries. We made dinner on out little stove and watched the early evening ritual of firewood collecting commence. Children collected dry grass and twiglets whilst the Dads staggered around with huge bundles of logs and branches held close to their chests….leaving a trail of dropped twigs which another families children would then collect. At the end of the summer the ground for 1km radius around campsites must be totally denuded of deadwood, woody shrubs and the lower branches of trees! Another day of beautiful weather and scenery but noticeably cooler with a clear night with loads of stars, (unfarmiliar constellations and an upside down Orion!). Hope the weather continues.
