Las Lajas is right at the foot of the mountains that divide the dry precordillera and the far northern stretches of the lake district. We had a long slow climb in the morning but we could see that the mountains ahead were fringed with pine trees and this indicated the start of the lake district, a long-anticipated section of the journey that meant water, lakes and rivers, cooler temperatures at night, and the colour green. As we got higher we realised that the trees on the mountain sides were actually Pehuen (Monkey Puzzle) trees! For the rest of the day we would be cycling through forests of them, as the scenery became more typically alpine, and the smell of pine was almost artificial it was so strong. We stopped for a cold drink at Piño Hachado, essentially a small hut before the road either continues west and crosses into Chile, or banks south into the Argentine lake district proper. Keith Floyd appeared to live and work there, or at least the dead spit of him. He was even pissed at 2 in the afternoon. We climbed higher for another couple of hours until we crested a ridge and saw a beautiful sight, valley after valley of green, each with it's own river, and towering over all of it was the snow-capped Volcan Lanin. We descended into the valley thick with Pehuen forests, looking for a spot by the river to camp. When we were set up I christened the water by stripping off and running in - a sight that will scar the wildlife for generations to come.
We also quietly passed the 2000km milestone today.
The next morning we followed the river until it poured into Lago Aluminé, a beautiful lake that reminded us of Como due to steep forested sides plunging into endless bays with wide sandy beaches. The lake itself is surrounded by snowy mountains, creating the perfect backdrop for a glass of beer and some trout and venison sandwiches (not mixed together). The campsite was rammed and we thought that this was the beginning of the overcrowded nightmare described by the Swiss in Chos Malal. We picked the last remaining spot, surrounded by families with lots of children and just as many guitars, and unpacked the earplugs. The Argentines are teaching us however to be much less cynical. We fired up the parilla again after a visit to the butchers, and whilst we were eating, some of the families brought us freshly made bread, jugs of Gancia (like Vermouth ... drunk with ice by the litre) and even invited us to eat with them the following night. Even the music and singing turned out to be amazing. Shame on us.
The next day we ate a breakfast of more home made bread, this time from a family that we hadn't even really chatted with that much! We then spent the day at the beach, sunbathing and swimming in the lake with the young couple of Argentinos in the tent next to us, a circus performer and his psychologist girlfriend called Vik and Belén. Our Spanish is progressing but our vocab didn't yet stretch to 'human cannonball' and 'cognitive disorders'. Being a creative performer-type, Vik has a few tattoos, the best of which are a set of wings accross his back; This helped to raise in conversation Catherine's new 'Ben 10' tattoo that came free with a litre of chocolate milk. She stuck it on her foot thinking it would be temporary, but it continues to be a conversation opener with 9 year-olds 2 weeks later. We decided to be sociable so we organised a bigger asado for the surrounding tents, all Argentine apart from a couple of really nice Polish honeymooners. It went really well (with Vik overseeing the meat), and we had more live music accompanied by Argentine, Chilean and even Polish folk singing until the small hours round the fire. All very romantic and idyllic.
Whilst drunk, we had managed to convince the Polish couple to drive us up a volcano in their 4x4 the next day, and we reminded them very early in the morning. From the top of Batea Mahuida you can see another 8 volcanoes in both Argentina and Chile, and the snow-fringed caldera even has it's own lake to swim in. We didn't because it's about 1 degree above freezing, but it was nice to look at. At the lake we met a holidaying family of lawyers from Buenos Aires who were very pleasant but were also the first to ask us about the war. Not as awkward as it could have been, but difficult to discuss without much understanding of the politics involved at the time. They generously said that their government was foolish to have invaded in the first place, so we left it at that. That evening, after another large communal meal, we had to say goodbye to everyone which was a bit sad. It was also my breakthrough in terms of kissing strange men comfortably.
Day 23: Chos Malal to Las Lajas - 158km
Day 24: Las Lajas to Pehuen Forest - 78km
Day 25: Pehuen Forest to Villa Pehuenia - 25km
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