On the road again

 After surviving what probably was the most dangerous bit of our travels, we had to spend a couple of weeks in El Bolsón.

The pros: seeing my family, eating 4 meals a day again, and having some time to relax.

The cons: dozens of frustrating calls to Visa international, Suncorp bank, Western Union and DHL. I swear those people get training on being annoying.

I won't bore you with more details of that phase, but I'll say that after what seemed like ages, on a rainy day, we got an emergency card on the mail, which meant we could keep on traveling.

We had another last minute packing, another emotional goodbye, and another lift to the road with my dad.

It was a beautiful sunny day, and after a short while we got a lift by one of those vehicles that you're not supposed to hitch to: a fuel tank.

Beautiful lift.

It was a fun ride, with me hiding behind a courtain not to be seen by the driver's colleagues (since it's illegal for them to pick up hitchhikers), and loads of conversation.

We got out of the truck at the crossroads to Villa La Angostura, a few kilometres north of Bariloche, and a nice lady and her niece picked us up because "we looked so sweet" (we actually did look very sweet, according to me).

Villa La Angostura is a lovely, lovely town. We were lucky enough to get there for the regional festival, called La fiesta de los jardines (the gardens' party).

In all of Argentina, regional festivals are a huge thing. Around the area where I grew up alone, there are at least 5. They always happen in summer, and they are traditionally the place where teenagers go to try and hook up with other teenagers (especially if they come from a different region).

Yes, small town life is very boring.

The previous week I had taken Chey to see La fiesta del lúpulo (party of the hops) in my hometown, and I'm sad to say that it's the most crappy one in the region. Maybe also in the country. Maybe also in the world.

The stage at La fiessta del Lúpulo in El Bolsón.
Around: few people and tons of garbage.

I'm sorry to say the music was dreadful too.

They have an amusement park that would never make it in any country that
cares about safety. Here: the 5D simulator. One can only wonder.

More of the sad amusement park (I have to confess that Chey and I took this
pictures while laughing like the evil hyenas we are.)

More: the little horror house.

Villa La Angostura, instead, puts a lot of effort into their festival. During the whole year, the inhabitants of VLA take great care of their gardens, and a couple of weeks before the festival, a group of judges go around town and choose the most beautiful one.

At the festival they also have a food court, crafts stalls, and folklore dancing and performing.

Typical Argentinian "asado" that we don't eat but can still
appreciate for its picturesque tradition.

Brilliant musicians on stage.

Folklore dancing.

We had heaps of fun going around the festival grounds before going for dinner at a cute restaurant.

After that, it was back to our cozy tent, just happy of being on the road again and ready for more adventures.