Lago Puelo National Park
It was time for another day trip from El聽Bols贸n. This time to a small national park called Lago Puelo National Park
This park had a few walking trails, and was on a lake – and we figured we could handle a few more vistas of lakes and snowy mountains….it was also a simple 45 minute bus ride from El Bols贸n – so nice and easy to visit.
The bus took us right into the park, which is the last stop, and we were pleased to see that it sailed straight past the entrance station where the national park entrance fee is supposed to be paid. The entrance station looked like it was being re-constructed, and the entire place was totally deserted. Like a lot of places in Patagonia, it seemed that nobody was interested in what happens outside of the tourist season, which starts pretty much after Christmas.
On the plus side, this means that entrance-fee stations (for the less-famous attractions) are often closed, places are very quiet, and prices not too extreme. But on the downside, often there is no public transport and nowhere to buy any food as it’s all closed. In this case, Lago Puelo is also a town around 3km away from the park, so buses were running.
Even though we were now seeing beautful lakes and snow-capped mountains every day, we still enjoyed our walks in the park. One day soon we won’t be seeing lakes and snow-capped mountains every day…. so here’s some more pictures of lakes and snow-capped mountains – I’m sure you’re not bored of these yet are you?
Whenever we visit a park, we bring a packed-lunch – because of course there is nowhere to get any food. We usually bring more than ‘lunch’, as we always get hungry outside of official dining hours. Aside from our sandwiches, standard food equipment is 2 bananas, a packet of crisps, and packet of biscuits.
We always want to eat lunch in a scenic area. The area should also have a stone or log to sit on, as we are getting old, and sitting too long on the ground is hard for us (except if it’s a nice grassy lawn – somehow that’s OK). We can take up to an hour to find a spot that is deemed ‘good’ or ‘great’ for lunch. Sometimes we have to make do with ‘OK’, and occassionally ‘crap’ – if we can’t find somewhere better before we get too hungry.
In this park, we had found a spot classified as ‘great’ – with a log to sit on, and a nice view of the lake. The park had become busier since we arrived, and there were around ten people sitting at various points around the beach area next to the lake.
As we were enjoying our lunch, imagine our surprise when along came a lady carrying a basket. What was in the basket? Churros! YES – not just churros, but churros filled with dulce de leche. The ‘great’ lunch place just got even better – we get dessert with lunch! We bought six of them, and ate them all (because they would just get squashed in the bag if we saved any, so no point in saving them for later right? 馃槈 )
After having had churros for lunch, we were very excitable, and so took lots of pictures of Black-faced Ibises..
Soon it was time to leave the park and catch the bus back to El Bols贸n. Even the bus stop was in a scenic area (but no churros available)
