Returning home after six months on the road, walking almost every day in the mountains, was something I needed. The distance made me miss my family and I also wanted to spend my 30th birthday together. I enjoyed our reunion, where we caught up with everyone until it was time to start a new walk. That stop of more than a month at home did me a lot of good on an emotional level, but on a physical level not so much because I had some very sedentary days. This was a habit that I had to put aside little by little if I wanted to take myself to walk around all those beautiful places .

Our 21-day trip in the motorhome had scheduled several treks in the different cities where we would stop. The most difficult and awaited by all was the one we would do in the city of Bariloche, walking 15 km up the mountain through the snow until we reached the Frey Refuge. That is a hike that I had done in the summer without problems, but at that time my hiking pace in the mountains was very good. After the month still at home I felt very heavy, so I had to do small progressive hikes until I regained my good condition .

While we were in the city of Villa La Angostura in Neuquén, one of the scheduled hikes was to the Arrayanes Forest. This is a 12 km trail on a terrain that has some inclines, but almost 75% of the trail is flat. You can get to the forest by boat, or some people combine going by boat and coming back by trekking or vice versa, but our plan was to walk there and back. This long hike was just what I needed to test my endurance again .

We started our hike around 9 AM, because we knew it would take us about three hours to get to the forest. That morning it looked like good weather was not going to be with us because it was freezing and foggy, but we went anyway because that's winter. I had done this hike coming back from the forest a year ago in the fall, but it was great to see the trail again adorned with some snow ❤️.

I must say that at the beginning it took me a while to get back into the rhythm, especially on the long climbs. I felt a bit out of breath, and at that point I regretted everything I ate and drank while I was back home, I was laughing inside. It was also quite an adventure to do a long hike in winter because I overdressed and couldn't maintain a constant body temperature without sweating or freezing. But despite all those inconveniences, I arrived safe and sound to the Bosque de Arrayanes .

Why is this place so interesting for tourists? Well, because it is the forest that contains the largest number of Arrayanes trees in the region. This part of the park is a walk through wooden paths where you can stroll among the cold orange trees. This area also has a small grocery store and restrooms, enough to spend the day. In my visit in 2023 I already wrote in detail about this place, so I invite you to read this post. This time I didn't take many pictures of the forest, I just used my time to sit for a while to catch my breath and eat my humble lunch .

My final conclusion on this whole situation is that fitness takes months, but can be lost in just a few weeks of inactivity. Luckily, as we had also planned the hike back that day, I had time to move my legs a bit and warm up, getting ready for the day we would go up to the refuge in Bariloche. I enjoyed going to the forest again, it's always a picturesque place to visit, and if I can get the benefit of physical activity along the way, all the better ❣️.

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We were barely a week into our road trip through southern Argentina but it felt like we had been together a lot longer. When we started it, we were 14 strangers but after a few days, we were all friends. The good mood you get from being on the road is contagious, so it was impossible to have a bad time in that context. Every time we had to move from place to place, it was all a commotion, because of the fact that we were going to discover what we could do in the new city. Our third stop was scheduled in Villa La Angostura, one of the most beautiful cities in the province of Neuquén, and as expected, we also had some beautiful days getting to know the surroundings ❤️.

That time, our motorhome had to park in front of a square, only two blocks away from the main avenue. This location was very convenient because we were close to the center and to a gas station, which was what we were always looking for to use the public showers and restrooms. The city of Villa La Angostura has a very beautiful aesthetic of wooden buildings and everything decorated with roses that in its peak season, fill the landscape with colors. If I would have to highlight something negative is that most things are expensive in this area because of how touristy it is, but even so it does not stop being crowded all the time

After a week of travel, we needed to get a laundry room to get our clothes back in condition. We took advantage of the morning to go in search of one, and on our way back we used our free time to go for a short walk. In Villa La Angostura there are many things to do and several of them are close by, so if you like to be on foot you can visit a few of them. There are also different trekkings available, as well as public transportation to move around, so it's impossible to get bored here .

On our morning walk we decided to go to the area of the bays, 2 km away from where our motorhome was parked. This is one of the most touristy and beautiful areas close to the center, so there are always a lot of people coming and going. This place has the particularity of being a small strait between two beautiful bays, so there are two different beaches to spend the day, separated only by about 100 meters. In the area you can also find the entrance to Los Arrayanes National Park, as well as restaurants, public restrooms, kayak rentals and nautical tour services ❣️.

Regarding the bays, the traditional tour is to visit both bays and if it is within your means, to sail in one of them. In July 2024 the nautical tours cost 40,000 ARS ($30 approx), so we decided to visit them on foot. These two bays are called Bahia Mansa and Bahia Brava, very peculiar names as they are two opposite adjectives (Mansa refers to calm and Brava to rowdy). The first one we visited is Bahia Mansa, which offers a long pier to go for a walk and sit and contemplate the scenery ❤️.

That bay is my favorite, so we spent more time there. Then, we took a look at Brava Bay: just by crossing the street, you could already be on the neighboring beach. There are also boat trips from here, although the pier is not open to the public like the one at Bahía Mansa. However, sitting on the shore to spend the day in this beautiful landscape is also a good plan. What I like about this beach is that the water is crystal clear along much of the shore and gradually turns into a deep blue color ✨.

By the time we finished our walk at the end of the day, it was time to pick up our clean clothes. Visiting the area of the bays in Villa La Angostura is a good option for a close walk to get a glimpse of all the beautiful things the village has to offer. This is just a little bit of the incredible scenery that southern Argentina has to offer, so whenever I have the opportunity to return, I fly. You could never get tired of seeing landscapes as perfect as these ❤️.

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Whenever I have to write a new post for my #travelgoal section I get very excited to see how close I am to finally finish it. My country is very, very large but I think that now that I'm close to the end, visiting all the provinces of Argentina seems to be not so difficult (if you have the time and money to do it, of course). This goal started for me when I was 17 years old since I made my first trip, and since I started writing on this Hive blog, I was able to move much faster on my bucket list goals. This time, I was able to visit province #19 for me, one that I really wanted to visit because people said it was beautiful, and luckily I was able to go and see for myself that this is indeed the case: it is the province of Catamarca, in the northwest region of Argentina .

Visiting the province of Catamarca can be quite a challenge if you don't have your own vehicle. Although this province is said to be beautiful, its tourism is not as well developed as in other places, so there are many beautiful places that cannot be reached by public transport. As my travel goals are rather humble, I was content with just visiting the provincial capital, which I could reach by long-distance bus without any problems. Although I had read that all the beautiful landscapes were in the interior of the province, visiting the capital city didn't seem so bad either ._{Location of San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, 1100 km from the city of Buenos Aires.
Ubicación de San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, a 1100 km de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires.}

As I had enough time to do so, I arranged a work-for-housing exchange here. There are not many hostels in this place that work in this way, but I just got one that did and had room for me on the dates I wanted. Getting to know this new province had already excited me from the day I knew I was going, but I didn't plan my itinerary so much because I wanted to see what I would find. When I finally arrived, the first thing that surprised me was to see mountains near the city, something I thought would not be possible, so that put me in a good mood .

In total, I stayed for three weeks exchanging work for accommodation in that hostel and in that time I was able to travel a lot, even more than I wanted to. The location was very good for me who travels without a car, because it was in the city centre, very close to all the shops and the main square, so several times I went for a walk in those surroundings. The capital of this province is called San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca and for being not very popular for tourists, it is very beautiful. Its main attraction is the Cathedral Basilica of the Virgin of the Valley, one that steals all eyes with its colour .

This is a typical cathedral full of architectural details and beautiful details. You can enter freely and walk through its corridors, always with the respect due to a place of worship. The whole history of this city revolves around the appearance of a wooden virgin 400 years ago in the valley area of this province, which later led to the construction of this beautiful basilica. This province is quite religious and there are many churches around it, so its tourism revolves around that, at least in this area. It is also possible to find many museums of the virgin, merchandising, holy water and everything related to the catholic religion .

I am not a great devotee of religion, but I love to see how beautiful these cathedrals are. A lot of people were going to visit this place and the main square. In the surroundings of the church it is possible to find other squares, a shopping promenade, restaurants, bars, markets and everything you need for life in the city. For my convenience, there was also some public transport that took you to various beautiful places near the city, so I could do a bit more than just stand around admiring the cathedral .

I fondly remember my trip to San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca. This trip lasted a total of three weeks and I made it in August of this year. This is the 10th province I have visited thanks to my Hive blog and I couldn't be happier to have made it. I loved visiting this place, meeting its people, visiting its landscapes and wandering through its streets. Fortunately, once again I was able to take another step in my travel goal, which is slowly coming to an end. We will see how long it will be until the next province, but in the meantime, I am grateful for my trip to the last new one I visited .

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