Enjoy summer in El Bolsón

      If you are looking for adventure holidays you can try El Bolsón. This small town counts with a lot of attractions where tourists and local people can go to enjoy the landscape and the natural surroundings.
     One of the places you can visit is the Piltriquitron shelter which is very comfortable and offers all you may need in the mountain, like accomodation, snacks, beberages, a warm  place to stay.
     You can also try cycling. In the tourism office you can be informed about the circuits. You can go and ask for information about tracks in the mountain or on the plain, where you can enjoy the way itself and nature arround.
     With all these activities, you can enjoy a great summer in El Bolsón full of entertainment  and nature, a beautiful place to admire the landscape, the views, the vegetation.

Inés Azcona

La Playita:

''La Playita'' is a place inLagoPuelo, 20 minutes from El Bolson by car and 5 minutes from de village of Lago Puelo. This is a lovely beach where people spend their afternoons refreshing themselves in the quiet warm waters with their families.

From La Playita a trekking path  can be accessed  that takes you to a view point, el Mirador, from there the trail can be continued up to “el Desemboque”, going round the mountain. I recommend it because of the beauty of the landscape and the forest.

However not everything is as nice as it seems. Throughout the years this place has been being polluted and ruined because of the people carelessness. This lack of concern the environment will eventually produce the disintegration and destruction of this gorgeous place.

Long time ago the water was clear, natural and without any contamination, but due to the careless water circulation design in the Park, some wastewater drains into it apart fromtanines form nearby Pitras, a local tree. This causes the water to be lice invaded. This insects bite people and in some cases cause disease.

This is due to poor institutional organization that fails to inforce good behaviour in visitors, provide enough information about these outstanding places and how to take care of it. People not always aware about the disaster caused by garbage and so they are destroying more and more. I hope this changes soon, so to have a better place for all, to keep it clean and as natural as it was originally, preserving "La Playita" for future generations.

NEHUEN BEDETTI. 

The good things and bad things in El Bolson:

El Bolson is a touristic centre, thousands of people choose it as their destination for vacationing because of it a natural and fascinating landscape, or just because they’re looking for a peaceful place to rest.

El Bolson’s main income comes from the activities that visitors do, such as paraglidingat at the piltriquitron hill jumping from about 1200 amsl into the valley to meet the unique feeling of flying a see the beauty of the nature from avove, rafting at the Manso River which crosses the Andes by the passage of Leon an the Azul River with the right balance between emotion and safety, trekking over the big variety of muntains and hills located around the city, sailing on the Puelo Lake or Epuyen Lake with many types of diferents ships, buy souvenirs in the local fair located on the city centre on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and sometimes on Sundays.

El Bolson is the perfect place for the kind of tourist that is looking for adventurous activities!

On the other hand, some of these excursions are not always accessible to everyone due to the fact that the roads are not transitable without a 4x4 pick-up or a good vehicle.

This makes many people avoid visiting these places, which is really a pity, because they lose the opportunity of visiting a wonderful place. A clear example is the “Bosque Tallado”, a forest that was affected by fire some decades ago, and from its remains some marvelous sculptures were made!

The access to the forest is by car, but the road is too deteriorated for some cars to drive along, many people don’t know the forest because of this.

To sum up, I must say that El Bolson is a great choice if you’re looking for a natural an enjoyable place, but it’s important to remark that some improvements in the roads are needed, despite these details, the excursions are outstanding, I strongly recommend you to visit El Bolson!

NEHUEN BEDETTI.

The Magic in the Southern Hemisphere

Patagonia is a region located at the southern end of South America, territory shared by Argentina and Chile, boasting some of the most dramatic landscapes on Earth. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the mountain range to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean. To the west, it includes the territory of Valdivia through Tierra del Fuego archipelago.

The Argentine portion of Patagonia includes the provinces of Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut and Santa Cruz, as well as the eastern portion of Tierra del Fuego archipelago and the southernmost department of Buenos Aires province: Patagones.

The Chilean part of Patagonia embraces the southern provinces and regions of Valdivia, Llanquihue, Aysén and Magallanes, including the west side of Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn, and Palena Province in Los Lagos Region.

The guanaco, the cougar, the Patagonian Fox, the Patagonian Hog-nosed Skunk, and the Magellanic Tuco-tuco are the most characteristic mammals of the Patagonia.

Marine fauna include the Southern right whale, the Magellanic Penguin, the Orca and elephant seals.

Francisco Gonzalez

Punta Tombo

Punta Tombo is situated 107 km from Trelew. This natural reserve homes the largest Penguin colony of the continent. It's rich in local flora and fauna. It's very common to find  short ostriches, guanacos, maras, herons, red and grey foxes, Patagonian skunks, small and large armadillos and different kinds of birds.
The protected area of Punta Tombo is a narrow and stony fringe which penetrates approximatley 3.5 km into the sea. It's beaches are very wide and have a soft slope. This is why the penguins come here to make their nests. Towards the extreme there are seagull nests and in the vertex, cormorants, in the whole area ostreros, vapor ducks, double chinned plovers, skuas and a lengthy list of terrest animals. In september, thousands of penguins settle on the coast, especially in Punta Tombo, after a long journey in the sea.

Francisco Gonzalez.

What does live in a small city mean?

Living in El Bolsón, is different to living in a city like Buenos Aires.

El Bolson is a quiet place surrounded by mountains, that has a beautiful landscape. There are some rivers where you can practise a lot of activities like kayaking or rafting.
It doesn't have to many shops like in a city, and there are no cinemas which is a disadvantage. But what people of my age do here, are sports, trekking, and activities more related with nature.
At night you will find night clubs, pubs, and if you want you can go to the casino.
In quite a safe town regarding robberies, not like Buenos Aires or other bigger cities which is an advantage. This means that you can live relatively well of the possibilities of being robbed, all the time.
Another difference between El Bolson and Buenos Aires is the lifestile: The people from Bolson, are more friendly than the people from Buenos Aires. In the city, people are always in a hurry, always running for one place to another.
Instead, people from El Bolson are more relaxed because they live in a smaller city and they don't need to rush.

                                                      

                                                                                                      Julieta Reinaud .

Ways Of Transport.

Ways of transport

Every day we have to move througth the city to buy things that are nesssesary, visiting people, taking your children to the activities that they do. For all this public transport is nessesary, especially for thouse how find walking tiering or if you dont have a car.

Going by bus is better than walking, but you have to travel with lots of people you dont know andi t may be dangerous. If you went Shopping and carrying lots of heavy bags it´s very uncomfortable. Morever buses have time-tables so you´ll have to wait and sometimes you wont arrive on time were you need to go.

On the other hand a car is expencive to have; it needs fuel, oil, a change of tires alter some time and also other usual maintenace requirements. However it also has it´s benefits because you can use it whenever you need it, for example you may travell on your own or with people you want. If you go Shopping you can carry the bags in the boot.

While you are travelling you can listen to music, ore use the air conditioning if it´s very hot or the Heather in case it´s  too cold. Another advantage is that you can park it near the place you are going to and after this you leave it in your house to use it again whenever you need it.

In my opinión if you can afford to have a cari t will be more convinient because you will be more commfortable to move around the city and travell to some other places if you want .

Gino Rocco

Animals in danger of extinction in Patagonia 

"Huemul"

Nowadays many people come here with the expectation of seeing some awesome animals, that only be seen here in Patagonia (like "El Huemul, El Gato Andino, La Ballena Azul, El Cardenal Amarillo").

"Gato Andino"

One important thing to do here when you arrive, is to take care and try not to destroy plants, even kill insects no matter how insignificant , because those things can be the food of some other animals that could be in danger of extinction. "We don´t ask you to clean, we just ask you please not to litter" is one of the phrases that I like to repeat. The aim of this text is to make people conscious of some animals that are in danger of extinction, so if you had the oppotunity to see one of them, enjoyed, be proud of seen one of it, just take a photo and don´t try to danger the animal. 

Martín Baez

Go for it!

Many people complain about living between mountains, just because they can not see the sunrise or the horizon, but the truth is they do not know how lucky they are for living in such an amazing place.

Such is the case of El Bolson a small town between the Andes, its beautiful landscapes are only appreciated by a few, while most of the locals just ignore them. Trapped in the daily routine, they and up missing a bunch of beautiful places, that would leave them breathless.

To sum up I should say that sometimes we do not realize what we have, we do not know what we are missing of our own town, until we venture outside and star exploring. There is a hole world out there waiting for us, you just have to step outside and go for it!!!

By Franco José

Rock climbing in Piedra Parada

Piedra Parada is natural monument, located 130 km to the north of Esquel, it is known for it´s astonishing height and the curious way it contrasts with the environment, being the only rock formation noticeable in the horizon.

Historically this place has only been visited by the locals, since the tourists were not aware of it. In order to change this situation an international rock climbing contest has been organized, it will take place on the rock itself in October this year.

In general terms the competition consists in climbing the rock as fast as possible, facing 200 mt of elevation, loose rocks and a lot of sharp edges on their way to the top. Many professional climbers were attracted by the challenge and have confirmed their attendance to the event.

Anticipating a most likely wave of tourism, some local businessmen have established a good variety of stalls, rentals and even a buffet near the monument.

In conclusion this competition will get more people to visit the monument, so they can get to know such a beautiful and amazing place and even have some fun escalating the rocks, while leaving some profit to the local businessmen.

By Franco José

Climbing School in El Bolson

You all know the Comarca Andina has huge mountains with amazing landscapes with shelters to visit, and the problem is that the new generation (kids, teenagers) don’t visit them, they think that it will be too tiring, or they just don’t feel like doing it, They are missing the opportunity to visit unique places that are in the surroundings of their town. The Club Andino Piltriquitron this year founded a new “Climbing School”, runned by the sports teacher Walter Mitanovitch and Alejo Nicora, two enthusiastic instructors with many experience on this area.

Everybody from the age of 10 to 18 is invited to join one of the groups for kids or teenagers. The project is starting and they only visited some places, such as the Mount Piltriquitron, where they reached the summit, The Desemboque, the Currumahuida.  When the weather is not good classes are taken at the rock climbing indoor wall, where children and teenagers learn the basic skills to practice this sport.

So if you are interested in getting to know the beautiful places that surround your town but you can’t find someone to join you, or you feel tired, joining this group will motivate you, and you will discover that the mountain is a place where you can be completely free, and you will enjoy it with people who cherish the same.


Emilia Sirvent

Pagano Park

El Bolson is a beautiful town, but it has the potential to be even better, to improve some of its biggest attractions. One of it is “Plaza Pagano” (Pagano Park). You might be a local, a tourist or maybe you don’t even know this place, but if you are planning to visit El Bolson, you already have, or you live here, what’s happening with this park is an issue that should concern you as well. This place is been extremely mistreated by everyone. The local raft market (worth visiting) sells food besides rafts, and its residues are simply thrown to the floor around the square, and because it has a pool in the middle, all of it goes there. This is not the only way that this place gets dirty, during the week you can see all kinds of trash just floating there. Of course this pool is almost never cleaned and the garbage accumulates in it. I believe that no one throws trash in their houses living room, so why should it be done in your town? Or worse, someone else’s town. Local authorities have to take conscious of this problem and do something about it, like adding more dust bins around the park, or hiring more employers to clean the mess that is left every week, because is clear that what is done it’s not enough. But beyond the authorities, us, the locals must do something too, everything from simple actions like throwing our garbage on the dust bins, to something bigger, like organizing a cleanup were everyone can participate. Those are the ideas that I could come up with, but believe that if more people take interest in this issue we will be able to create a plan to maintain this park in excellent conditions.

Emilia Sirvent 

The best shelter is a BLUE BOX

                                         The best shelter is a BLUE BOX

In the mountains of El Bolson there are many places to visit if you want to connect with the nature in adventure’s excursions. In the mountains there are shelters.Where you can relax, sleep one night and get ready for the next day, these shelters are pretty rustic and deteriorated; some  don’t have lights, bathroom or running water. But when the night arrives the shelters are a good option to spend the night.

One of the best shelters, and of course a nice place to visit is “El Cajon del Azul”, this place is so beautiful because of landscape; it takes about 6 hours to arrive to the shelter, you have to cross 3 bridges, are very insecure in my opinion and the wood is so rotten, when you are crossing the river you have the sensation that the bridge is going to brake up. Half way down the  trail there is a place as a beach where you can relax for a moment near the river.

When you arrive to the shelter you ´ll find a nice place with all the basic services: a bathroom with shower,, electricity, food,  entertainment, and of course a second floor with beds mattresses. Nevertheless, the shelter it’s pretty cold, and of course if you haven’t got winter clothes provably you are going to have a bad night. One  thing about this shelter is that with all the services it provides it  may have lost the adventure  essence; you may feel so comfortable you won’t want to do anything t but stay in the shelter and you may lose many interesting activities.

So in a conclusion, if you want to have a relaxed day in the mountain we recommend you the shelter in El Cajon Del Azul, but if you want to relly connect with the nature, feel the adventure and have a good rough experience, we recommended you to visit the shelter in Mount Lindo one of the worst shelter in El Bolson.

The best shelter is a BLUE BOX

                                         The best shelter is a BLUE BOX

In the mountains of El Bolson there are many places to visit if you want to connect with the nature in adventure’s excursions. In the mountains there are shelters.Where you can relax, sleep one night and get ready for the next day, these shelters are pretty rustic and deteriorated; some  don’t have lights, bathroom or running water. But when the night arrives the shelters are a good option to spend the night.

One of the best shelters, and of course a nice place to visit is “El Cajon del Azul”, this place is so beautiful because of landscape; it takes about 6 hours to arrive to the shelter, you have to cross 3 bridges, are very insecure in my opinion and the wood is so rotten, when you are crossing the river you have the sensation that the bridge is going to brake up. Half way down the  trail there is a place as a beach where you can relax for a moment near the river.

When you arrive to the shelter you ´ll find a nice place with all the basic services: a bathroom with shower,, electricity, food,  entertainment, and of course a second floor with beds mattresses. Nevertheless, the shelter it’s pretty cold, and of course if you haven’t got winter clothes provably you are going to have a bad night. One  thing about this shelter is that with all the services it provides it  may have lost the adventure  essence; you may feel so comfortable you won’t want to do anything t but stay in the shelter and you may lose many interesting activities.

So in a conclusion, if you want to have a relaxed day in the mountain we recommend you the shelter in El Cajon Del Azul, but if you want to relly connect with the nature, feel the adventure and have a good rough experience, we recommended you to visit the shelter in Mount Lindo one of the worst shelter in El Bolson.

be careful bolson is on fire

                                                        Be careful bolson is on fire
The summer is approaching and here in Bolson we have serious problems on this season. We received tourists and they go camping. The most concerning is when they decide to make a bbq and they need of course fire. But the problem is that in summer the grass is dry and, most probably, a spark can start a terrible forest fire.

Every year there is a lot of forest fires in Bolson, especially in summer. But a lot of people work to prevent this catastrophes: for example the SPLIF  (Servicio Permanente de Lucha contra Incendios Forestales) made a lot of campaigns  warning the people in the city and the tourists about the risk of making fire and of course they fought forest fires with their brigades.

Forest fires start for a lot of differente reasons. Mostly because  tourists or our people burn grass and bushes to clean their farms. Still there are people who start a forest fire because of an argument with their neighbors and the best revenge for them is to set fire to the farms.

There a lot of ways to prevent these tragic events. We can have a lot more of campaigns for all the people and  tourists and may be a good idea would be to forbid making fire or burn grass and bushes in summer.
LUCAS BAUTISTA

Rio Chubut, a awesome river

Chubut River is in the south of Argentina, in the center of Patagonia. It gives its name to the province as it is the province´s main course of water.

It starts in the neighbour province of Rio Negro, near Cerro las Carreras, and after flowing into the province of Chubut, it arrives in Bahia Engaño in the Altantic Ocean, where Rawson city, the capital of the province is. Rio Chico is the main tributary of Chubut River.

It is a capital river in the steppes that flows through the entire territory of the province. The landscape it desertic with some low vegetation. Its banks protect fish and provide them with food. It has an average flow of four cubic meters in winter, snow and rains increase the flow up to thirty cubic meters.

Chubut River has a extension the of 867 km. It’s the largest river in the province. In El Maitén, a desert town, close to it, the main attraction is fly-casting and spinning.

The fish found are:

-Rainbow trouts;

-Brown trouts;

-Perch.

In the last section of this river there is the dam Florentino Ameghino, a hydroelectric power station, 140 km to the west of Trelew city.

The size of the dam is: wall, 25 km long. Tunnel, 300 m.

This damn holds the waters of Chubut River that come from the Andes icecaps. The dam has two engines of the 30 mw each. It also protects the habitants of the lower valleys from frequents floods.

At the river bank is in the town Villa Dique Florentino Ameghino of 200 inhabitants.

Juan Schwartzman