Our journey to Ulaa began in crazy, crowded, and cosmopolitan Buenos Aires. It was there that we hopped on board a crowded bus that would take us to the international bus station in 45 minutes time, where we would then board a double-decker cross-country bus that would take us on a 20-hour journey southbound. We were armed with a hiking backpack loaded with hiking gear and warm clothes for the Patagonian mountains, and enough food to last us until we arrived in Ulaa, an estimated 30 or so hours away.
At 5 pm on Saturday our bus pulled out of the station and hit the road. As the sun set, we sped through the Argentine pampas, farmland run by gauchos, or Argentine cowboys. Cows grazed freely across miles of fields, drinking from pure water ponds.
Night fell and we could no longer see the animal characters of the landscape. We closed our eyes and fell asleep.
We opened our eyes just as the sun was rising above the farmland. The terrain had become more desert-like, and the vegetation looked a little parched. Soon we were passing by massive rock formations that gave way to imposing, jagged mountains. The bus wove its way across the mountain roads, kicking up dust and sand in its path.
Then we reached Bariloche, with its green mountains and clear lakes. At the bus station in Bariloche, a backpacker’s hub to be sure, we boarded a smaller bus to take us 3 hours south to Lago Puelo. The bus scotted through the rain down even more isolated mountain paths, massive ridges surrounding the valley roads we took.
We arrived at Lago Puelo at 5:45 pm on Sunday, 25 hours after we had left Buenos Aires, but the journey was not yet over.
We hopeed into a remis, or an unofficial taxi, and our driver, Sergio, ferried us to the port. There we boarded a small motorboat driven by a Senor Claudio, who guided us across the waters of Lago Puelo. We flew up and down with every bump and every wave. When the water got too rocky to motor through, Claudio parked the dinghy and led us to the beach. We all helped each other jump from stone-to-stone until we reached a calmer part of the water where Martin would come pick us up from the other side of Lago Puelo, the Chilean side.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CviKRxOmFaU]
“Okay, chicos!” Claudio said as he bade us farewell kisses, promising that Martin was on his way. We certainly hoped that he was right because all we could see were rocks and lake! And sure enough, within minutes of Claudio’s departure, Martin arrived on another small motorboat, the one that would carry us to Ulaa.
We boarded the second boat and cruised across the water, surrounded on all sides by majestic mountains and low-lying, mysterious-looking fog.
And there she was: Ulaa. The wooden cabin arose out of a mountain at the edge of Lago Puelo. Martin docked the boat and we disembarked. After three bus rides, one taxi ride, and two boat rides, we had found Ulaa! And we were ready to begin planning ways for you to see her beauty as well…
Keep your eyes peeled for tomorrow’s post on the Ulaa activities we are taking part in and plotting for you to take part in!!
PS: I promise that your journey to Ulaa does not have to be as complicated as our’s was…For instance, you could take an airplane to Bariloche, cutting about 18 hours from your journey…However, taking the long way certainly does add a sense of adventure to the whole journey!!
