Originally published at travelswithdelaney.com.

El Bolson got better. The day after I wrote that last, grumpy post, Alon and I headed off to hike a trail to Refugio Cajon Del Azul. At the bus stop to the trailhead we met a very nice couple of young Israelis named Erez and Michal who accompanied us on our trek. It turned into a beautiful day and a magnificent hike to another cozy and welcoming cabin in the middle of absolute nowhere. Unlike Refugio Frey, however, there was no snow at the top, just horses and chickens and goats and an apple orchard and a vegetable garden and a few very angry sheep. And a really nice little family made up of a middle aged couple, their daughter and her husband, and their baby, Tomas, who would not stop laughing and smiling and looking cute the whole time we were there.

Alon, Yours Truly, Horse:

We went to bed early and satisfied, woke up to another beautiful day, ate a nutritious breakfast of dulce de leche and simple carbs and trekked back down the mountain, stopping at the exact same breathtakingly beautiful spot to lunch that we had the day before. We had also crossed two decrepit, ridiculous, handmade bridges the day before, and I was very excited to cross them again. There was just enough danger in crossing these relics to make it exciting and a tiny bit dangerous, and it was probably the highlight of the hike, at least for me. I felt a little Indiana Jones-y.

So fun, a tad dangerous:

We needed to hitch a ride back to town, and Michal (who happened to be a winsome young lady) and her boyfriend Erez nabbed a ride within half an hour. Alon and I fared a tad worse. I don’t think that it had anything to do with our looks, however, as we saw a grand total of 3 cars in 2.5 hours of waiting, and managed to grab the 3rd one.

Pitiful:

So we made it back to town and beat it over to Refugio Patagonico (our first choice of hostels upon arriving in El Bolson, remember?). And yes, it was as magical as we’d hoped. Really cool hosts, really cool fellow travelers, great food, fantastic building and beds and surroundings. About as far removed from our first El Bolson hostel experience as possible. And Ariel, one of our hosts, took us to a reggae/ska show at the bar in town that stays open late and we ended up dancing our tuchuses off until the sun came up. Which was fun.

El Bolson, Better Weather:

Then I caught a bus back to Bariloche, where I slept the whole day and refused to interact with the entire English speaking population of Hostel Pudu. I also had to wake up the next day at 6:00 to catch a bus to Chile.

The Chilean Border, Ska Band Sighting:

And now I’m In Puerto Montt, which recently retook the title of coldest, wettest place on earth, according to the book of records that I’m currently writing. I’m starting to think that I may have chosen a bad time to go camping in Patagonia. I keep hearing that it’s unseasonably cold here, but this unseasonable weather is likely to stick around for all of November. What gives?

Yours Truly.