Sierra de la Ventana

I was up bright and early for my first excursion out of Bahía Blanca. 12 of us living in el Barrio Universitario (11 international students studying at la UNS and myself) were headed to Sierra de la Ventana, a small town 125 km south of Bahía, and home to Argentina's oldest mountain range. I had been hearing about Sierra de la Ventana, and its great hiking and picturesque scenery, since even before I'd arrived in Bahía. Needless to say, I was very excited to see this place that Argentines were raving about all across the country.

I walked to the meeting place at the agreed upon departure time: 9 a.m. sharp. I found myself alone, unnecessarily stressed out, and realizing yet again that meeting times in Argentina are ‘flexible.’ Over the next hour, the group trickled out of the casitas. Once we were all together, bags packed, it quickly became apparent that 1) we did not know how we would arrive to Sierra (the bus was long gone), and 2) we did not know where we would sleep (many of us had sleeping bags, but we had only one tent). No problem! What we lacked in terms of a plan, we made up for with our spontaneity and thirst for adventure!

Four hours behind schedule, and to my great surprise, the remis appeared. We rolled out, ready for a weekend spent in the great outdoors.



We were a motley crew, and the remis swelled with the international song of Spanish, French, Colombian, North American and Mexican accents, interspersed with the occasional snore, which as far as I could tell, did not vary by country. Some members of the group also amused themselves by making loud gaucho noises, which I cannot reproduce here. I sat up front, sandwiched between my friend Cesar and the driver, who had a most impressive mustache and an incomprehensible Argentine accent. I seriously questioned whether he was speaking Spanish, though Cesar confirmed that in fact, he was. I wanted to take a picture of his mustache, but I deemed the situation too awkward. You will have to use your imaginations ☺

This glorious panorama from the front seat accurately reflected the limitless possibilities that lay ahead:



We arrived in Sierra de la Ventana, saw several people milling around the streets, and immediately determined the town to be far too populated. We sought a true tree-hugging experience, and therefore headed to Villa de la Ventana, an even tinier town 17 km northwest of Sierra. Once in Villa de la Ventana, we didn't waste any time, and proceeded to wander aimlessly through its dirt roads:



Still roaming.....



After sufficiently roving through every street in Villa de la Ventana, we addressed the first item on the agenda: lodging! 12 people + 1 small tent = extreme discomfort at best, severe injury at worst. Even I, with my humanities background, could do that math.

Here we are, the futility of our situation sinking in:



The next several hours were spent searching for a cabin. Clarification: half the group searched, while the other half ‘guarded the stuff,’ i.e. laid in the grass, eating empanadas and leisurely petting stray dogs. (As you may notice, I belonged to the less proactive party, pictured below).



Finally, the responsible members of the group found a cabin, and we spend the afternoon chilling outside in the sunshine and playing cards. We quickly realized that all the represented countries had some version of what in the United States is called B.S., and involves both lying about your own cards and trying to call out the other players for lying. (Apparently, Argentines are the master deceivers with their beloved truco, but I have yet to learn how to play!) Clearly, the art of deception is a worldwide fascination.

That evening, our very large group entered and filled the very small grocery store, stocking up on food for dinner and for our hike the next morning. We made a delicious choripan dinner on the barbeque outside the cabin.



The owner of the cabin instructed us to open the curtains in morning, as a sort of signal, when we were ready for breakfast. The signal was apparently ineffective, as our breakfast arrived an hour after our dramatic opening of the curtains, 10 minutes before our bus was to leave. Nevertheless, we scarfed down tasty media lunas, strolled down to the bus station, and miraculously, made our bus, which (surprise!) was also late.

After a short bus ride, we arrived at el Parque Provincial Ernesto Tornquist, and headed straight to the base of Cerro de la Ventana. Of the three 'Senderos Autoguiados' (self-guided trails), we chose Hueco de la Ventana: 5 a 6 horas; Dificultad: gran esfuerzo físico.' We were ready.



The hike up Sierra de la Ventana was beautiful, full of rolling hillsides, rocky precipices, endless pampas, and even a highly anticipated guanaco sighting.









After a couple hours of hiking, we were rewarded with (drumroll…..) la Ventana! (translation for my fellow yanquis back home: the Window). La Ventana is a large, imperious opening in the mountainside which frames the rolling hillside below, and rocky peaks looming in the distance. Though the mountain ranger advised us to stay in front of the Ventana only briefly, our enormous group inevitably monopolized the area, each of us posing in front of this photo op made in heaven.





We climbed down, and reluctant to break from the general theme of the weekend, arrived at the base with no plan, and no ride back to Villa de la Ventana. I began experiencing déjà vu: half the group disappeared, and the rest of us helplessly lay in the grass, eating snacks and waiting to be rescued. Here I am, writing this blog entry:



Several hours later a van pulled over on the side of the road. I looked up hopefully, and could make out a familiar face. I couldn’t have been happier to see my bushy-mustached, remis-driving friend! At long last, we had been saved!

On the trip back to Bahía I reflected upon the weekend, which was easily the most disorganized trip of my life, but also one of the most fun. Whether hiking, sitting, wandering, and/or deliberating extensively, we did it together, and had a great time. I feel so lucky to be living with such a great group of people, and to have such an incredible natural landscape at my fingertips. I will surely be back soon. Maybe next time we'll bring an extra tent.