Argentina

November 6-29, 2009

November 13: Puerto Madryn to Esquel: Pit Stop in Las Plumas

648 km across Argentina was our trek today, most of the way being along highway 25. Our guide book specifically said "Refuel when you see a pump - the next one may be hundreds of kilometres away." With that in mind, it was suggested we gas up before leaving, or at least on our way through Gaiman. But with the tank still half full, Rubby decided we'd wait til the next gas station. Havin all gas stations saved as "points of interest" on the GPS, he figured we'd easily make the next one at Las Chapas. Of course, once we got to Las Chapas, the gas station was not only closed, but it looked downright abandoned. And Las Chapas itself, which on the map was depicted with a dot similar to Gaiman, was actually just a few scattered houses.

At this point we did a small detour south to a settlement called Dique Florentino Amaghino. Having read about some tours to see a dam there, it was probable that there could be a gas station there. But Rubby felt confident that a side trip was not warranted... the next town didn't look that far away and we still had a quarter tank of gas.

Never has a quarter tank of gas evaporated so quickly! In horror we watched the needle of the gas gauge plummet as we continued along our way. We slowed our speed hoping to conserve gas and the blood pressure rose as the gas light indicator turned on with still 20 km to go until Las Plumas.

As we came to the top of an incline, we coasted down the other side in an effort to conserve gas... and then there it was! The most beautiful sight we could possibly imagine! An open gas station in the little hamlet of Las Plumas! Disaster averted... Thank you Gauchito Gil!

As we head into Argentina's interior, the landscape starts to change.