San Juan & San Augustin de Valle Fertil

Sunday 16th January  - Wednesday 19th January

First off .. I never intended going to San Juan! I only arrived here so I could get a connection to La Serena in Chile. I didnt end up leaving until Wednesday .. not becuase I loved San Juan but becuase I had so much problems trying to get connections and also because I took a side trip to a National Park.

I arrived into San Juan early on Sunday morning and checked into Zonda Hostel.

http://www.zondahostel.com.ar/ 

This was a HI (Hostelling International) hostel so was expecting lockers but there weren´t any ... my first impression of the place wasn´t positive but as it turned out it was an ok place. San Juan is quite similar to Mendoza but on a much smaller scale .. wide streets and not as claustrophobic as you felt walking around the streets of Cordoba. I wasnt really impressed with San Juan to be honest. However, it was Sunday and I think on a week day there would be more life in the town. On Sunday everything was closed ... and I seemed to be the only person walking around the streets in the afternoon .. it was completly deserted.

In hindsight I wished I had simply stayed here for the afternoon and then got a bus onwards later that evening. I ended up staying the night ... I spent quite a while at the bus station in San Juan. Every office I went to advised me that I couldnt get transport to take me across the border through the Paseo de Agua Negra and onto La Serena. This was the only reason I came to San Juan in the first place. There is a road (although some of it is unpaved) across the Andes at a height of 4,800m but according to Tourist Information (which as usual is no help whatsoever!) and according to all bus companies, crossing as this border point is not covered by any kind of public transport. In the end .. I went back to the hostel not knowing what to do. After speaking to a few people back at the hostel, they all recommended I go to San Augustin de Valle Fertil which is a small town about 4 hours away (400kms) from San Juan where I can visit Ischigualasto National Park. There was a bus leaving at 07:30 in the morning so I made up my mind to go and would figure out how to cross the Chilean border later.

I went out for dinner later that evening in San Juan (it was still like a ghost town!). By pure accident I met Famietta and her friend Moira (2 girls from Switzerland). I shared a dorm with Famietta when I was in Cordoba. They were also going to San Augustin tomorrow but on a later bus. Had dinner with them and then headed back to the hostel.

Monday 17th January

I caught the 07:30 bus to San Augustin (43 Arg$) ... arrived at 11:30 and made my way to Campo Base hostel .

http://www.hostelvalledelaluna.com.ar/

I would never stay here again! Another HI Hostel with no lockers. Becuase I arrived on Monday morning I couldnt do a tour that day and so had to book a tour for Tuesday which of course meant that I had to stay Tuesday night too. 2 nights too many if you ask me! Room was fine but the staff in the hostel were just ridiculous .. I was advised in San Juan by other backpackers not to go here but I figured how bad could it be .. it was HI hostel after all. Anyway .. I should have listened to them as I had the most difficult time at this hostel trying to organise a tour to the National Park. I eventually got myself a tour for Tuesday but decided to go to a different company rather than the one organised by the hostel. I was waiting for Famietta and her friend to arrive but they didnt get in till very late on Monday night by which time I had already booked my tour. Monday was spent walking around San Augustin town .. which took me all of 30 mins ... theres nothing to see here! I think if I stayed in a different hostel I could easily have chilled out here for a day or two though.

Tuesday 18th January

I had a relaxing morning .. I needed the sleep after all the stress of yesterday! Tried to chat with the hostel staff again today about tours and buses .. but eventually I just gave up. My lack of Spanish of course doesn´t help but Ive been in South America almost 3 months now and I never encountered problems like I did in San Augustin. Spoke to a few other backpackers and they felt the same .. they kept getting conflicting information. I went to the bus terminal and got my ticket out of San Augustin. There was a bus leaving tonight (early tomorrow morning) at 03:30 arriving back into San Juan at 07:30, so decided to buy a ticket. I really didnt want to spend any more time than was necesary here. I got picked up at 16:00 for my tour .. it was me and 3 guys from Buenos Aires and the driver. Everything was in Spanish! A few others joined the tour later but I was the only backpacker! The tour ended at 20:00 but for the entire time I just walked around and took pictures as the park guide too had no English. The park itself was well worth the visit though so Im glad I went ... even though I had no idea what was going on. Loads of weird rock formations and the soil apparantly is like the lunar surface. Some of the views in the park are amazing.

I had brought a packed lunch so had this after the tour and then I hung around till 21:30 for the night tour (which is called the Luna tour as it only done when theres a full moon). I expected something marvellous but was dissapointed with it ... the day tour was much better.

After the tour was over we made our way back to San Augustin .. and arrived back at 02:00. I left for the bus station at 03:00. Famietta and Moira also decided to take the bus to San Juan.

We all arrived back to San Juan at 07:30 on Wednesday morning. I enquired further about buses to La Serena. There was one at 18:00 .. but it went south to Mendoza and not through the Paseo de Agua Negra border crossing. As it turns out it was booked out. I tried another company called Covalle buses .. who had a bus leaving at 20:30 so I got a ticket for it (500kms, Arg$ 190). I probably could have taken a local bus up north and stayed in a small town close to the border crossing and then looked for a local transport of some sort to take me over the border .. but due to the lack of information I just decided to go ahead and get my ticket out of San Juan. I spent the day in Zonda hostel (the same hostel I stayed in on Sunday night). Had a good day in the hostel chatting with some girls from Buenos Aires and one of the guys who works in the hostel.

I took a nap in the afternoon ... was shattered tired and didnt get much sleep the previous night. Went for a walk around town and a bite to eat. Im glad I got to see San Juan on a weekday .. at least there was a bit of life in it. The centre of town is quite nice. When I saw this place on Sunday I didnt like it at all .. but today it seemed like a nice enough place to spend a day or two.Anyway .. got back to the hostel at 19:00 and made my way to the station to get my ticket for the 20:30 bus. Another overnight bus ... travelling back south to Mendoza and onto Santiago, Chile and then up to La Serena. Not the route I had planned but still happy to be making my way to La Serena.