I have been exploring the Parque Nacional Los Alerces in the southern Lake District by local buses (which run only every few days) and on foot. I made good use of the free campsites, which are located in idyllic lakeside locations, and burnt quite a bit of firewood to cook and keep warm. It's a very beautiful area, taking its name from the alerces trees which rival North America's giants in size, and some of which are over 2500 years old. It's impossible to actually find one though, unless you venture deep into the forest with a guide, as most of them have been chopped down for their wood. But one tree that is in abundance is the one that originates from this part of the world - the monkey-puzzle tree, the puzzle being that there are no monkeys here!

The two towns to the north and south of the park could not be more different. To the north is Cholila, a remote place in a beautiful setting where; with its wild west feel, it comes as no surprise that two of America's most famous outlaws chose to buy a cabin. They were none other than Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, who managed to hide out here for about three years in the early 1900s.

And to the south of the park there is Trevelin. Now I couldn't come to Patagonia and not visit a town where they speak Welsh, could I? However, the descendants of the original Welsh settlers from the late 1800s are now so well integrated into Argentine society that, other than the surnames, there isn't really that much evidence of "Welshness" left. It was only by running into Joni (a fluent Welsh speaker) from Barmouth that I could confirm that they can actually speak Welsh here, but it isn't their first language any more. So the only Welsh thing that I could actually find to do was to go for tea and cakes at a Casa de Té Gales (Welsh Tea Shop) and pay a ludicrous sum for an experience that I could have had on my doorstep back home. It was rather surreal doing it here though.

This leaves only one thing left to mention before I continue south along Ruta-40, leaving the Lake District behind. I am writing this blog entry whilst sitting on a rock next to a narrow gauge railway track waiting for the famed La Trochita (more affectionately known as the Patagonian Express). This steam train experience would have been great to use for transport between destinations, if only it actually went anywhere significant. The track was meant to connect Esquel to the mainline between Bariloche and Buenos Aires, but was never completed. Hence, it is a bit of a white elephant and serves mainly as a tourist attraction. Shame!

Oh, and yes it did rain for a day and a half in the national park, but they are the first raindrops I've seen in a long time, so I apologise for the slightly misleading title, but I'm sure most of you will get the connection. I tried to hire a bicycle to visit the infamous cabin, but I couldn't haggle the price down far enough.