The coastal country in this part of Argentina is very arid and barren and the line I took goes through the heart of the Patagonian oil fields here in Argentina... There are thousands of oil pumping points but no new drilling going on that I can see.
There are so may pumps that it covers the landscape in places as far as I could see. They seem to place the pumps at about 500m intervals in a grid across the whole area... Very unattractive, but Id guess also very lucrative!
But, Im not hanging around... I climb into the low mountains on the Argentina side and the landscape starts changing immediately.
I cross through the customs (again!) and pretty soon Im in a far greener and nicer landscape in the deep south of Chile.
There are snowy peaks and glimpses of glaciers, and the rivers and lakes are all an "electric blue" colour with the fine glacial "rock flour". Apparently these rivers and lakes also have some of the worlds finest fly fishing for trout if thats your thing :)
There are very few trees about, but the craggy mountains are covered with grass and shrubby bushes... Its really very pretty... Though quite cold and of course windy.... Yep, I always see and acknowledge the bad stuff as well as the good stuff... Nowhere is perfect :)
Initially I find the landscape very beautiful, but my eye does not rest and I constantly look around at the nature of things... There are actually trees high up and in gullies, but not low down near the lake.... That seems wrong!
I ride along and Im looking for why this is so... It takes a while but there it is... old dead tree trunks and stumps... The place was forested and has either been logged or cleared by forest fires...
So, even though to the casual observer it is really beautiful terrain, its not natural... People have already "had their way" with it.
I camp in a cove near a quaint little village. There's no internet down here so nothing to do but look at the view, have a bit of a meditate and go to sleep under the stars (left the tent fly off for the nice views).
Next day I ride on again and the country now becomes forested again... not sure why this area was not logged but it looks wonderful.
Then things change again and farms start to show up in the forest along the rivers... And then there are more of them and it becomes an absolutely beautiful pastoral landscape...
The fields are green, the horses and cows and sheep are all fat... Even the tightly rolled big green hay bales seem fat and happy...
Then,as I ride on it becomes forested again and the road moves back to the coastal area with deep long valleys winding into the landscape... It looks riverine but its estuarine... There are tides and the water is salt... And here instead of farming communities, its fishing villages placed sporadically along the way.
There is no question...
Here, but for the want of a reason I could live!
And I could live any one of a hundred different, simple little lives... (Though all lives are simple or complex in their ways.)
And I could live in any one of a dozen little villages or towns down here. Really, I can hardly take any more pictures of blue lakes and crystal clear streams and idyllic valley farmlets or casually beached fishing boats...
As I have said, Ive been doing lots of thinking as I ride along the highways and byways of the Americas. And with that thinking, Iv had plenty of insights into the how and the why of ME... But so far at least I have not solved the WHERE of me... And more and more, it seems that its not a "Somewhere" in particular, but neither is it an "Anywhere". Rather, it seems to be more of a "Manywhere"!
Ive tried the "somewhere" in several countries/towns, the most recent of which was SanPedro in Guatemala...
It didnt have "enough" to hold me... (though enough of exactly what Im not sure :) )
And on my travels Ive run across quite a few places that were very very nice and that I felt good connections with and a sense of calm and peace... And here in southern Chile, there must be a dozen or more little towns that really are quite idyllic, if perhaps a little cold and quite a bit windy...
But, it seems to be a wind of a different sort that drives me ever onward in my voyage. My wind blows inside and is a pressure that leaves me restless for something... Im still seeking something and a "somewhere" is not the solution!
So, it seems that wondering where I am or when I am is flawed and what really matters is simply that I AM ...and I am HERE and I am NOW...
And thats good enough for the moment, so Ill let my inner wind drive me onwards and see where it blows me next...
So, like I say, this is really beautiful country and Id be happy to set about living a simple little life down here in one of these quiet communities if only I had a reason to do it... But, I dont, and so I ride on and enjoy the views as a temporary pleasure...
But there is nothing wrong with just passing through a beautiful place and appreciating it in the moment... Im not damaging it or hurting anyone, so the life of the itinerant traveller is not a bad one either...
For now! :)
