Getting Lost En Route to Huasca Ocampo

 

From Monte de Real to Huasca Ocampo is only 20 minutes, in theory. None of the convis stopped at the downtown station and a policeman told me to just walk out to the highway intersection.

I waved at the first convi to come by but that didn't work out. I thought he'd told me I had to walk to the intersection. This was an intersection, wasn't it?  But what did I know? Off I went, looking for the next alleged 'cruce'.

No cruce in sight yet.

OK.  No intersection in sight. Time to turn back. 

Another convi came by. The driver said the same thing about the cruce, only this time it clicked. He could only take me as far as the intersection to Huasca and I had to make it into town from there. I was on my way.

This is where I got off on the highway.  Hmmm.  No public transportation in sight. Time to start walking.

Still walking half an hour later and wondering if I could make it by nightfall and had enough money on me to pay for a hotel.

Treacherous plummet off the roadside with no room for both traffic and pedestrians.

Then, as if by a miracle, the real Huasca Ocampo convi rolled around the bend and they had just enough room for one more. I was saved.

Beautiful downtown Huasca.

A taxi from there to Prismas Basalticos.

This was the place!  Was it worth all that trouble getting there?  Definite yes. The pictures tell the tale.

Tirolesa is Spanish for zipline. I have always been afraid of those things and couldn't imagine riding one.  But I have always wanted to so badly. In theory they're safe but sometimes old cables snap and for someone like me with a terror of heights, there was the real danger of arriving on the other side if the dead from a panic induced heart attack.

I thought about it and thought about it. A stoem was building quickly. What if it made the harness swing wildly side to side or even do loops? I knew I was thinking too much. I told myself to cut it out, marched up to buy my ticket and away I went over that deep gorge. For just an instant after liftoff, I wanted to change my mind but too late for that.

The wind was fierce.  I was in danger of losing my hat.

A huge storm broke out. People ran for cover. A transport van to the town center was just leaving. The dricer was fun, beating a tune on the horn. He asked for permission to circulate the parking lot abd rescue people huddled under awnings.

Back in town, there was a long line of people waiting for convis as all the srreet merchants had packed up in a hurry to go home. 3 convis later, I was heading back to Real del Monte, staring through the steamed up windows, afraid of missing my stop, which I did. But only by a little. The sriver obligingly stopped when I called out.

Warm pastes from a roadside restaurant and the end to a great day..