Bus From Puerto Madryn to Esquel : Fri 7th Feb

What does a $340 ticket get you? A nine and a half hour journey through Patagonia and a bunch of photos to explain it.

The outlying reaches of Puerto Madryn

Stopping off briefly in the middle of the desert in a town surrounded by void.

Ummm....

This is one of any number of tributes to Antonio Gil. Popular accounts vary, but in broad terms the legend tells that Antonio Gil was a farmworker and that a wealthy widow fell in love, or had an affair, with him. When her brothers and the head of the police (who was also in love with the widow) found out about their relationship, accused him of robbery and tried to kill him. He enlisted in the army to escape from them. In the army, he fought against the Paraguayan army. Finally, he could come back to his village as a hero.

But, when he arrived at his village, he was forced to return to the army to fight in the Argentine Civil War. It was a brother versus brother war and "Gauchito" Gil was tired of fighting. Therefore, he decided to desert. During this time he became an outlaw and acquired a reputation as a Robin Hood figure, for his efforts to protect and help the needy.

In the end the policemen caught him in the forest. They tortured him and hung him from his feet on an algarrobo tree. When a policeman was going to kill him, "Gauchito" Gil said to him: "Your son is very ill. If you pray and beg me to save your child, I promise you that he will live. If not, he will die". Then the policeman killed "Gauchito" Gil by cutting his throat. That was January 8, 1878.

When the policemen came back to his village, the one who had killed "Gauchito" Gil learned that his child was in fact very ill. Very frightened, the policeman prayed to "Gauchito" Gil for his son. And afterwards, his son got better. Legend has it that "Gauchito" Gil had healed his murderer's son.

Very grateful, the policeman gave Gil's body a proper burial, and built a tiny shrine for "Gauchito". Moreover, he tried to let everybody know about the miracle.

(I have copied all the above from Wikipedia, just so you know).

We arrived in Esquel in darkness and ate a steak. Nothing has changed. Tomorrow we are doing something, but Sarah won't tell me what it is.