Good-bye to the Ford Falcon...

El Bolson, Argentina

March 16, 2007
S 41°57.942
W 071°32.091

Our time in El Bolson is coming to an end. We really liked the lazy little town, surrounded on both sides by the beautiful Andes and in the shadow of its ritzy neighbor Bariloche. We decided to relax a little today after our hike yesterday. The weather was perfect, as it has been the entire time we have been here, and decided to have another Park Day.

We took care of a few things in the morning such as buying food for tomorrow’s 14 hour bus ride, updating our blog, and having coffee; by the time siesta came around we figured there was no better place to spend it than in the park. We packed up our mate set and decided to have a relaxing afternoon.

Marc boiled water for our mate and I read about Bahia Blanca, our next stop. As we watched the traffic roll by the park we played a modified version of the game “Slug Bug.” We really didn’t slug each other and there aren’t any VW bugs in Argentina, at least none that we have seen. However, the old Ford Falcon is in abundance, as is the Ford Ranchero. I have never seen so many in my life. Ford must have saturated the Argentinean market in the late sixties with the Falcon; it seems at least 10% of the cars sputtering around El Bolson are beat-to-shit Falcons. We have found new information on the infamous Falcon... apparently this car was produced in mass quantities in Argentina from 1962-1991 and there are "conspiracy" links between Ford Motor and the collapse of Argentina's economy.

While relaxing in the sun, our traveling Cevezeria guy showed up with his Styrofoam ice chest. There was no hesitation today. Yes, we want a cerveza. I asked our hippy beer vendor what the name of his beer was. He told me it doesn’t have a name, that it is so unique it doesn’t really need one, but sometimes he calls it 442; a popular number in the area. We aren’t sure why this is; there is even a restaurant with this name. Oh well, I guess a good beer doesn’t really need a name… as long as you know the traveling salesman who sells it!

We’ve enjoyed our time in El Bolson and could see ourselves coming back at some point; possibly a side trip from Buenos Aires. One thing is for sure, we would come back during the four days of February when El Bolson hosts the Hops Festival!