Every time the experience of trekking in El Bolsón is mentioned, the first place everyone mentions is the Cajón del Azul. This place gets the most popularity among all visitors, so much so that in the summer the locals say that the trail to it is "a gorge". Of course I didn't want to miss what this place was all about and I had to go and see it with my own eyes. The hike up there is almost 9 km with an estimated time of 3 hours to get there, and for experienced trekkers like my friends and I, this sounded pretty easy 😃.
Todas las veces que se menciona la experiencia de ir a hacer trekking a El Bolsón, el primer lugar que todos mencionan es el Cajón del Azul. Este lugar se lleva la mayor popularidad entre todos los visitantes, tanto que en el verano los locales dicen que el sendero hacia el es "un desfiladero". Por supuesto que yo no quería perderme de qué se trataba este lugar y tuve que ir a verlo con mis propios ojos. La caminata hacia allá es de casi 9 km con un tiempo estimado de 3 horas en llegar, y para unos trekkinistas experimentados como mis amigos y yo, esto sonaba bastante sencillo 😃.
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After my friends and I organized ourselves for a four-day nomadic trek in the mountains, the day finally came to start the trek. That afternoon I had to work until 2pm, so as soon as my shift was over, we packed up and headed out. We started the hike a little after 3pm, a little late but we knew we would arrive with enough sunlight. Our original idea was to spend the night at the Refugio Cajón del Azul, so we didn't worry too much, we would have lodging there 😃.
Después de que mis amigos y yo nos organizáramos para emprender un paseo nómade de cuatro días en las montañas, finalmente llegó el día de empezar el paseo. Esa tarde yo tenía que trabajar hasta las 14hs, así que ni bien se terminó mi turno, juntamos todas nuestras cosas y nos fuimos. Empezamos la caminata un poco después de las 15hs, algo tarde pero sabíamos que llegaríamos con la luz del sol suficiente. Nuestra idea original era pasar la noche en el Refugio Cajón del Azul, así que no nos preocupamos mucho, total tendríamos hospedaje por aquel lugar 😃.
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The hike to the Cajón del Azul begins with a fairly significant negative slope, about 2 km all downhill until reaching the level of the river. After that, the trail is relatively easy, also with slopes but none as significant as the one at the beginning. As we started walking late, we didn't meet so many people going, but more people coming back. This trail can be done walking, on horseback or by vehicle, until just a few km before arriving. The transfers there were not that expensive, but what fun would it be if you don't challenge yourself to walk 😅?
La caminata hacia el Cajón del Azul empieza con un desnivel negativo bastante importante, unos 2 km todos en bajada hasta llegar al nivel del río. Después de eso, el camino es relativamente sencillo, también con desniveles pero ninguno tan importante como el del principio. Como empezamos a caminar tarde, no nos cruzamos con tanta gente yendo, sino con más gente regresando. Este camino se puede hacer caminando, a caballo o en vehículo, hasta apenas unos km antes de llegar. Los traslados hasta allá no eran tan costosos, pero ¿qué gracia tendría si no te desafiás a ir caminando 😅?
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By the time we finally arrived, around 7pm, there was little sunshine but the place looked beautiful anyway. This site owes its name to the fact that this is where the Rio Azul river flows through two large walls before continuing on to the town. The water was a beautiful emerald green color and my brave friends jumped in for a swim, even though the water was already freezing. Here your writer doesn't know how to swim yet, so she just had to watch the others having fun 😀.
Para cuando finalmente llegamos, alrededor de las 19hs, ya había poco sol pero el lugar se veía hermoso de todos modos. Este sitio debe su nombre a que acá es donde se encajona el Río Azul, es decir, que el curso de agua atraviesa dos grandes paredones antes de continuar hacia el pueblo. El agua tenía un color verde esmeralda precioso y mis amigos valientes se metieron a nadar, a pesar de que el agua ya estaba helada. Acá su escritora no sabe nadar todavía, así que solo tuvo que quedarse mirando como los demás se divertían 😅.
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The sun was already getting quite low, but we stayed in El Cajon for about an hour, eating something to eat and drinking a few beers. We were not worried because the refuge was only 10 minutes from the river and we could finally rest there. What we definitely didn't know at that moment was that once at the refuge, they would tell us that there was no place for us to sleep. All the beds were occupied and they offered to lend us a tent to camp in, but neither my friends nor I had a mountain sleeping bag to do this 🙃.
El sol ya estaba bajando bastante, pero igual nos quedamos en el Cajón como una hora, comiendo algo y tomando unas cervezas. No estábamos preocupados porque el refugio quedaba solo a 10 minutos del río y finalmente podríamos descansar ahí. Lo que definitivamente no sabíamos en ese momento era que una vez en el refugio, nos dirían que no había lugar para que nos quedáramos a dormir. Todas las camas estaban ocupadas y ellos nos ofrecían prestarnos una carpa para acampar, pero ni mis amigos ni yo teníamos bolsa de dormir de montaña como para hacer esto 🙃.
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The other solution they offered us was to walk to the next refuge, 2 km and an hour's walk away. They had communicated by radio and confirmed that they had room for us to sleep in a bed, so we had no choice but to continue walking. This situation took us by surprise because we never imagined that the refuge would be full, but it was also to be expected in the high summer season 😅.
La otra solución que nos ofrecieron era caminar hasta el siguiente refugio, a 2 km y una hora más de marcha. Ellos se habían comunicado por radio y nos confirmaron que tenían lugar para que podamos dormir en una cama, así que no tuvimos otra opción que seguir caminando. Esta situación nos tomó por sorpresa porque nunca nos imaginamos que el refugio iba a estar completo, pero también era algo esperable en la temporada alta de verano 😅.
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Without much hesitation, we continued our hike at a brisk pace because night was about to find us in the forest. With the last light of day, we finally arrived at the Retamal Refuge. This refuge was not at all in our plans, but I must say that I liked it better than the one in Cajón del Azul. The park it had was bigger and being even more inside the mountains, the view was beautiful. I must also say that the night sky from here looked excellent: the amount of stars I saw that day was incredible. In the end, the impromptu ended up working out quite well 😃.
Sin dudarlo tanto, continuamos la caminata a paso ligero porque ya nos estaba por encontrar la noche dentro de el bosque. Con la última luz del día, finalmente llegamos a el Refugio El Retamal. Este refugio no estaba para nada en nuestros planes, pero debo decir que me gustó más que el del Cajón del Azul. El parque que tenía era más grande y al estar aún más dentro de las montañas, la vista era hermosa. También debo decir que el cielo nocturno desde acá se vio excelente: la cantidad de estrellas que vi ese día fue increíble. Al final, lo improvisado terminó saliendo bastante bien 😃.
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Our first day on the mountain started with a small stumble but was resolved appropriately. As I sat in the park looking up at the sky with these travel friends, I couldn't believe I was there, let alone that I was going to spend the night to continue hiking the next day. These are the anecdotes that I like to have the most and that make the whole walk worthwhile. And unintentionally but unintentionally, besides visiting the Cajón del Azul, we ended up visiting the Refugio El Retamal: a more than welcome plus ❣️.
Nuestro primer día en la montaña empezó con un pequeño tropiezo pero se resolvió adecuadamente. Mientras estaba sentada en el parque mirando el cielo con estos amigos de viaje, no podía creer estar ahí y menos que iba a pasar la noche para seguir caminando al otro día. Estas son las anécdotas que más me gusta tener y que hacen que valga la pena todo el paseo. Y sin querer pero queriendo, además de conocer el Cajón del Azul, terminamos visitando el Refugio El Retamal: un plus más que bienvenido ❣️.
❤️ Hope you liked this post! Thanks for reading. ❤️
❤️¡Espero que les haya gustado este post! Gracias por leer. ❤️
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Lau 💕.
📸 Portada creada en Canva. Todas las imágenes son de mi propiedad 💕.
How are you dear friend @lauramica good morning
Seeing the beautiful photographs that you show us of this place, the truth is that it does not surprise me that ¨Cajón del Azul¨ is the place most remembered and recommended by tourists, and I think it is worth walking those 9 kilometers to get to know this beauty natural
The color of the river water is simply magical, not many rivers have emerald green waters. Another challenge you will have to undertake is to learn swimming, so you can swim in every place you visit.
It's a shame that they didn't get a place in the first place, but it's good that they were able to confirm by radio that there was room in the second shelter, one more hour of walking is nothing compared to everything they had walked, besides, it was worth the effort. shame to sleep more comfortably and refugees
These adventures will be kept in your memory forever, traveling and seeing places is the best thing that can happen to you. I appreciate you sharing these beautiful photographs. Have a beautiful afternoon
Thank you very much Luis. Yes, learning to swim is something I have pending. I've been practicing a little, but the fear I have is stronger hahaha. I will have to keep practicing.
I send you a greeting, have a nice day 💖.
You have to buy a life jacket, with that you will learn faster and you will feel safe
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Precioso lugar, el cajón azul, estás viviendo como en un sueño hecho realidad; a pesar del tiempo que llegaste aún había claridad, ahora escritor te felicito por tan lindos momentos que compartes con nosotros, preciosas fotografías.
Un fuerte abrazo Laurita.❤️
Muchas gracias Laura 💚. Estos lugares son hermosos siempre, no importa la hora del día ni el momento del año. Te mando un abrazo a vos también 😃.
❤️ Gracias linda, que sigan los viajes, cuídate mucho.