I bought my weekly fishing licence (360 pesos for the week - which is not cheap as they have a tourist rate which is fair enough). And we headed off, about an hour back the way i had ridden in yesterday. The river Mallendos (or something like that) it reckoned to be one of the best fly fishing rivers in the world. It has about 20km of river bank (somewhat bizarrely) controlled by some self apppointed guardians. These indians have put up a gate and charge 30 pesos to fish.
It is a beautiful green ribbon in the middle of barren mountains. Ale tells me that my precious rod, carefully brought from england is too storng for the rainbow & brown trout in this river so i use his. We have the river just about to oursleves all day. the 360 pesos + 30 is beginning to look a bargain.
Ale is a ski guide in winter and a fish guide in summer. He is fiercely fit and has climbed Lanin (the volcano) in 8 hours and skied down it in 30 mins! He is also driving 400 kms this weekend to enter a cycle race.
We saw lots of Gauchos, they still wear traditioonal dress, trousers called Bombachas which is odd because that is the same word for ladies knickers. The Bomabachas they wear are black baggy trousers (actually i suppose alot of womens knickers are like that so maybe it does make sense) which were French army surplus some years ago & the fashion has never changed. They are a tough looking bunch and they go into town, get druck easily & quickly and then pick fights with each other, knives are drawn. As they keep the mayhem amongst themselves no one else seems to mind. Yeovil on a saturday night then.
Apparently mother is reading this nonsense as Pam is kindly taking her computer over each day. Sorry about the bad language, spelling, grammar and any refrences to knickers but it saves me sending postcards which means i dont have to go to another f'ing post office!!!!
Like the hat Kevin. First of all I thougth you had gone for the pith helmet but no its the floppy! What do the gauchos make of that then?
ReplyDeleteYou are right a Pith helmet would set a trend up here but i think the Gauchos would stick to their Berrets & knives. Lightness is the order of the day, I am going to have to shed some more as the bike is just to heavy!
DeleteAll that trouble finding the perfect fly rod and it turns out to be the wrong sort..... ?
ReplyDeleteXOX - Bombardier.
Acting Bombadier if memory serves.
DeleteIt was the wrong rod for that particular river but I believe it will be put to good use tomorrow on the Limay at Bariloche where some big beats lurk.
God moves in many ways? I
ReplyDeleteI have brother who had to meet a blokke at the dead of night to pick up a knocked off fishing rod and several bits and bobs and he delighted in telling me how he had saved several hundreds of pounds ????
Any policemen readig this please email me and I will forward his address.
Just arrived in BsAs and I kid you not their was a film crew waiting asking me if I intended going to the post office?
How is BsAs compared to Sao P?
DeleteOr even Rio? Did not stop in San P. only been here 12 hours but got a very nice apartment shame about the trains the other side of the pool.
DeleteIt seem we have used the same laundry as the lady behind thse counter saiid In her best spanenglish when I gave her my name, she hope my underpants didnt have as many skids in them as the bike man!
Glad to hear the bike is drawing a crowd my new rucksack does not seem to have the same draw?
i do love the fact that there appears to be one guy cutting down that tree, with about 2 metres of barrier tape doing nothing and then just drops it into the road, wish we worked like that, make like so much easier
ReplyDeleteI dont think you would like their wages!
DeleteLess than a month gone and starting to look like John McCririck. Nice fish!
ReplyDeleteFunny you should say that, i was going to get a hair cut the other day but couldn't be arsed! I will get one before i head for home. I can only apologise for the hat but it is better than sunstroke. Richard, all well with you I hope.
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