The Travel Chica

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Feels Like Home in El Bolson

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It is hard to pinpoint what it is about this place.

There is a sign in the center of town that says, “En El Bolson el magico es la naturaleza.”  (In El Bolson, the magic is nature.)

Yes, the setting is beautiful.

Lots of green trees, snow-capped mountains, a beautiful river.

Yes, my hostel is great.

The hostel is a comfy, homey log cabin.  And for the first few days, it was practically empty.  Empty equals quiet and relaxing.

The people who run my hostel Nico and Cristina and their friends are some of the most wonderful and welcoming people I’ve ever met.  Nico even bakes fresh bread and lemon cake for our breakfasts.

Yes, I have made good friends.

There have been many long conversations about everything.  The past.  The present.  The future.

I can relate to these people.

There are some similarities but mostly we are quite different.  We are an odd crew.

An Argentine woman who absolutely loves life.  She curses like a sailor.  She is full of joy and wants to share it.  You just want to be around her.

A man from Buenos Aires in his 30s on vacation with his young son.  They’re doing challenging multi-day treks.  The young boy is learning to un-plug and entertain himself without a television or computer.

A man from Barcelona on holiday for a few weeks.  He knows that nothing beats a few cold beers or a bottle of wine after a full day of hiking.

A young Israeli man who just finished his military duty and recently broke away from his group of friends to travel solo for a while.

A woman my age from the US who quit her job to travel and do what she wants for a year.  (Hmm… that one sounds familiar).

Yes, the town has a great vibe.

It is known as a hippie town, whatever that means.  I assumed it  would seem a little fake and over-the-top.  But it is a genuine feeling in this town.  People are all friendly and positive.  They love this place and want to preserve it.  When you mention the river, a smile comes to their face.  They want to know…. Did you love it?  Isn’t it incredible?

Yes.  Yes, it is.

My first day here, I stumbled up on a protest.  I didn’t realize it was a protest because nobody was yelling anything.  The signs were all sort of half-fallen, so I couldn’t read them.  I found out later that it was about a land dispute with a large corporation.

You can hitchhike here.

And I did.  Twice.

People live simply.

Some have built homes on the river out of driftwood or rocks or anything they can find.  I was told that tourists here often are scared walking at this edge of town because they think these are slums.  This is just how some people here prefer to live.

So it’s all of that and more.

Despite my struggle to put it in words, I hope everyone gets a chance to experience the magic of El Bolson.

Comments

  1. El Bolson reminds me vaguely of Byron Bay, Australia’s hippy capital. The people there are really into preserving their way of life and it attracts all types of people and the local economy there does very well as a result. The wikipedia entry for Byron Bay is here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Bay,_New_South_Wales

    El Bolson also reminds me of the town I live in called Morwell about two hours to the east of Melbourne. I moved down here last March from Melbourne to get much cheaper rent on a flat (only $90 per week for a two bedroom unit). I still go to Melbourne by train for appointments and to visit people. But in Morwell it’s the people and the lifestyle that I’ve grown accustomed to love. Like being able to walk the street in the centre of town at 10 o’clock on a Saturday night and not encounter any drunks or crazy people like you would in central Melbourne. Or just little things like when I buy my train tickets at the station I know the men who work there by face and when they ask you how your day has been you can tell that they’re being genuine with you and not just making small talk. I have even grown to like the quirky little ads that they put on the TV in the country down here.

    So all that said El Bolson sounds lovely and I’m going to have to add it to my Patagonian itinery. The vibe there sounds beautiful. And where the vibe is good, I want to be.

    • Matthew, where you live sounds great! Your comment came at the right time for me as I’m contemplating moving to an area more like what you’re describing and less like big, expensive cities.

      Stephanie, El Bolson DOES sound magical through your post! And getting to know people from all over the world who are so different from you yet there’s that link – that’s what I loved most about staying in hostels. I’m from Israel, and I know there’s a big cultural thing to take a long trip once you finish your obligatory military service, and many people hang in groups and go up the same routes – I heard that a lot in hostels when I travelled at a later age – so way to go for the Israeli guy for having the courage to try something different!
      All Colores recently posted..Nature Dances and Flourishes in Tel-Aviv, Israel: What a Way to Start 2012!

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