it's time for another train ride today we're taking you for a fun little excursion aboard the
old patagonian express la trochita if this feels like a bit of a deja vu that's because yes this is
our second time riding this iconic train but this time around we're going to be doing a different
segment of the journey because we just like trains so much so join us as we spend a beautiful
afternoon soaking in the patagonian landscapes aboard an old steam locomotive train all aboard
well good morning guys good morning greetings from el bolson patagonia argentina we are we
are back in our favorite patagonian town indeed it is and we've actually taken a break from filming
for the last week but today we've signed up to do our first excursion yeah what are we doing
so we're going to l my 10 to take another epic train ride here in patagonia argentina this is
going to be our third we did the latrochita from escal on a different route yeah and now
we're taking the la trochita from el maiten it's going to be a completely different route
it's basically if you if you've never heard of this train it's like a rustic patagonian train
right yeah this is basically the old patagonian express la trochita yeah and there's only small
segments that you can ride and nowadays it's not a continuous road anymore so last time we
were here we did one section today we're going up to el maiten to a different section and we should
mention it is a tourist train at this point it's not like you're going from one place to the next
it's kind of nice at least on the the ride to a scale what happened is we got on the train
beautiful scenic journey through the valley and mountains we stopped we had a little bite to
eat the choripan yes and um yeah it was it was a great day and uh just very fun to be on the train
i remember a man came on and played music entertained everybody yeah so we're gonna
do it again we liked it it's so much fun and it will be a different route and um it'll be
interesting to see how uh how how these two routes compare so that's the plan for today but first
breakfast we need food a little feel to get us going guys
indeed
you're a nice
well we needed a little breakfast before our big excursion today
we're at one of our favorite little cafes here in town it's called hauca
yeah i got myself a grilled ham and cheese because it is mid-morning at this point
yep little juice orange juice we don't want to eat uh too heavy before we go on the train
because if it's like the last train ride there should be some snacks or the opportunity to get
choripan which is the sausage yeah yeah there was last time there was there was leaving for me
also we should mention about this cafe that this place is more famous for its ice cream and it's
chocolate but it does have a fantastic cafe what are you having i am having having toast for jam
oh fancy fancy yes it's called the classical breakfast and it comes with a cafe called luncheon
time for the chi-chingy time yes and i should say that was the perfect combination of a little bit
of savory and a little bit so that came to 560 pesos which at current exchange is approximately
9 us dollars they're just a nice light meal before we get on the train nothing too heavy
i want to save a little bit of room in case they have cherry put a slop on the train
so yeah we just walked over to the tour agency it is called
um and we booked the excursion for 37 us dollars per person that includes
transport over to el maiten apparently we have a guide
and yeah obviously the train ride so we're just waiting for everyone else to
gather out here from the tour agency and we'll be on our way we're gonna hop in your minivan
so
the drive from el bolson to el maiten was only one hour and we arrived a bit early so
we had plenty of time to visit the railway museum and also the locomotive repair shop
fun fact when a working component of the old patagonian express breaks down the
workers have to handcraft a new part since the train is so old that spare parts are
no longer produced industrially so that's what the repair shop is for
made it made it we made it i think you slept half the journey guys that's to be expected okay i get
in a car i get on a train yeah i fall asleep so it was interesting we were going along on the i guess
the the main road it was serpentine for a while and then straight but a gorgeous journey only i
missed all of that guys i missed valleys snow capped mountains cute little towns audrey you
really got to keep your eyes open so we got here probably like 30 minutes before boarding the train
so we met up with a local guide who showed us around the museum right then we walked over to
the workshops they were just talking about the conditions here in patagonia you know like how
rough the winters are and what it takes to keep these trains running like she was saying when they
have tourists who are coming to do this little loop and it's the middle of winter sometimes
they need to get the trains running like two days before oh my gosh just like heat it up
and then also in the museum they had photos of trains like flipped over like derailed and it said
like they never actually had any train accidents but the wind here in patagonia argentina is so
strong that in the past it had been blown off the tracks and like just we're we're filming right
now in a corner to avoid it it's actually windy right now it's windy imagine coming
in the winter with snow on the ground snow-capped mountains oh that would be a whole new experience
you
so to give you a bit of information about this train the old patagonian express is locally
known as la trochita which means little gage that's because this is a narrow gauge
railway that's only 750 millimeters wide or about two feet five and a half inches
this railway network once stretched out 402 kilometers and it was built to help connect
patagonia argentina however its use eventually began to decline as the road systems improved
plus part of the railway network was never completed which kind of left this line a bit
isolated but then things changed when paul theroux published his book the old patagonian express
in 1978 suddenly travelers started to take interest and well today a short portion of the
original railway operates this heritage train after a while we crossed over to the dining
car because it was time for afternoon tea and you know we don't miss a chance to eat
the dining carriage had a small cafeteria on board so we got some hot drinks and pastries
so we crossed over to the food compartment to have our little afternoon tea we also got the
medellinas which are like croissants and it is really loud in here like i don't even know if you
guys can hear me because i can barely hear myself speaking it's just the rattling of the train
um but we're gonna eat and drink a little something something
enjoy the scenery and then go back to our seats
do
and now some thoughts on the journey so far keeping in mind that this is our second time
riding aboard the old patagonian express
all right we've made it as far as the train is going to go on this little excursion
the tracks do continue but we're getting off here and the train is actually going to reposition
for the way back yep but i wanted to chat a little bit and compare this journey to the one that
we did from eskill to now pan because they are both the old patagonian express la trochita but
the experience going from a scale was different because when we arrived in abuelpan there were
food stands and there was an artisanal fair like there was a small little community living there so
there was a bit more action like there were pets dogs and cats around yeah so it was really fun
but with this one it's a little more remote isn't it it is remote we're surrounded by like pine tree
plantations yeah like forest plantations and there is nothing here but a burnt down building
so we've all been told to get off the train while it repositions we can snap some photos but there
isn't actually anything to do here and that kind of surprised us because we thought it was going
to be the same as the previous example well it's good we had our uh our our coffee and luna when we
did yeah and also comparing the scenery i was more impressed by the scenery from esquel to nagel
because we were riding up from a valley and you had impressive mountains to one side this one has
been relatively flat yeah do you still get to see a few mountains off in the distance but it's like
very dry very airy still still still beautiful you have a little you have a bit more visibility
in all directions here but you're right you're not as close to the mountains they are different
journeys they're completely different journeys two different train journeys um if i had to only pick
one however i would choose a skill if you guys only have time for one train ride and you're
going to be visiting both in my den and esquile do the escal one because it's just more impressive
yeah it's a little more impressive also a little more busy there too a little that was packed there
were more tourists this one has less people but they were telling us during high season
it fills up oh i bet it does so yeah i think for me still the ultimate would be to do this journey
in the winter in the winter in the snow oh yeah that would be very cool that would be epic
we're back we're back back in town what a day we're we're not it's been a while since we've
had a full travel day yes so it was we've been relaxing for a week guys yeah and it's been a
long time since we've had that much sun too so it was a lot of fun going out i i loved it i mean
just any chance you can be out in in patagonia experiencing like that
rugged scenery those snow capped mountains off in the distance
you just kind of look out the window and your mind just starts racing like i start daydreaming
like it's just it's just postcard perfect honestly and i saw some wildlife i saw several hairs
running through the patagonian steps so that was pretty cool it was very cool so overall a great
experience i mean our opinion still holds the one uh going from a scale is is if you have if you
can't do them both do the one from a scale yeah but still that was great and i had a lot of fun
and as another tip if you want to do the more budget-friendly version of this tour instead of
paying for transportation and a guide and like the train ticket all as one package
you can make your own way to el maiten using public transport yeah and then you can buy your
ticket in person at the station once you arrive but if you are like traveling during high season
um i wouldn't risk it and show up last minute hoping there's room for you because
we were told that it does fill up but if it's like the off season shoulder season
you can try that you could check it out and it does run all year too right the terrain
it does it runs more frequently from esquel argentina it goes out every week from a scale um
this month there were only three outings out of el maiten so every ten days so but yeah it's a really
cool train it's very rustic rickety loud it shakes it bangs the windows just fall um yeah that's part
of its charm that's honestly part of his term anyways a great day hope you guys enjoyed this
video and yeah we'll be leaving elbow zone and heading south our patagonia adventure is really
just beginning and uh yeah we're gonna be heading to the far south so stay tuned for that stay tuned
you