Languages spoken: Spanish
Rio San Carlos.
Reasons to go: There is something magical about the town of San Marcos Sierra. It is enchanting like the full moon that lights one’s path on midnight walks along Rio Quilpo or the white horses drinking from its sister, Rio San Carlos, in which hippies bathe on hot and dry afternoons. I would recommend “playing hippie” with the rest of the travelers here, especially at night in the main plaza, where solo travelers from all over play guitar, juggle, do interpretive dance and ride unicycles. To stay in a hostel here would be a crime because the camping by the river is so “rico.”
There are no preoccupations and no frills here. There a few restaurants catering to tourists who want to spend money, but the local panaderias open when fresh criollos (bread made with fat) are delivered in the morning. Most restaurants close for a siesta in the afternoon. The ice cream here is divine and a perfect treat for San Marcos’ dry afternoons.
Routine guitar + mate (a traditional tea-like Argentine drink) jam sessions by the fire turn afternoon quickly to night so it took me three days, once I decided to leave, to actually do so. I was reluctant to leave my new friend, a stray dog who never left my side for three straight days, not even for food.
If you are looking for a place to truly relax and get away from it all – this might require some self-control or throwing your mobile device in the river as there is free wi-fi in the main plaza here – then go to San Marcos Sierra. You just might stay a month.
On a walk along Rio San Carlos with my new friend.
The morning sun shines the tree’s shadows through my tent.
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