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 iskill to nagelpan  

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