Rio not so Grande

There is a famous Rio Grande on the US Mexican border and another in Tierra Del Fuego that is deservedly not so famous. We visited the later and found it a sprawling town growing quickly from the nearby oil and gas fields but somewhat lacking in character. Even the main church is just a giant tin shed. it's the equivalent of a modern gold rush town - which I guess is what it is. The only modern building of any artistic merit is the casino.

The population are exempt federal income tax and VAT, which also helps attract immigrants. Some form of inducement is certainly required as on the day we were there it was raining and just made the average daily maximum for April of 9 degrees. The locals get an 80% subsidy on gas and electricity - which helps.

The city of 55,000 odd people just sprawls out over a huge plain and finding specific services is difficult. We drove around for ages before we found a hotel - It was full so we took the next available place - grotty, overpriced, overheated and lacking any character. Finding somewhere to eat was equally trying. Our first night we had dinner on the waterfront in a Chilean restaurant. The lack of other patrons and a Chilean restaurant in Argentina should have been warning enough. Not even the view was very good as the 11 metre tides meant looking out over gale swept mud banks that continued for over a km. We decided to have desert at Tante Sara, a normally upmarket chain. The place was crowded and service diabolical.

We started our only full day in town by finding new accommodation and lucked into a very pleasant little hostel run by a Tango teacher. She was delightful and seemed to live for Tango. If we understood the conversation correctly she had run off with her Tango partner. With new digs found we set out to experience the delights of the town - they weren't many. A cliff 15 kms out of town provided an expansive view of the extreme tides - but we could see little through the fog while the wind and temperature made dallying unappealing. Back in town we searched out the artisan market - a few shacks in central park selling unneeded knickknacks.

Dinner beckoned and we were determined to do better than the first night. Scouring the streets there seemed to be hundreds of hair salons, a few bars and almost no appealing places to eat. After an hour of looking we swallowed our pride and went back to Tante Sara - and much better service.

The roads to Rio Grande are filled with interesting sights and in season (November,to Easter) the Estancias offer wonderful hospitality in quaint old buildings that date back a 100 years. There are condors, foxes, trout and salmon and guanaco aplenty on these roads along with wonderful sea and lake vistas and abandoned tourist cabins. So make the trip, but remember that it's the journey not the destination that counts.