Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles 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 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
A2 train patagonia express excursion argentina ride Riding the OLD PATAGONIAN EXPRESS (La Trochita) ? | Scenic Train Ride in PATAGONIA, Argentina 74 9 Summer posted on 2021/05/15 More Share Save Report Video vocabulary