Continuing south along the RN40 from Bajo Caracoles brings you, after 107km, to
LAS HORQUETAS (population 5). In blatant disregard of the three most important dictates for opening a successful retailing business - "location, location, location" -
Las Horquetas sticks by the Patagonian motto of "
persever y triunfarás " (persevere and you will triumph). Once a rip-off joint, this Baghdad Café of the RN40 is now run by a scrupulously fair family who provide a good-humoured service in difficult conditions.
Rooms ( $20-30) with shared bathroom can get chilly and are basic, as are facilities (there's no flushing toilet, and the shower has to be heated in advance by generator - ask for
el generador ); the no-nonsense meals are excellent value (a $7 pasta will feed two); and emergency motoring services include tyre repair and a hand-held petrol pump. The best-maintained feature of this run-down place is the well-stocked
bar - a famous meeting point for local Patagonian characters - and its welcome range of
caña quemadas and pisco sours.
