If, like us, you unexpectedly find yourself traveling north from Patagonia on the eastern Route 3 instead of the scenic, quaint, loved by everyone, filled with puppies, rainbows and marble caves Caretera Austral that you had dreamed of traveling for months, don’t fear! You will be pleased to know that there are a few places of interest along the way for you to continue your patagonian adventuring. One example of this is a town called Luis Piedra Buena.

When we initially stopped in Piedra Buena we were not impressed right away. Regular town, nothing special. Needing to spend the night there we were happy to have met a few motorcycle travelers who recommended a comfortable city camping location. What was meant to be a one day stop turned into a week long stay filled with epic sunsets, penguins and lots of Swiss people.

Despite what its name might imply, Vial Camping was an excellent homestead. For 40 pesos ($4) per person per night we were one of the only guests at this quiet, riverside, grassy campsite (with hot showers and wifi!). In typical Argentinian fashion the campsite had enough parillas (BBQs) to grill a small herd of cows. As the sun went down that first night, Piedra Buena got its first hooks into us with the most incredible sunset. The unending patagonian steppe surrounding the town gives the sky an ominous perspective that is both vast and surreal. The cloud cover felt like a low ceiling but the vastness of the terrain meant there was always sunny sky in sight. The intensity of the colors in the sunset were staggering.

Just down the street is a small island (Isla Pavona) in the river where you can also camp, picnic, hike around and enjoy the epic sunsets. We found it so relaxing that we stayed a week since we didn’t want to be on the move for Jordan’s birthday. Stopping in Piedra Buena helped us realize that as long term travelers we don’t always need to be on the move in search of the next high octane adventure. We are enjoying life and sometimes it is nice to slow down in a small town to simply enjoy the pleasures of beautiful cheap accommodation and sunsets.

We spent the first few days with a retired Swiss man who enjoyed taking dips in the river and letting the current drag him around for a while. Once he left, another Swiss family arrived. Two professors on sabbatical with their sons. After chatting over dinner the family generously offered to squish us in their car the next day to explore Parque de Monte León. This coastal dessert park is home to all sorts of animals including sea lions, penguins and cormorants (whose droppings used to be quite in demand for their fertilizer magic apparently). Standing surrounded by penguins about 3 inches from my feet was quite a special experience and made Jordan and I want to reneg on our previous post in which we implied that penguin watching as an activity isn’t that cool.

We eventually left Piedra Buena, but will never forget our week long excursion at Vial Camping, and the nature surrounding it. We wouldn’t recommend that you plan to stay there for as long as we did, but if you are making your way on Route 3 and need a stop, consider Piedra Buena!