Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Ten Ten Mahuida

Emil arrived accompanying a man driving a battered 4WD Mitsubishi with two spare tires and other items on the roof. Teresa and Marcelo were waiting inside a coffee shop and left as soon as they saw them. Emil made the introductions.

“ This is my countryman Udo Zimmerli. Udo does not speak Spanish, but you can communicate with him in English, unless you know German or Mongolian.”

“ Mongolian?” Repeated Teresa wrinkling her nose.

“ His wife is from Mongolia. He met her in Ulan Bator and they then crossed the Gobi Desert together, after which they decided to marry. I must say that Udo is a real globetrotter, and they have just arrived after touring the Central Australian desert.”

Emil briefly spoke with his compatriot in Schwitzer Dütsch, the Swiss German dialect and introduced him to the young couple. The driver took his hand to his temples in a kind of military salute, always keeping the smile.

“ Well, finally one nice Swiss .” Marcelo said slyly.

“ Udo is going to take us to the point where vehicles can access. In addition he will loan us some mountain equipment, a tent that I will use because I'm going to lend you mine, and a satellite phone.”

“ Can´t you rent the communications equipment?”

“ You can, but rental leaves many financial footprints and makes it easy to track you. We do not want that. That´s why we didn´t pick you up at the hotel but in this teahouse.”

Marcelo and Emil loaded the equipment and supplies that the couple had chosen to carry in the expedition through the vehicle rear door . Thereupon the young couple boarded and sat on the back seat, and the car pulled immediately away. Emil was giving travel instructions to his fellow countryman.

They traveled along the paved road that borders Lake Gutiérrez leaving the South massif of Mount Catedral to their right and after a long way spotted the turquoise waters of Lake Mascardi, product of the transport of mineral salts dissolved in the water to the lakebed of glacial origin. After about 35 km of journey from Bariloche they passed along Villa Mascardi, then abandoned Route 40 and the consolidated road changed its orientation from south-south-west to the west. They came to the road fork that leads to Mount Tronador contouring Mascardi Lake along the southern shore and then the Manso River, but maintained the course through the Lake Los Moscos and middle reaches of the Manso River. Once they found Lake Hess the vehicle took a four-kilometer track that led to the southern shore of Lake Fonck. Emil explained the purpose of this last stretch.

“ There is a park ranger here, whom I know from previous visits. I want to talk to him and inquire about the existence of people that may be related to what the shaman told us.”

They effectively stopped in front of the ranger dwelling and the Swiss entered it while the others descended from the van to stretch their legs.

After a while Tschudin returned greeting the guard who watched him from the entrance of his home.

“ Luckily I found him. He just came back from one of his patrols and was about to have lunch.”

“So? Any news of settlers?” Marcelo´s anxiety was palpable.

“ Now let's return to Lake Hess. We will set camp there and Udo will leave us. Then we´ll talk.” Replied flatly Emil.

They effectively returned to the intersection of roads south of Lake Hess, where there was indeed a campsite, but at that point in time there were no longer campers. Udo helped them to install the tents and set a fire where they heated their food. After lunch a gentle rain began falling, so the globetrotter decided to leave before the roads deteriorated. The farewell between the compatriots seemed rather cold to Teresa and Marcelo.

“ Do not worry, we will see him again. Udo will come to pick us up in a week, unless we call him before.” Clarified Emil noticing the expression of his companions.

They placed their camp under the protection of a huge Patagonian cypress and sat on stones that were still dry, in order to have an extensive chat. The rain fell stronger at times and a light mist expanded predisposing souls to sadness; the atmosphere was heavy with moisture but the location of the tents and fire guarded by trees protected their belongings.

“ I just hope that there won´t be a lightning storm.” Said Emil. “The forest will protect us from the rest.”

“ Well, excuse me for mentioning the reason for our expedition in front of Udo.” Said Teresa. “I believed that you trust him.”

“ I do. Although I did not know him before his arrival in Bariloche, we were born in the same canton in Switzerland, in neighboring valleys. But I do not want to expose him to unnecessary risks. I wish him to return safely to Mongolia or wherever the hell they will go from here, without causing him any setbacks.”

When she heard about the risks, Teresa made an involuntary gesture of fear. Emil, obviously a character with sensitivity to others' emotions, realized immediately and added.

“ I never hid from you that there is danger due to the existence of unscrupulous treasure hunters. Anyway, we have acted with caution and will continue to do so, so as to minimize the risks.”

Emil then changed the subject, knowing that his partners wanted to know the result of the talk at Lake Fonck.

“ The guard had no concrete news on permanent residents who may be of interest to us. There are only a few scattered shepherds in the mountains that live there who know for what reasons. But he has received from his predecessor some inaccurate data on communities, small indeed, that inhabit remote areas of the mountains and forests. That ranger, during a wildfire in areas of Mounts Pelado and Cuadrado, was surprised by the appearance of organized groups that helped to fight the fire until it was completely extinguished. They did not communicate with anyone and then disappeared as surreptitiously as they had appeared.” Emil inhaled before continuing. “Through shepherds or hikers he also hears from time to time rumors about organized people moving in an area indefinite but close to the border with Chile, which is a few kilometers away. He suggested tracing the Exploradores Creek to the west and then heading south.

As the rain, frequent in that place, stopped they decided to visit the Gendarmerie station located in the vicinity of Lake Hess. It was a courtesy visit, given that the summer tourist season was over and only some fishermen, mostly foreigners, roamed the area. Emil served as spokesman for the group, presenting himself as an anthropologist and Teresa as an archaeologist, and explained that they were conducting a study on the primitive settlers of the central-western Patagonia sector, explanation that apparently satisfied the head of the detachment . They had seen a nearby inn had closed a week earlier, but the gendarme told them where they could rent horses.

The travelers rented five docile horses for a period of one week and in order to get used to them they went to make a tour in the Cascade Los Alerces area, a few kilometers south of Lake Hess. On the way the travelers ran into the Lake Roca stretching to the southwest and after contemplating it for a while they then headed southeast.

“ We will come back here, let´s first visit the cascade.” indicated Emil.

The magnificent waterfall of 20 meters height, through which the Manso River collapses on its way to the Pacific Ocean dazzled Teresa, always attracted by natural landscapes.

“ It's amazing how water color changes.” She said. “ Marcelo, have you been here before?”

“ Yes, over ten years ago, on a trip with my high school course. It is exactly as I remember it. Stand on that end of the walkway, I’ll take you another picture.”

After touring the walkways overlooking the fall from different points, Emil recommended.

“We have still a few hours of light. I suggest we go to the mouth of the Exploradores Creek in Lake Roca. It is about five kilometers away, most along the lake shore and it will give us an idea of the terrain that we have to go through afterwards.”

They found the road on horseback bearable because there were no major natural obstacles; when they reached the mouth of the stream they dismounted, Marcelo took some pictures, while Emil checked his GPS. After a while, he returned to make a recommendation.

“ It´ll soon be dark, and we left the camp alone. Although it´s near the Gendarmerie post I suggest that we go back and prepare dinner. In addition, I agreed with Raquel to call her at eight in the evening.”

The explorers had already eaten and were outside the tents so they were wearing heavy clothes because the night was cold. Emil took the satellite phone and after several attempts, managed to communicate with his wife. After some banal subjects he said.

“ Then Raquel, I ask that after this call you turn on the PC and open Google Earth, then I need you to look at the following coordinates:

S 41º 22 '12' '

W 71º 46 '49.44' '

... This is the mouth of Exploradores Creek in Lake Roca. Please enlarge the resolution, zooming as much as possible, and then scroll slowly toward the west-northwest, I want you to see the pictures carefully, if there is anything to suggest human activity, such as crops, roads, livestock or buildings. I'll call again you in thirty minutes.”

Past the deadline, Emil called his wife once more.

“ ... Nothing ?, only forests and mountains? Have you taken a good look? When are the pictures dated? ... Well, thank you very much. I'll call you tomorrow at the same time. I love you.”

“ There is nothing in the map that allows us to assume that there is someone living there.” said Emil turning to his fellow campers. The photos are not current but of 2004, but those who we are looking for have been supposedly living there for generations.”

“ Emil.” Marcelo replied soberly: “The tree cover in this area is very thick. It is no wonder that aerial photos do not show anything.”

“ Well.” argued wearily Teresa. “Tomorrow we´ll begin the journey. Then we will see if there is something or not. I´m going to the tent now. See you tomorrow.”

“ Well said. Emil, see you tomorrow.” Marcelo followed his wife to the tent. Upon entering it he saw that she was undressing in the light of the lantern, and when she turned and looked at him she angrily exclaimed.

“ Do not start again! Emil is just two steps away and I am very tired.”

Marcelo decided that the complaint did not sound sincere and recognized the germ of excitement in his wife’s voice.

“ No more excuses!”

The next morning Teresa awoke because of some soft whispers coming from outside the tent. She was pleased to remember what had happened,

“It was a good night.” Thought. “But it is happening too often.”

The coffee aroma reached her nostrils. She looked at her side. Not only Marcelo was not next to her but his sleeping bag was wrapped. Teresa decided to get up despite her desire to remain sheathed in hers.

“A perfect husband would bring me breakfast in bed .” Thought absolutely in vain. In the midst of her thoughts, a snort of horses reached her ears.