General Roca

31st of October to 7th of November

Scenic Ride

From Bahia Blanca to General Roca was another 500km or a 6 hour bus ride. On the bus we had the most scenic drive yet. First we had endless shrubland like in those Wild West movies. We saw some unhappy cows gathered in a paddock (getting ready for a dip of Medicine?). Later on we passed a huge wild fire! And huge Sandstone hills it looked like we were driving in the Grand Canyon😂!

The closer we got to Roca, the more green we started to see. From a far it looked like very tall hedges. Getting closer we saw those hedges were made with slender straight very tall trees (poplars), to serve as protection for the orchards and vineyards!

When we arrived in General Roca we got an Uber only to find out taxis were working as Ubers!? Quite clever of them!

We were staying in a back yard studio yet again but this time the house was really nicely done. It all looked new and the owner has made an effort to keep everything neat and organized. I had my own bed, which was comfortable and nice. The only thing was that me and my parents were sharing a room. So when I went to bed I had to listen to them talking about the movie they’re watching and have their phone light bugging me…🫥

Why Roca?

General Roca is a city in the northeast of the Argentine province of Río Negro, northern Patagonia. It was founded on September 1, 1879, by Colonel Lorenzo Vintter, on the order of War Minister Roca during the Conquest of the Desert. You can look at this picture and see that most of the land was still in the hands of the indigenous people at 1860.

The place of the first settlement was known by native mapuche people as Fiske Menuco, which means “deep water”. It was destroyed in 1899 by a flooding of the Río Negro, and had to be rebuilt 5 kilometres northwest in higher lands.

Its present population is approximately 102,750 (in 2022), making it the second most populated city in the province after Bariloche, and the second most important in the Alto Valle after Neuquén.

So the reason we came to General Roca is because it’s very popular neighbour, Neuquen,’s accommodation prices were waaayyyyyy above our price range.

To me General Roca gave me the vibe of a modern town in the middle of a desert. It had a centre where an old railway line runs through. There was also a canal and a large water run off area running through the city. With a green area on both sides of the waterway, convenient for walking. Outside of the centre, many of the roads were not tarred.

So the first thing I noticed in this small town is Argentina’s lack of originality with street names: Chile, Mexico, Buenas Aires, Estados Unified, Italia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Hipolito Yrigoyen etc… Every place we’ve been to do far has got those exact same street names!

The second thing is there are lots of different colorful wild flowers…

The third thing is the Sun. Oooooooh how I missed the Sun!!☀️🫠!

Fourth thing I noticed is that this is not a tourist destination. People looked at us strangely and asked us where we are from.

Fifth thing is that the Argentines like coming up with their own words fiambreria, polleria, verduleria, vinoteca, herborista, …

There weren’t many things to do in General Roca so we mainly walked around a lot. In the center of town there is an Old Train station surrounded by funny statues made out of scrap metal.

There was also an Apple Monument which was on the must see list online but it was just a giant metal spiral shaped like an apple🙄. Contemporary art am I right?!!

Vintter Museum

We also went to a cultural museum which had lots of old stuff, like a washing machine, school desk etc, a historical timeline and a bunch of old cars and trucks, as well as a train and carts used in mining!

They also had all the stuff they use in the vineyards!!

There was also a small area about trains in a train cart with an entire miniature town with a railway and toy train, a replica of General Roca and the mine in the 1900s. It was sooo cute❣️

And I have an announcement to make! I have found my calling. I want to be a miniaturist!!!

Rio Negro

We also took a local bus to the very edge of town to go to Rio Negro. It was a very long ride and along the way we saw all the vineyards and orchards of oranges, apples and pears 🍐🍊🍎🍷🍇.

The bus ride to the river/lake was very bumpy but scenic, but most definitely dusty😮‍💨 cough cough.

Though most of the activity was on the other side of the lake where there is a beach, there were still plenty of families having picnics. On our side there were even 2 boys riding horses (who were leaving quite a trail💩🤢).

When we arrived at the river we had lunch and took a bunch of pictures. The water was clear and the sky was blue. It was perfect for pictures!

Antigua Bodega

We also tried to go to the oldest vineyard in the area, called Antigua Bodega, but when we got there it was all locked up. No one was home, except for some pigs, dogs and chickens. And we walked half the way back to town before we could get an Uber home 🥵😖