Patagonian sky from the bus Photo

Photographer’s Note

While still very busy changing my life to Granada, Spain, I manage to have some time for this post. This almost abstract image shows the sky at the end of the day, taken through the window of the bus, while crossing Patagonia through the legendary 'ruta 40'. We were somehwere in the middle of Santa Cruz province, not far from Bajo Caracoles which is, as many places in Patagonia, a miserable settlement only useful to refuel since there aren't much gas stations downthere. To go from El Calafate (the city to visit the glaciar Perito Moreno) to Bariloche in Northern Patagonia, it takes around 34h by bus - 2 days observing the unchanging semi-desertic landscape. It's beautiful at the begining and monotonous and boring most of the time. Still, I think it's the only way to know the real immensity of patagonia.

At least the sky in patagonia was a great entertainer and a constant surprise for me - a local driver said to me in the next day: "Yes, skies can be pretty special around here".
I guess this image expresses a bit my state of mind now a days, a bit disconnected, lost somewhere in between Lisbon and Granada.

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WS - complementar picture showing the perspective of 'ruta 40' in Chubut province.

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La Cuarenta runs a staggering 5224km from the tip of Patagonia to Bolivia – the distance from Amsterdam to Afghanistan. Partly to make it more attractive for tourists, the road's itinerary has been changed over the years.

Argentines fondly refer to RN-40, or Ruta 40, the country's longest road, as La Cuarenta – The Forty. Stretching from Cabo Vírgenes, the southernmost point of the Argentine mainland, to northernmost Ciénaga, on the Bolivian border, it's more than just a highway. Like Route 66 in the US, the road has its own ethos – it has inspired songs, been the subject of books and caused arguments. Whatever you do, don't steer clear of Ruta 40 – it's as central to a visit to Argentina as a football match or a milonga.

The second principal artery of Argentine Patagonia is the famous – and largely unpaved – RN-40, or Ruta 40, which runs parallel to the Andes, at a distance of roughly 90km. Although some places are difficult to reach without your own transport, this western fringe is where you'll find Argentine Patagonia's most impressive great lakes – Buenos Aires, Viedma and Argentino – and national parks, as well as the finest spit-roast lamb asados and some uniquely wild skies.

With such huge distances involved in travelling Patagonia, visitors who have limited time often make use of Argentina's growing network of domestic flights to avoid some rather gruelling bus journeys. Overland travel, however, is the only real way to get an impression of the vast scale of the place; regular buses serve all destinations on RN-3, as well as the major towns along the southern Andes. The areas on and around RN-40 are best explored by renting a car.

(source:rough guide book)

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I TURNED OFF THE POINTS.
CAN'T SEE OR GIVE POINTS.

ribeiroantonio, paura, zeynepe, bostankorkulugu, pablominto, JCG, ChrisJ, xuaxo, josepmarin has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Fellini (4942) 2009-06-03 1:59

Hi Ricardo...
very good the travel in night bus in Patagonia...i remember beautiful landscape and sunset...wonderful experience.
Your shot is very impressive...the clouds seem fire!
Cheers
Alex

ribeiroantonio (21701) 2009-06-03 2:06

MAs ainda arranjas alguma tempo para o TE. A isso, chama-se vício!!! Tal como eu, cheguei hoja à sonda em Israel e cá estou a ver o que há de novo.
Este céu castanho e dourado está fabuloso. As nuvens mais baixas a reflectir a luz do pôr-do-sol estão lindas.
Depois de ler a nota aqui vi a pergunta. E passáste dia e meio denro de um autocarro. Porquê? Pela experiência da viagem ou porque não tinhas outro maneira de o fazer? O que é que foste ver em particular?
E como é que se está a passar a mudança? Já tens casa?
Um abraço,
António

bakes888 (18045) 2009-06-03 2:49

Hi Ricardo. Nice shot for one taken through a bus window! Excellent colours and patterns. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

aadilj (17950) 2009-06-03 4:52

Hi ricardo, this is very beautifully captured and is sure an intense and interesting scene. I like the hues and the etxtures. the patterns are superb

bantonbuju (48334) 2009-06-03 7:29

congrats! creativity on highest level!.....

:-)))

bw, j.

jmdias (18635) 2009-06-03 7:46

ricardo

realmente é um belo cenário de ocaso, muito bonita a forma das nuvens e a luz dourada, com a silueta dos montes ao fundo. gostaria de ter feito a viagem que vc fez de bus, mas dizem que a mesma rota entre torres del paine e puerto montt no chile é ainda mais fabulosa, cruzando geleiras e florestas à beira de baías geladas. armazene este ideia para uma próxima visita..
imagino como vc deve estar se sentindo com esta mudança, não sei se foi por vontade própria ou pelas circunstâncias. Eu sempre vivi aqui mas tenho alma de cigano, quando fico num lugar dois dias já me sinto local e adaptado ao ambiente. mas quem imigra tem sempre um pedaço do local de origem enterrado no coração.

abraços (saludos de paraná)

jorge

paura (37658) 2009-06-03 10:25

Ric,
Ricas e variadas tonalidades nessa beleza de céu. Muito bonita fotografia.

Abraço

Paulo

coco (27528) 2009-06-03 12:13

Hola Ricardo.

Impressive work with the light in this impressive landscape.
Simply a superb work.

Regards.

blueswan (0) 2009-06-03 12:29

Looks like postcard. Nice work. Pretty golden clouds

chris04stop (2135) 2009-06-03 14:14

Dramatic, terrible and wonderful sky! Ricardo...what will happen now? Maybe the end of the world? If yes, I don't worry: I just love your colours...
Ehi...bravissimo!
Anna Paola

jonathan_hart (22562) 2009-06-03 15:06

big contrasts
a sky, just a sky, but worth being photographed,
a real natural show

berek (28746) 2009-06-03 20:10

Ola Ricardo,
you took beautiful sky show from the bus for us. I love heavy clouds and incredible light here.
you don't use cell hone . is it right ? very good idea my friend..
best wishes.
Burak

emka (21127) 2009-06-03 23:04

Hi Ric,

Splendid view of the spatagonian sky. So you went north from Calafate. 34 hours on such a road - well, it must be rather boring. I do not know Argentinian buses. In chile they are very comfortable so maybe it would not be bad.

regards

Malgorzata

stego (22304) 2009-06-04 8:26

Olá Ricardo,

34 horas de autocarro?!!! Isso é que é coragem para enfrentar o tédio! Lembro-me de um grande amigo meu ter comentado que "Aero-bus" era uma seca, que diria ele do "land bus"?

Mas realmente estes céus são algo de impressionante e aproveitaste este muito bem para uma foto fantástica.

Também gosto imenso do WS.

Um abraço,
José

gilou530 (34605) 2009-06-04 12:13

salut ricardo
un ciel qui donne une ambiance mysthique que seule la nature peux nous donner et tu l'as bien capturé
amitiéis
gilbert

AiresSantos (41142) 2009-06-04 23:40

Ola Ricardo
O ceu esta maravilhoso. Excelente enquadramento e cores.
Um abraco Amigo
Aires

zeynepe (9328) 2009-06-05 4:49

It looks that someone is moving to Granada... This means that it is time to start writing critics to you :P
What a sky !!! This is an amazing natural phenomenom!!!and perfectly matched to your status Spanish man ..
zeynep

xuaxo (5609) 2009-06-05 5:50

Olá Ricardo,
Eu à espera de uma Granada e aparece-me esta explosão no céu.
Realmente essa Patagónia deve ser um sítio assim a dar para o estrambólico (como o seu nome!).
Bem visto. Valeu a pena mostrares este céu.
O WS também é muito interessante para mostrar a região. Essas estradas devem ser ainda mais monótonas que nos desertos do oeste norte-americano, com a desvantagem de serem mais ruins.
Bom fim-de-semana e não te esqueças de ir votar. A minha teoria é que os partidos (ainda) não são todos iguais e além disso não é preciso votar sempre nos mesmos; há muitos que nunca tiveram oportunidade de mostrarem o que (não) valem.
Já me alarguei. O que é que as eleições europeias têm a ver com o céu da Patagónia? Ainda se fosse o dinheiro do Tio Patinhas...
Bom, já que temos o Avô Cantigas, também podíamos ter o Tio Patinhas, o Pateta, o Noddy, etc, como candidatos ;-)
(Agora é que pus mesmo a pata na poça!)
Diverte-te! A Andaluzia há-de ser mais entusiasmante que isto aqui.
Francisco

jhm (81561) 2009-06-05 11:25

Hi Ricardo,

We see not everyday these wonderful sky, excellent colourfully.
Also a nice contrast beneath through the dark silhouette of the mountains.
Very well suitable picture, I like your creativity.

Have a nice weekend,
John

halikarnas (2045) 2009-06-06 0:51

hi Ricardo,
Wonderful photo,wonderful colors.
Harika bir fotoğraf ve harika renkler.
CONGRATULATİONS!
regards
Ataman

Bluejeans (31417) 2009-06-06 2:06

Oi amigo ,
Que céu magnifico parece fogo , conseguiste uns belos tons de amarelo, gostei da faixa azul no horizonte , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

Bom fim de semana e boa mudança :)

bostankorkulugu (33318) 2009-06-07 14:16

hey... send me a mail telling all about it... why have you moved to granada?... lisbon kicked you out?... missed you ric... take care...

this shot makes me wanna have some toblerone, i dont know why... because of the honey coloured clouds may be?!... strange...

John_F_Kennedy (30486) 2009-06-08 1:19

I like this poetic atmosphere here. Well composed.
Best wishes,
Achim

pablominto (39832) 2009-06-08 8:16

Hello Ricardo,

Wonderful scenery in the sky, I can well understand you were tempted to photograph from the bus!
And very often the result proves to be fine, I often photograph from moving cars myself...
A lovely frame as the setting sun is giving golden linings to the sky!

Greetings,
Pablo -

JCG (24733) 2009-06-10 8:39

Olá Ricardo,

An almost strange photograph where the image processing gives to this sky original colors and forms.
Then, finished Portugal, and hello Spain according to what I read !!! It is Ana which must be happy…

With all my friendships with you and Ana and all my encouragements in your new life, so long,

Jean-Charles

lucasgalodoido (16525) 2009-06-12 10:53

Olá Ricardo,
bem dramático mesmo esse céu, os últimos reflexos dourados nas nuvens ficaram ótimos, assim como o contraste. Belo trabalho.
Parabéns e Abraço

ChrisJ (69368) 2009-08-02 21:04

Hi Ricardo

A stunning sunset, with good graphism & light contrasts, & superb orange vs dark violet-blue colour tints. Tfs!

Benedict (7060) 2009-08-04 23:14

that's an excellent capture from a 9moving) bus!
i like the golden/black colour combination, and the hues.
Benedict

kevinos (6865) 2009-08-09 9:27

Ah Ricardo, now it is Argentina. I must say they the image is stunning and dramatic. It is am amazing and almost alarming light, as though the gates of hell were open. Regards kevin

manatee (4279) 2009-08-30 21:09

Muito bonito, muito hermoso.
Me gusta mucho este lugar te proyecta mucha paz y calma, solo el verlo te relaja, no me puedo imaginar lo que sentiste la estar ahi, WOW que inceible ha de haber sido.
Sabes Granada me gusto mucho es una ciudad mucho mas pequena que Lisboa no se si te vas a aburrir ahi, pero defnitivamente es una ciudad con gente interesante y muyu buena, ademas muy algres y con muchas costumbres interesantes, Lorca era de ahi y creo AMnuel de Falla tambien, asi que creo que aprenderas mucho y pronto aprenderas Espanol o como dicen ellos Castellano !!joer macho!! Lol.
Sabes yo tmabine pienso mudarme de ciudad aun no se a donde ire pero quiero tener un cambio, lo bueno es que cualquier parte que me mude sera al sur no hay nada mas al norte que Tijuana jejeje. Asi que ya te dire a donde esto sera hasta enero y con suerte y haga un viaje largo en Enero quiero irme a viajar desde Colombia hasta Brasil, pasando por Venezuela, Surinam, Guyana y Cayena, espero que pueda hacerlo tendre que ahorara mucho este ano :))

Bueno te mando un abrazo muy fuerte amigo y lo mejor para ti

Elias

Angshu (33185) 2009-09-15 1:12

Ola Ric
So are you back with a net connectivity? This is a surreal piece of work with the colours of the clouds. Looks straight out of a psychedelic album cover!
Had a fine trip to Paris...met up with Marie (marietom), Marc (morac) & Pierre (lacroix) who took me on a evening trip to La Defense...next day met up with Stephane for dinner. He was remembering you & how you shared a drink in Paris...wished you were there too with us!
Um Abraco
Angshu

josepmarin (33547) 2009-10-07 4:09

Olá Ricardo,
no había visto esta preciosidad fotográfica tuya. La sencillez de la composición, basada solamente en la gran belleza del anochecer, con esos tonos dorados entre las nubes, con un poco de cielo azul y la silueta negra del paisaje en contraluz, crea una imagen muy atractiva y agradable a la vista.
Y parece que la tomaste desde el autobus, lo que le da un gran mérito.
Excelente foto, amigo mío.
Un abrazo,
Josep

Urs (2373) 2009-10-07 5:27

Ola Ricardo,

Your driver certainly must have been right, this sky is special, like a cover for our planet. Very impressive and the colors are so bold and vibrant. It does not matter that the sharpness is a bit soft at the top of the photograph, I like it. You shot through the window, that's the only reason for the softness. Thanks a lot for sharing. Well done

Best regards
Urs