Our suprise destination for the end of our Patagonia leg turned out to be just that - suprising. I'm still not sure whether I'd call it a generally positive or negative experience, but here goes:
With Nick recovering back in Puerto Madryn for a couple of days, Sam and I trekked north-west before our eventual meetup on Friday in Buenos Aires. Similar to Puerto Madryn, Neuquen is a boring, dull and lifeless town, offering next to nothing to the average tourist. So why go here? Sams internet stalking came across another travel blog which told of an attraction that is both unique and a bit off the combentional gringo trail. About 1.5 hours north-west of Neuquen is an active dinosaur excavation that tourists are able to attend and participate in along side the on-site Paliantologists. Tours are organised through an agent and tourists can stay on-site anywhere between 2 hours and 10+ days.
After our arrival, we checked in at a textbook boring YHI hostel (one of only 2 hostels in town), and set off on a quick explore. Our walk around the town confirmed our initial preconceptions - Neuquen, in it's own right, sucks. Next on thenlist was to track down the aforementioned agent to organise a full day tour to the dinosaur excavation.
We followed the ever-reliable directions of Google Maps into the industrial precinct of Neuquen, and down some side streets. Not the most conventional location for a tour agency. The address no longer existed. We asked the adjacent meat wholesaler and then the petrolium infrastructure supplies outlet who eventually called for us. They had moved around the corner. After a quick chat we organised the tour and would set off the next morning for a full day at the site. This eventuates into a story in itself which I'll discuss below. Firstly however...
The Tour:
Our full day package would begin with the standard two hour tour around the site that most tourists undertake. This is basically an observational walk around the site and small museum area with a guide that explains everything etc. This proved useful as the last time I read anything about dinosaurs was in primary school. After lunch with 'the team', which was rather excellent, we would take a more hands on approach with excavation work, lab work, and finally making some casts and small models. Basically, we would go through a watered-down version of the actual process. Our excavation proved less than sucessful and we ended up empty-handed. However, one of the Paliantologists next to us did find some fossilised tree routes. We then went over to the lab when we'd work on some previously discovered bones to remove all the extra sediment/crap off them before the final stage of the process. I was suprised at the tedious nature of this process which basically involved tiny chisels and a lot of time. Surely technology has provided an easier way by now? After this we prepared the resin to create a final replica. To say ours didn't turn out as good as the professional ones would be an understatement.
Overall it was an extremely intersting and rewarding day. This was probably moreso as I wasn't too excited about the prospect to begin with. The length of the process from start to finish was alarming and a testiment to the patience and dedication of those involved - something I most likely couldn't do. We were rushed through it all in many respects but were still able to appreciate the time that goes into everything. Some of the processes seemed particularly 'old school' but I guess some things don't change.
Now for the downside of the day. When we met with our tour agent on the first day we were informed that the full day tour we were after would cost 200, not including a transfer. As we had no car, with a transfer would be 500. Due to the language barrier, we made certain to confirm that it was 500 total for two people, and not 500 on top of the original 200 quoted. This was confirmed again when our hostel made the booking. The day went ahead as described above, and all was good.
When we were dropped off we handed our agent the 500 as quoted. This was met with disapproval. 'where's the 200 for the park entry - the 500 only covered the transfer...' he claimed. We argued, stated we had no more money and he left. On review, 500 for a transfer was ridiculous considering our overnight bus from Puerto Madryn to Neuquen was only 225p/p.
Our amigo returned about 10 minutes later claiming we stole money from him blah blah blah and he would be calling the police. After some deliberation we decided it wasn't worth the trouble and presented the AR200 - again met with disapproval. It turns out it was US200 he sought. What? I'm pretty sure we were still in Argentina where the currency in the Argentinian peso. With the police due any minute, we again conceded and handed over the best part of AR750 on top of our original quote. Despite getting his money we copped a rant that we had disrespected him etc and that he's now going to have to explain himself to the police. Three armed police promptly arrived and asked questions. Given my Spanish is poor at best I had no idea what was said except for when thy asked what nationality I was. Thankfully Australian was good enough for them - perhaps I wouldn't have been so lucky if I was from elsewhere?
Anyway, what to do about this blatant rip off? Go to some sort of consumer affairs? Do they even exist in Argentina? Dob him into the tax man considering I didn't even get a reciept? Possibly. Step 1 is a name and shame. Quite simply, if you go to Neuquen and want to go dig for dinosaurs, don't use this company:
Diem Viajes
Chile 335
Neuquen, Argentina
So what are your options? The easiest way in my opinion is to organise your own transport (hire a car which is notably cheaper) and deal with the Proyecto Dino guys yourself. The location is pretty easy to find, you'll save a bit of cash and hopefully have a top day.
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