Argentines maintain that Patagonia begins at the Río Colorado in the Province of Neuquen. Traveling south, we cross that river on Ruta 40-Route Forty-in a volcanic landscape amidst a vast desert, the majestic peaks of the Andes always present on our right. Within the slopes of the Andes are myriad lakes and towns constructed by European immigrants-and expatriates, but never far from the arid, windswept steppes of Patagonia. More secluded are the Mapuches-Indians who resisted the European onslaught and today struggle to retain their culture.