Argentina Finalizing

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From Bariloche we went on the ruta de 7 lagos, a popular route along the mountains that connects seven lakes from bariloche to san martin de los andes. along the way we stopped at various lakes with very clear water surrounded by mountains (more of the same scenery as before). we stopped for a few days in at one spot where we decided to do a 7 hour hike up to a lookout. the tour book i have about argentina barely mentions it (if at all, im not sure), but the sight on the lookout was spectalular. the view gave me the impression of the grand canyon, in terms of wide open space and the vantage point from a mountain peek in the middle of the space, hemmed in not by not canyon walls but lines of mountains way off in the distance, and of course blue water from the lake below. the trail leading up to the vantage point was at times hard to find the markers, and even disappeared toward the end. i was scared to proceed because the rock near the top was very loose, and would give way at evrey step. but i saw what i thought were footprints so climbed the rest of the way to the top. the best part was that unlike the grand canyon, there was no one else at the top! (and no one else on the trail for that matter). i had the peak all to my self (really the peak was like a ridge that went off in a few directions for a few hundred yards). also near the top i saw a patch of snow there so i decided to culopatinar again.

i should explain the word culopatinar better. culo is ass. patinar is to slide or slip. so the word for for sledriding is ass-sliding. and it turns out that near san martin there is a volcano in chile where you can climb 3-4 hours up to the top, look down inside to see lava, and then to get down, you culopatinar the entire way for about 30 minutes. i really wanted to do it, but we ran out of time, and the roads getting there are horrible. i might actually return just to do that after carnival. these developments (the trail with few people, volcano) show that i have just scratched the surface here, and there is much more to discover.

we also passed by an interesting glacier covered volcano called lanin, which resembles a mount renier (stands out way above the landscape) before moving on to buenos aires.

we are here now resting and preparing for the next stage of the journey, Brazil. will leaving for iguazu falls on monday.

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