Bariloche! The Muskoka of Argentina

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So here I am in San Carlos de Bariloche (apparently this town is not an option on this blog so I chose San Martin de Los Angeles, the next closest town!) in the heart of Argentina´s Lake District. I will probably be here for 2 weeks studying Spanish at a school called "Spanish in the Mountains" and staying in a family homestay situation.

It took me 23 hours to get here on the bus!!!!!!!!!! I rode in a "semi-cama" seat which means that the seat reclines halfway back, and there is a foot rest. But believe me, after 23 hours it ain´t no picnic. I am now frantically trying to reconsider the rest of my travel plans in order to avoid similarly long bus rides. But there are such great distances in Argentina, I think I will have to bit the bullet and take a few more bus trips and perhaps a few internal flights when I can.

Many people warned me that the view from the window would be mostly pampa, pampa, pampa, which turned out to be true. However, I enjoy seeing fields of grass, cows, and blue sky: I find it peaceful. Then this morning, the Andes started coming into view, and the ice-blue lakes of the Lake District. It reminds me a bit of Lake Louise, or Kimberly BC. Others say it is similar to the Alps. And yes, I declare there is a similarity to Muskoka, Ontario, in that this is the cottage getaway of the Argentine city-dwellers. That is, with mountains added to the mix.

I felt pretty nervous as we arrived in town. Maria from the Spanish school had emailed me the day I left B.A. to let me know that she couldn´t pick me up, and gave me the address I should take a cab to.

As I collected my bag from the bus I thought, what address is this for? The spanish school? The family´s home? I had no idea, and I also had no clue how far it would be from the bus station. As I struggled to communicate with the cab driver (Argentine spanish is proving to be much harder to understand than I had supposed!) I wondered how it would all turn out....

Turns out it was the address of the family - actually, a couple, Juan and Maria, who are hosting me for the next few weeks. They have a cute little home with a view of the mountains, about a 15-minute ride from the centre of town. I was so happy to have my own room, and to not have to lock up all my belongings!!

Juan and Maria are very sweet, although we can barely communicate at the moment! I find myself stuttering and stammering to get across the most basic ideas. I hope my spanish classes start to kick in soon!

So this evening Juan has dropped me off in "el centro", the toursity little downtown area which is basically full of ski shops and overpriced restaurants. Now I am going to attempt to take the bus back to their home - here´s hoping I remember the way! Supposedly I will meet up with Maria tomorrow, who runs the Spanish school, but it is all very vague and so I really have no idea what will happen. I guess tomorrow will tell!

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Photos

Lago Nahuel Huapi
Bariloche, Patagonia

My Spanish teacher, Silvi
At a lookout point over Lago Nahuel Huapi

Trees in Bariloche
My ongoing obsession with trees and lakes...

Comments

[Alana]

23 hours!!!!
OMG! your azz musta been numb!!

[julia]

you know, when i went on my france exchange i encountered similar language problems, but chances are they will only speak spanish to you, and after about a week, you start to think in that language... which will help you so much! when you come back you'll have trouble keeping your languages straight! glad to hear you're having fun :D:D

[Rancherita]

yay, you are in bariloche! How is it? Pura vida, Claudia

[jonathan]

substances
Hey Emma! Good to hear you made it to your Spanish School. I find your whole Buenos Aires experience hilarious, of course. Especially the part where you didn't know the rooms were "mixed". I remember the first time that happened to me - I was pretty shocked. I thought there was some mistake. Keep the blogs coming, I'm enjoying living vicariously through you - I wish I was travelling again. Did you try the 'yerba mate' yet?