Blogs from El Bolsón, Río Negro, Argentina, South America - page 2

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South America » Argentina » Río Negro » El Bolsón December 22nd 2012

Wie geplant sind wir also zur gekuerzten Nahuel Huapi Traverse aufgebrochen. Irgendwie haben wir die erste Tagesetappe unabsichtlich etwas verlaengert, weil wir den Anfang des Wegs nicht so richtig gefunden haben. Also haben wir einfach einen Weg genommen, der in die gewuenschte Richtung ging, in der Hoffnung, dass es dann passt. Dabei haben wir gekonnt immer wieder einen Mountainbike-Trail erwischt und sind froehlich in irren Schlanglinien durch's Unterholz gestreift. Nach 3 Stunden sind wir dann das erste Mal erfolgreich auf den richtigen Weg getroffen :-/ Aber egal, die Berglandschaft mit dem grossen Lago Gutierrez war wunderschoen. Je hoeher wir kamen, je kaelter wurde es, und ab ca 1.500 m schneite es. Wir waren froh, als wir das winzige Refugio Frey erreicht hatten, das von 2 jungen Kerlen im Klettererformat betrieben wird. Der Schneefall wurde dichter, auf ... read more
Lago Gutierrez
Papa Noel?
Gutes Wetter zum Aufstieg

South America » Argentina » Río Negro » El Bolsón August 5th 2012

The snow in Bariloche was getting pretty terrible so Owen and I went to Esquel to try out Cerro La Hoya. We met a couple skiers at the hostel who said the best way to get to the hill was to hitchhike. The alternative was a 60 pesos bus ride, which didn’t sound nearly as cool as hitchhiking. The hill was icy and they had the backside of the mountain closed because there weren’t enough people around. So we went and checked out the local watering hole, and accidentally missed our 9 AM bus. Esquel – 1 : Alex and Owen – 0.... read more
Hostel
Hostel
Hostel

South America » Argentina » Río Negro » El Bolsón July 5th 2012

There’s a small town about 130 km south of Bariloche called El Bolson. We’d heard a lot about it and decided to go check it out. We took a bus, which ended up taking about 4 hours because of the weather, but it was a good chance to check out some awesome mountain scenery. The town was pretty laid back compared to Bariloche. We spent the next day hiking Cerro Amigo and checking out the town, then headed home to Bariloche to find some more snow!... read more
Photo 31
Photo 32
View from the bus

South America » Argentina » Río Negro » El Bolsón April 2nd 2012

I start with an apology for the delay since my last post. The reason, for those who don't know will be revealed in the next few posts, but as I have been encouraged to continue with my blog up until the fateful day, I shall. San Carlos de Bariloche was not in fact closed at all. Come the late afternoon when I decided to go for a walk it was open for business. Being a Sunday this was perhaps unusual but San Carlos de Bariloche was a tourist town and they were clearly out for your dollar. The Swiss influence did not extend just to chocolate but to skiing and San Carlos de Bariloche is a popular destination for the Argentines. One of out group thought Prince Charles had visited many moons ago - PD - ... read more
Cholila
Los Alerces National Park
Lago Futalafquen

South America » Argentina » Río Negro » El Bolsón March 16th 2012

We arrived in El Bolson around noon Wednesday (March 14th) to clear skies and beautiful temperatures (I´d guess high 70´s to low 80´s). By this point, we´ve established a routine. Try to get information from the bus terminal. If information isn´t available there, find out where the tourist information office is and head there. The information we typically look for is: 1) Where are the campsites and which are the cheapest (or hostels, but lately we´ve just been camping), 2) What are some of the recommended things to do around town or nearby - we typically know what we want to do, but it is always good to get more input, 3) How do we get to the next town we want to go to - sometimes the bus terminals aren´t easy to come back to, ... read more
El Bolson from Cerro Amigo
Bridge to campsite
Lago Puelo

South America » Argentina » Río Negro » El Bolsón December 10th 2011

From Bariloche it's a short but beautiful hop (a mere three hours in the bus), along a road boxed in on both sides by soaring snow-capped mountains, to the small but intriguing town of El Bolsón. Wedged between two mountain ranges, El Bolsón couldn't have a more impressive setting. The mild microclimate its position produces has made El Bolsón one of the country's prime fruit-growing areas - strawberries, raspberries, cherries, peaches, apricots...all abound here. We've been feeling somewhat vegetable-starved for the past few weeks (or months...) and the bounty available on the shelves of El Bolsón is, on its own, a big reason to come here. The first night in our cosy little hostel sees us gorge on mountains of greenery the likes of which we haven't seen since we left home. El Bolsón has something ... read more
Bridge over the Río Azul
Bridge over the Río Azul
View on the way to Refugio Hielo Azul

South America » Argentina » Río Negro » El Bolsón November 3rd 2011

Heya from Patagonia! Woo! We're currently in El Bolson - a lovely arty, hippy town in beautiful North Patagonia. Tomorrow we head out on our most epic bus journey yet - some 26 hours south to El Calafate! Since our last update, we've been on bikes on no less than 3 occassions. I promise you this is not my influence. First was the 'not to be missed' Mr Hugo´s bikes and wineries tour in Mendoza. What we hoped to be a great day certainly delivered! Despite a bad start to the morning... having woken up in our dirty hostel, realising the included breakfast consisted solely of biscuits (no there wasn't even a variety box), having to rush to the bus station and then getting the wrong bus out of town... with the help of some lovely ... read more
The view from our hostel!
Chilled in Beautiful Bariloche

South America » Argentina » Río Negro » El Bolsón May 29th 2011

After an interesting week hitch-hiking etc we got back on the tourist trail and went to El Bolson, a small hippy town in the argentine lake district (much more impressive than the English one!). Spent a couple of days hiking to some beauty spots, which were pretty much deserted apart from us (we even saw a pudu- a very small, rare deer) , drinking local beer and eating great steak! From there we went up to Bariloche, the main city in the region. It is just a short bus ride to the national park and we climbed a hill to see a great view of the three big lakes there, the city and the andes in the background. We were also here for the weekend, so on saturday we had a night out in the town, ... read more

South America » Argentina » Río Negro » El Bolsón April 24th 2011

´Reko´ is a Mapuche word meaning ´clear water´, and it is the name of my home for the next month. I arrive after a jolting taxi ride along stone tracks to find a nine year old boy brandishing a saw blade - enter Apollo, a mini overlord with the intelligence and audacity to preside over all volunteers that enter his home. His father and uncle, Gerardo and Gabriel, ten years ago exchanged their Buenos Aires existences for a life of clothes manufacturing in India and bio-construction in Patagonia. The current project is the taller; sitting in the shadows of the Andes, where leaves on every mountainside are now turning from green to an almost blood red, this ark like structure will eventually be used for the manufacturing of solar instruments. The roof is midway through its ... read more

South America » Argentina » Río Negro » El Bolsón April 14th 2011

"Anathallo - Dokkoise House" "Anathallo - Hanasakajijii" The only difference between hippies from Argentina and Canada is their native language! They look the same, dress the same, act the same and smell the same! I found it strange that El Bolson, a self proclaimed refuge from the hectic world for hippies, has yet to ban plastic bags. El Calafate and El Chalten both have banned plastic bags from their grocery stores. What's with that El Bolson? I thought hippies praised mother earth? Come on, get with it! Perhaps you can swap out plastic bags at the SuperMercado's in exchange for a joint and a home made bar of soap! Now how hippie would THAT be?!! Jokes aside, I loved El Bolson. It was always on my radar as I made my way up the Route 40. ... read more
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