Last night in Bariloche / Marathon Bus Ride

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Last night in Bariloche / Bus ride to Mendoza


After another great evening of hanging out in our Lobby drinking our new favorite wine, Torrentes, and writing our blog, we headed out to what else - the best steakhouse in Bariloche! El Boliche de Alberto was absolutely packed. It was the first place we’d had to wait for a table in Argentina, and we got there around 10:30. We took this as a good sign that the place was decent. Having learned our lesson from La Cabrera in Buenos Aires, we knew not to each order our own steak. Instead we made the right call and split a filet mignon, which ended up being three large filets, for $9. So tasty and cooked to perfection, it was once again one of our favorite meals. Inside the restaurant they had an “open kitchen”, where there was an enormous charcoal grill with all the meat laid out on top. They even had it rigged so that the grill lifted up high in order for the cook to rake out the coals. After polishing off the delicious Trapiche Cabernet, we headed home to get some sleep before our 18 hour bus ride looming the next day.

We checked out of our hotel and had a bit of a snafu trying to return our rental car while making it to the bus on time. The Avis place was nowhere to be found, and we got caught in some horrible traffic jam in the middle of Bariloche, as the clock ticked away. We finally decided to go to the bus station and to call Avis and let them know they needed to come pick up the car at the bus station. But the person at Avis spoke no English when we called, and couldn’t grasp our attempts at explaining. Meanwhile our bus was loading and we were still stuck with the rental car (and it was the only bus to Mendoza that day). “Cool as a Cucumber” did not describe our states of mind. The number for our hotel didn’t work, so our plan to have the concierge take care of it was a no go as well. We finally just gave the keys to the lady at the info desk at the bus station, and boarded the bus, not knowing what else to do. Fortunately on board, we found the nicest Argentine girl about our age, who didn’t speak English herself, but had a friend who did. She graciously used her cell phone once we were all on the bus and called our rental car company to explain everything, so we weren’t charged with stealing a car. Crisis averted, and turned out the Avis people weren’t the least bit interested anyway, and said everything was fine. Phew.

The bus to Mendoza was surprisingly plush. We sprung for first class tickets, this being an 18 hour drive, we felt it justifiable, and had huge leather seats that reclined almost all the way back. They showed the most random assortment of movies until about midnight, alternating in Spanish and English. We fell asleep watching “Beaches”. Awesome. But we both agreed that the bus was the way to go, rather than a long flight, because at least you get to enjoy the scenery, and it was much easier to sleep on the reclining seats. We would have had to connect through Buenos Aires and could not have gotten to Mendoza until last night, so we only missed one dinner by taking the bus, and didn’t have to pay for a hotel that night. The scenery turned from mountains to desert, and we got to witness an incredible sunset over the desert. One of the most enriching parts of the bus journey was going through the smaller towns such as Neuquen, as you REALLY felt like you were in South America. It’s always very interesting to see the entire culture, and we were able to do so on the bus.

Next stop, Mendoza...

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Photos

Vote for Lucio Parra!
A passing billboard from the bus ride

Cheers!
Gotta pass the time somehow