Black clouds in Bariloche....

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Bariloche is beautiful, there is no doubt about that. Nestled in the Argentine lakes district on the shore of crystal clear Lake Nahuel Huapi and surrounded by national park and the Andes, it has all the attributes a location needs to be a genuine Mecca for outdoor enthusiasts. Too bad the weather for the whole week I spent there stank for the most part. Most of that time I spent dreaming up the fun I would have on the many treks and other more exotic activities such as kayaking, canyoning or rafting I would involve myself in, but alas I never really had the opportunity due to grey skies and bitterly cold winds.

Despite the ordinary weather I still had some great times there, mainly due to the fact that I hooked up with a group of typically hard drinkin' Dublin lads at the hostel. There is something about Irish folk that instantly endears them to me - their sense of humour and self-deprecation is priceless.

I also met Jonathon in Bariloche. Jonathon was an Israeli fellow who was not short on either self-confidence or presumptuousness. As we were sharing a dorm, I spent quite a lot of time with him and came to realise that he was helpful, generous, and friendly, but also the most raging sexaholic I have ever met. To put it bluntly, when I saw a girl walk into the room, Jonathon saw a walking tenderloin. Initially, it was quite entertaining (though cringeworthy) to watch him in action but after a few days the routine became rather tiresome. I could write a whole novel on this young man's exploits in just one week in Bariloche, but won't go into detail here for fear of losing this blog's PG rating.

The hostel I stayed in will be hard to top in terms of bang for buck - it cost about AUS$13 a night which included breakfast and dinner. The best part about the free dinner was that it brought everyone in the hostel into the bar and created a fantastic social atmosphere. Every night around midnight the question would start circulating in the bar: "Who's coming to the Wilkenny tonight?" While the Irish blokes in Bariloche were fantastic, the Wilkenny (local Irish Pub) was not. Before I arrived, I had read that Bariloche had a reputation as being the 'best party town in Patagonia' and that the Wilkenny was the 'best party bar in Patagonia'. I have not yet ventured further south into deep Patagonia but if the latter statement is true, I don't foresee myself doing too much partying down there. Picture any Irish themed pub in Australia (eg Bridie O'Reilly's, Pugg Mahone's, Father Flanigan's etc), subtract any traditional Irish music, add terrible mid-90's techno, an aroma of stale vomit, and prices 3 times higher than any other bar in town, sprinkle some melted cheese on top, and voila! You have the Wilkenny. Each night I went there it seemed to get worse and worse, but at least the company was great.

With only two days remaining before I was to leave town, I decided I would just have to bite the bullet and do a trek in ordinary weather. We took in some beautiful waterfalls, a black glacier and some impressive mountain scenery, but I sensed that the whole thing would have been 5 times better with clear skies.

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Photos

Nahuel Huapi trek
This waterfall was pretty nice

Pity about the clouds
HT with Mt Tronador in the background

In need of a good scrub
HT at the black glacier

Another waterfall
I would have had a dip if the water was 30 degrees warmer