Patagonia

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Made it down to Bariloche through some beautiful scenery in the south of Argentina. Bariloche is located near the border of Chile on the Argentinian side of the Andes mountian range in Patagonia. The town looks a bit like Aspen with wood and stone buildings, ski stores on every corner, and big snow capped mountians in the background. The town was fairly small and located on a huge lake about 20 minutes from the main Catedral ski resort.
I checked into this one hostel for the first night and just relaxed....made some pasta, met a few english and canadian girls and we rented a movie and stayed by the fire for the night (I know that sounds cheesy but it was really cold and I needed to get adjusted to the temps). Unfortunately due to a lot of rain the previous 2 weeks there was no snow in the city, only on the mountians. I checked out the town the following day and then made it up to try some Argentinean skiing the day after. I had bought some gloves, goggles and socks from a fellow traveler in Mendoza, so I only had to rent ski pants, skis, boots and poles.
The skiing was not quite what I expected. I had to carry my skis onto the first lift because there wasn't any snow until about a thousand meters up the mountain. From this point there were a bunch of lifts and t-bars going all over and the snow was plentiful. Since this part was also above tree-line, it was all open skiing. The stuff they called "powder" was actually just ungroomed crunchy snow. The view from the top were the best part of the day, amazing views of the neighboring mountins and lakes below. The morning was great weather but by the afternoon is was pretty overcast and windy. The day I chose to go skiing was the first day of the "high season" which meant lots of people with boards strapped to their legs with no idea what they were doing...funny and painful to watch.
Bariloche is a big distination for high school senior trips so throughout the town and the ski mountains there were groups of highschoolers wearing the same color jackets, following each other around and giggling. I stayed in another hostel for the next few nights and met some great people there...a few fun Argentinians and a really nice American couple. I didn´t bother doing any more skiing, but just enjoyed the town, views, and relaxing in a more civilized, clean area.
I flew back to Buenos Aires on the 11th and it felt like "home" returning to the city. I beginning to question the word "home" recently, wondering where that exactly is. I arrived at sunset and remembered how nice the city is. There is something to be said for getting off a plane and knowing where you're going, not feeling like you're getting ripped off in a taxi or bus, and not knowing what to expect.
I'm staying at a friend's apartment at the moment and will go tomorrow to get my Brasilian visa at the consulate. I'm really looking forward to some warm weather and beaches in Rio. I'm not sure what to expect there since I've heard it's quite dangerous, but I shall see. My time is running out...can't belive I'll be home in about two weeks (23 July). I look forward to seeing you all soon in the New England area!!

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Photos

Bariloche
looking down onto the town center and the lake

Bariloche
looking to the mountains from Bariloche

skiing
midway at Cetedral ski resort

view from the top
view in the afternoon when the clouds moved in the the wind picked up