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Published: February 28th 2011
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El Calafate to Bariloche
This was taken on the road east from El Calafate to Rio Gallegos. Our bus journey from El Chalten to Bariloche started at 8 am on the 16th and finished at 9 pm on the 17th. A 3 hour ride followed by a 29 hour mission halfway up Argentina - over 2,000km! By the time we arrived in Bariloche we were both a bit grumpy; luckily we had our own room for the first time in ten days!
Still, no time to mope around - the next day we set out to explore Bariloche and its surroundings. We took a bus 17.5km out of the town along the bank of Lago Nahuel Huapi - on which Bariloche sits - to Cerro Campanario. From the road we took a chairlift to the top of this small mountain (1049m above sea level) which offered wonderful panoramic views of the region and the seven lakes that inhabit it. All 360 degrees were incredible; the sun hit the lakes to produce a brilliant blue that contrasted beautifully with the green forests surrounding them.
From here we went a few more kilometres west to Llao Llao, a peninsula containing several small walks and the most famous hotel in Argentina. As good as our hostel was we were
El Calafate to Bariloche
A quick stop in Gobernador Costa for some lunch. definitely a bit envious of the people entering the building! Instead of sneaking in (entry is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN to the likes of us!) we walked to a small beach nearby and enjoyed the tranquility. We probably would have fallen asleep there (see the Ushuaia blog, we have form!) but Bariloche has some pretty persistant wasps, so we couldn't fully relax. We headed back to town, stopping only to buy some regional chocolate (recommended and amazing!) and to go to a restaurant which had a sign saying '2 for 1 nachos!'.
The next day our hostel kindly offered to look after our bags while we headed out trekking. We had heard from another traveller about Refugio Frey, a small hut 1700m up a mountain near Bariloche, that he enjoyed staying at. We took an hours bus ride to Cerro Catedral - a nearby ski resort - and started the four hour, 10km walk to the refugio with the intention of staying the night and walking back down in the morning.
The first 2 hours of the walk, alongside Lago Gutierrez, was fairly flat. However the last two were quite tough as we had to ascend about 700 metres on
a dusty and heavy track in quite brutal heat. With 1km to go we were both feeling very tired...but getting to the refugio was very much worth it. Perched at the top of one valley and at the bottom of another and sitting next to a lake, it was incredibly idyllic. Run by four or five people (who cooked us the best empanadas we've had!) and with minimal electricity, no internet, phone signal or even proper toilets it was one of our favourite nights yet - even though we slept in a room with about 14 other people!
The hike down the next day was okay; we took a different route back which wasn't quite so spectacular, plus our legs were hurting! We made it down in about 3 and a half hours, went back to our hostel and spent the rest of the day checking out Bariloche and eating the best ice cream ever (we recommend the Tiramisu!). We'd earned it, I promise!
The day after was a bit of a nightmare; we had intended to travel to Pucon, Chile, but due to our first bus being delayed we got stuck in Osorno, about 3 hours south
of our destination. Luckily there was a hostel with room right opposite the bus station. We got up early the following day to complete our journey, arriving in cloudy Pucon just after midday.
Pucon is popular with Chileans for its beach, drawing huge crowds during summer season. However we were more interested in the 2800m high active volcano 8km away! So we booked a trip to climb it for the following day.
We had to meet the tour group at 6:45am and from there drive to the bottom of a chairlift at the foot of Volcano Villarica, 1400m above sea level. This would take us to 1800m and from there it was going to be a tough 1000m climb to the top. And that it was! Just over three-and-a-half hours of continuous steep ascent, over hard volcanic rock and snow...not only that, we noticed that the other tour groups had crampons for the snow while we just trudged up in our boots! We both agreed it was one hell of an experience, to be climbing and standing at the mouth of this powerful volcano, though the climb certainly took it out of us.
The descent however was
a lot more fun.....
From near the top of the volcano to the top of the chairlift is almost continuous snow, so instead of walking down we were given a plastic tray to sit on and told to slide down, using our ice axes as brakes! It only took about an hour to get back down, and at some points we got some serious speed going...but we got down with nothing broken! It was pretty exhilarating, the most fun activity we have done yet.
The day after we gave our bodies a rest and headed for the nearby thermal springs. We sat in the hot pools for a few hours, though some of them were so hot we started to feel quite faint, so we dipped in the river running next to them. Apparently this is good for your veins, but who cares?! It was just freezing! Much more relaxing to just sit in the spas!
It was a great way to spend a few hours when you've climbed a volcano the pervious day and have a ten hour bus journey to Santiago to look forward to that evening...
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jennifer
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What a view!
Simply stunning. Beautiful. Great picture.