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Published: November 7th 2006
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We arrived in Bariloche on Saturday afternoon, after a very delayed flight. Immediately upon stepping off the plane, we were floored by the beauty of the place. The Andes mountains are breathtaking, and still have lots of snow left on them, as they’re so high. Apparently they had a rough winter down here with loads of snow. Since the seasons are reversed down here, it is the equivalent of early May, so usually there would be less snow, but not so this year. It was a big change for us to go from the rainforest to the cooler weather of Patagonia in one short flight!
We rented a car - a very sporty VW Golf 4 door hatchback… which they call a VW Gol here. We checked into our hotel, the Design Suites, which we love! It is a mix of a modern and rustic atmosphere, and is only 2 years old. The lobby has a huge room with 30 foot ceilings, and the entire back of it is glass windows which overlook Lake Nahuel Huapi, with the Andes soaring in the background at the edge of the lake. It is one of the most picturesque places we’ve ever been!
The first evening we came down to the lobby for some coffee during sunset, and we saw the most beautiful sight. The sun had just gone below the horizon, and to the east a huge moon was rising in the purple sky. We watched it as it began right above the horizon and slowly moved upward in the sky. The whole scene, with the mountains illuminated in a purple light, reminded us of the Patagonia logo - what a coincidence! We’ll put the pictures in, but I don’t know if it really captures the beauty.
We went to a small Patagonian restaurant that night called Kandahar, which was an odd mix of cultures - they take their name from an Afghani city, served Patagonian food, and had a sign out front with two Swiss alpine skiers. Food was great - another steak for Molly and some Venison for Harold, which they not so delicately call “Marinated Deer” here. Patagonia is known for its local game, and they incorporate it into their cuisine as much as possible. Once again it was delicious, and came with a $25 price tag. Gracias!!!
Our first full day here, we hopped into the
Gol and headed out of town, into the Nahuel Huapi National Park. It covers hundreds of miles around Bariloche. After following a dirt road for an hour and a half, we arrived at our first glacier. The Black Glacier, it’s called, as dirt and debris have made it look black. To be honest, it was a little bit disappointing - having envisioned the pristine white glaciers that you read about - but nevertheless, we can still say we have officially seen a glacier. Afterwards we headed out for a short hike to the base of Mt. Trounador. It is a huge volcano, and is one of the highest peaks in the area. You summit it, but it would take 3-4 days and require experience on rock, snow and ice, so we had to take a rain check. But we went as far as we could, and saw several waterfalls spewing from the side of it, due to the melting ice and snow. We felt like we were surrounded by ice and snow in every direction, and the huge gusts of wind were blowing the snow off of the mountains, so it felt as if we were in a snow storm.
After we got a little chilly, we headed off to Pampa Linda - a huge valley surrounded the Andes on either side. It reminded us of Jackson Hole and the landscape there.
Upon talking to a non-English speaking man, we decided to do one of the only hikes open, which was described to us in hand motions, which seemed to describe the hike as “straight up”. The man’s hand signals proved to be true, as we trudged straight up the mountain with no switchbacks at all. It’s not every day you’re in Patagonia, we told ourselves as we scaled the side of the mountain sweating profusely in the cold weather. Finally we reached the top and were rewarded with an awesome view of the valley and the surrounding Andes. Definitely worth the pain.
After climbing down, we walked to our car through a grove of beautiful trees and a river which looked a lot like the Snake River. We happened upon a group of horses grazing in the middle of our path, which was a surprising yet pretty sight.
After a full day of exertion, we arrived back at our hotel late, and came down to
the lobby to enjoy the view, and the good internet connection. We were craving Mexican that night, and there happened to be a great little Mexican place in town, so we headed over there and had a late dinner, then collapsed at the end of the night because we were so tired.
DAY 3 - BARILOCHE
We woke up and had our usual breakfast in the lobby, and then started out for another excursion. Unfortunately Molly had come down with a cold, so we took it a little easier today and did a lot of driving, and a few short hikes. We drove down to the Llao Llao Peninsula, which is home to the fanciest hotel in South America, also called the Llao Llao. To backtrack on the layout of Bariloche and the Lake District: The city is set right on the Nahuel Huapi Lake, which is huge. There are several other adjoining lakes all around, so that there are many islands and fjord - looking slews all around. We went Peninsula-hopping, and saw some of the greatest sights that we have the entire trip. Our hotel is a couple of miles outside of Bariloche, and on the
way to the Llao Llao Peninsula. We went down to the end and did a short hike with overlooks on the lake, and wound our way in the car through the mountains surrounding the lake, on a popular drive called the Chico Circuito.
We stopped for lunch at a local brewery - the Blest Cerveceria - and had delicious pizza and microbrew. Sometimes you just can’t beat pizza and beer, no matter where you are. Afterwards we continued our drive, and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery. We ended up at Cerro Campario (sp?), where we took a chair lift up to the top of the peak (would have hiked but Molly was not feeling quite up to snuff). The views from atop were the best of our trip, so we didn’t feel so bad about taking the lazy way up. After driving back, taking more and more photos, we took a quick nap and here we are back in the lobby, watching the sun set and working on the blog! Another late dinner awaits, this time at a local “parilla” - which is like a grill - for yet another steak. You really can’t get enough of the beef here!
Tomorrow is a big day, as we will be on a bus for 18 hours. Fortunately, we reserved a “cama”, which is a fully reclining seat - so hopefully we’ll be able to sleep through the night portion of the trip. We arrive into Mendoza at 7:30 AM on Wednesday morning for a couple of days of wine tasting and other adventures. We’ll write more when we get there. For now, Adios!
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doug
non-member comment
Pizza and beer....yum. Hamburgers too?????