Siete Lagos and so much more!

South America » Argentina » Río Negro » San Carlos de Bariloche
February 9th 2007

Published: February 16th 2007

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Kevyn and Dave

Flower

Villa la Angostura

So, after leaving El Bolson in the late afternoon, we drove back to Bariloche and then continued north to see the Siete Lagos (Seven Lakes) and the small towns of Villa la Angostura and San Martin de los Andes. We arrived in Villa La Angostura in the evening and while still planning to camp somewhere along the road, we decided to pull into town to buy some cold beer for later. When we got out of the wee car in front of a small grocery store, we instantly knew something must be going on in town, as there were people walking everywhere and lots of music. A few steps revealed a large festival going on with lots of artisans, food, and music. So, we wandered about in there for awhile, eating popcorn and deciding if we really should buy a bizzaro lil´gnome guy or maybe a Homer Simpson dressed as Fidel Castro t-shirt. Really, so many options!!

After roaming about until dark, we decided we ought to find a campsite for the night. About 30 minutes out of town and along the famous Seven Lakes Route, we found a decent site along a lake. We made

First of the seven lakes

a lovely lentils and cous-cous dinner (a camping staple for us lately) and went to bed.

Up early the next morning as the traffic was already starting on the road. There was lots of construction vehicles as it appears they are working on paving this road. This is probably a good thing, as we had heard it described as the dustiest road in all of Argentina. So, off we were to drive and see the sights.

Siete Lagos & San Martin de los Andes

The lakes were beautiful and the road wasn´t all that bad. Each one had a viewpoint where we dutifully pulled over and took the requisite photos. We also found at several of these "miradors" merchants selling various craft and food items. One we were we lucky enough to investigate further was selling empanadas, cheeses, salami and the most delicious breads. We chose one with cheese inside and it was delicious.

After the lakes, we reached another chi-chi lil´resort town called San Martin de los Andes. It is on the shore of a large lake and is full of time-shares. It was a nice stop from the driving. We walked around town, ate a

Another Flower

spinach pizza and got back in the car. We should also add that the night before we realized that we had lost most of our lights. The ones lost were: blinkers, hazards, dash lights, and brake lights. So we had head lights and one tail light. I think that put us on about par with the rest of the vehicles, although we made few left turns and drove a little more defensively. We tried in vain to find and replace the fuses as fast as they blew and finally gave up.

Our car being due back early the next morning, we decided to push on to Bariloche. We found a very crazy camping area on the road heading to Llao Llao...complete with a pool and LOTS of Argentine families. It was more amusement park than camping, but it served the purpose and we drank another nice bottle of vino to toast our first succesful Latin American road trip.

Additional photos below

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