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Published: November 30th 2007
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Despite having travelled in South America for over two months, we still felt we were struggling with our Spanish. So, we decided to take some individual classes at "Spanish in the Mountains" language school in Bariloche. Despite the hard work and copious amounts (well, kind of!) of homework, it was an excellent experience and well worth the effort. Having booked lessons through the school we were also able to organise a house with them for the duration of our stay. A whole house to ourselves, completely furnished and with a log fire, just two minutes walk from the school (which is actually a log cabin in the woods). Who could ask for more? So, we had 3 hours of classes in the morning and then spent afternoons out and about enjoying Bariloche before returning to the house in the evenings for homework and steak. During our 9 day stay, we visited lots of places in and around Bariloche. We were incredibly lucky with the weather, blue skies and sunshine every day. Some of our highlights included:
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Cerro Campanario. There are two ways to reach the summit of Campanario - take the ski-lift or walk. Well, we were attempting to
save money, so walking it was! The hike up is not too bad (maybe a long 30 minutes) and the views make it all very worthwhile. Bariloche is situated on the shore of Lake Nahuel Huapi and there are many other smaller lakes around with a backdrop of perfect snow-capped mountains. Also at the summit is a small cafe, ideal for us thirsty hikers (and the less thirsty chair-lift cheats!).
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Cerro Otto. For a longer hike, one afternoon we tackled Cerro Otto, which stands overlooking Bariloche. For the two and a half hour hike up along confusing paths we were joined by a local dog (who we cleverly named "Otto"). When we weren´t sure which way to go, we stopped, asked Otto and off he trotted ahead of us. He didn´t always get the right path but mostly did a pretty good job as navigator! From December there will be a telerifico carrying people up Cerro Otto but the day we went there were only hikers. A tough ascent, but great views from the top. Just a shame the cafe was closed...
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Lago Gutierrez. This was a mere 10 minute walk from our house and so
I´m a rock climber
Taking a breather near the top...! an obvious place to visit. The lake is surrounded by dense forests which hide waterfalls, miradors and hiking trails. We enjoyed a walk up to one mirador with lovely views over the lake. Unfortunately on our way down we lost the path. For a while I was worried that this was going to lead to serious problems, but luckily as we were getting ready to panic, we found our way and made it home safely. Important lesson here - when walking up, always think how you are going to get down!
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Llao Llao. Apparently the hotel at Llao Llao is one of the best in Bariloche. Whilst we didn´t go inside, it certainly looked nice from the outside and the cars in the carpark were even nicer! Llao Llao contains a national park where we spent two afternoons walking. There are many trails leading through forests, to different lake shore views. We also hiked up Cerro Llao Llao, although it was in an exposed spot and so we had to face some strong winds at the top.
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Bariloche chocolate shops. Ahh... a true highlight of the trip! Bariloche is known for its handmade chocolates and so
of course we did plenty of tasting. There are lots of chocolate shops along the main avenue (Mitre) and all that we tried were very nice. However, our personal favourite (which we visited every time we went into town) was Abuela Goya´s. This is a chocolate shop and cafe, so we were able to sit down in the afternoon with a hot chocolate or tea and munch our way through the choccies whilst attempting to read the local papers. Such a great place and thoroughly recommended!
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Rock climbing. An absolute high point of our time in Bariloche. We had never been rock climbing before and so were a bit apprehensive, but our guide Sergio (and his 7 year old daughter Azul) allayed our fears and helped us to enjoy a great day. The first part of the day was a 50km drive out of Bariloche. After that, we kayaked a few hundred metres to cross the Limay river. Once on the other bank, we hiked through forest to get to our first climing wall. We climbed 2 walls that day - the second one was another 10 minute walk away but in the most amazing location overlooking the
wide valley below. The climbing was tough - although apparently these walls are classed as "easy" due to the number of holes in them. Each wall was about 20 metres (60 feet) high and by the time I had climbed to the top there seemed to be a big drop below! Once at the top it was a case of just sit back and enjoy the abseil back down to the ground before starting again. We had perfect weather and good company - all in all one of the best days of the trip so far.
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Barry giving me a haircut. Of course this is not a standard guide book "highlight" of Bariloche, but it was lots of fun for us! Trying to stick to our budget, we figured it was cheaper for Barry to cut my hair rather than me go to a professional. I don´t think I have laughed so much on this holiday as when Barry was cutting my hair and suddenly swore loudly. I don´t know what they teach in haircutting school, but I´m pretty sure one of the key things is not to let on to the client that you have just made
a big mistake with the (blunt) scissors...
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Villa Angostura After finishing our course we decided we needed a few days break (well, we had been working hard!). So, we hired a car and drove a bit north. For a couple of days we explored Villa Angostura, San Martin de los Andes and surrounding areas. The main reason for hiring the car was to enable us to go along the "Seven Lakes Drive". To be honest, I did not think the views of the lakes were as amazing as the guide books would have you believe - we saw better views in Parque los Alerces. However, the trip was still pleasant and gave me a chance to practice my "ripio" (gravel) road driving. At the end of the Seven Lakes Drive is the very pleasant town of San Martin de los Andes. This is a typical Lake District town, similar to El Bolson and Villa Angostura. After a good lunch (the local trout here is excellent) we returned to Angostura. We also took two very enjoyable trips around Angostura. The first was to take the ski-lift (well, we have been doing a lot of hiking, so good to have
a change!) most of the way up Cerro Bayo (1,782 metres). We hiked up the last bit to get to the summit with great views out over Angostura, Nahuel Huapi and surrounding mountains. For the second trip, we went out on a boat into Nahuel Huapi. The boat took us to the end of the Quetraihue peninsula where we visited the national park of the Arrayanes tree. A surprisingly interesting place, where the Arrayanes grow in large numbers. They have a gorgeous cinnamon-coloured bark, and apparently this forest was the inspiration for the movie "Bambi". To save some money we decided against getting the boat back and instead hiked the well-marked 13km path to the mainland.
So, after a great time exploring Bariloche and surrounding areas it is time to move on again. This time we are moving further south to explore more of Patagonia. However, we definitely have to return to Bariloche - it is just one of the most stunning places I have ever been to.
p.s. If you are interested in learning Spanish in Bariloche, I can warmly recommend Spanish in the Mountains. They are especially good at giving you information on local trekking and
tourist information (in Spanish of course!) and they are a very friendly lot. The website is
here.
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rrruss
Russ Pearce
y ahora hablan castellano, no?
Keep up the great blogging. And how´s about throwing in a Spanish phrase here or there, just to prove the course was worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!