Hot chocolate and blisters in Bariloche

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After climbing Volcan Villarrica in Pucon, Chile, we decided that our aching feet deserved a rest. So, we took yet another bus over the border into Argentina and after spending a night in lovely San Martin De Los Andes, we arrived in Bariloche.

We had high expectations of Bariloche as it seems everyone who comes to Argentina visits this town. We had been warned by the owner of our hostel in Santiago to avoid Bariloche, as he believed the town had become far too touristy and was past its prime. Contrary to this advice we decided to follow the crowd and arrived in Bariloche only to find out that, indeed, Bariloche is past its prime. The main streets were nice but the majority of the buildings in town are desperately in need of a facelift to bring them into this decade.

After walking the 3 kms from the bus station into town (with Julien whimpering the entire way sporting a massive blister on his heel from his Villarrica expedition) we booked into the Bariloche Hostel. We were more than pleasantly surprised when we discovered that our room afforded panoramic views of the beautiful lake on the shores of which Bariloche lies. The hostel was quiet so we pretty much had the run of the kitchen where we cooked TWICE!! The menu was pasta both times, but who cares! The breakfast was great too and we got to indulge in our favourite Argentine food, medialunas with dulce de leche (a medialuna is like a small croissant).

Tours in and around Bariloche seemed quiet expensive so we elected to use our time here to relax in the warm hostel. We occasionally ventured outside in every item of clothing we have (Julien in his Birkenstocks to avoid blister rubbing) and brave the freezing winds blowing over the snow capped mountains in the distance and whistling through the town.

We discovered the fantastic chocolate shops where you can soak up the delicious chocolatey goodness... and potentially had the best hot chocolate in the universe at a store called Mamushka´s. We also spent time in the main square where people loitered with adorable St Bernard dogs (kitted up with personalised whiskey drums around their necks) for tourists to have their picture taken (for a fee of course). We enjoyed watching the spectacle until we saw one man pack up to leave and put his St Bernard IN THE BOOT of the sedan he was driving. He left the lid ajar, but it did nothing to alleviate our concerns for the poor pooch.

After a relaxing three days in Bariloche we booked our bus out to our next destination, Puerto Montt in Chile, where we hope to jump on a Navimag boat for a trip south through the Chilean Fjords.

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Photos

Lago Nahuel Huapi
The view from our bedroom window