Patagonia - Lake District - San Carlos de Bariloche und Umgebung

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Geschter si mir vo Buenos Aires nach San Carlos de Bariloche gfloge. Nachdaem mir wieder ae Unterkunft gunde hei (zwar nueme ganz so schoen wie in Buenos Aires, derfuer ae chli billiger), hei mir fuere naechschti Tag ae Rafting Usflug organisiert. Denn si mir gemaess uesere Uhr uf die 8i go z'Nacht aesse und hei ues scho es bitzeli gwunderet, werum mir die einzige im Reschti si...am naechschte Morge hei mir de gmerkt, dass mir vergaesse hei, d'Uhr umdsstelle vo Buenos Aires Zit uf Patagonia Zit ;-) Mir hei de derfuer no chli laenger choenne im Bett ligge bliebe.

Und denn isch es los gange mit em Rafting. Es super Erlaebnis und ds Waetter het ou no mitgspieut. Die wo das scho einisch gmacht hei, wuesse, wie fescht das faegt, fuer die angere hei mir es paar Bilder ufeglade und wenns klappt no es churzes Video:-) Der ganzi Waeg isch ae Fotograf mitgfahre und am Schluss het me de ae CD mit de Phoeteli choenne choufe. Ig bi uf dere Fahrt relativ troche bliebe, aber ig bi ou hinge ghocket...der Thomas het chli meh Wasser vom Fluss und vom andere Boot abbercho, wo mir ues hei ae Wasserschlacht glieferet ;-) Nach dere koerperleche Ahstraengig hets wie immer aes BBQ und ae gueti Flaesche Wii gaeh. Aber woeu das no es bitzeli zweni Fleisch fuere Herr Pfister isch gsi, si mer de am Abe (dasmau chli spaeter), no mau go aesse und aer het 3 Stueck feinschtes Fillet fuer nume oepe 18 $ uebercho. Ig ha de mau zur Abwaechslig Pasta gaesse, was ou super fein isch gsi.

S.C. de Bariloche isch ou bekannt fuer d'Schoggi...won ig de waehrend em Rafting zum Guide gseit ha, uesi Schoggi sigi haut aber scho besser, het aer das zwar nid gaern ghoert, aber jae nu ;-) Si isch uf jede Fau scho vieu besser gsi, aus was mir ues die letschte paar Wuche gwoehnt si gsi. Vor allem die fruesche Himbeeri mit Schoggi ueberzoge...mhhh!!!

Am naechschte Tag si mir de nach San Martin de los Andes witergfahre duer ne super schoeni Seelandschaft, wo so chli ad Schwiiz und a Canada erinneret het. In San Martin ahcho, hei mir eigentlech nume oepis woeue aesse und denn is naechschte Dorf witer fahre...aber denn het der Thomas ae Toeff mit duetschem Nummero gseh dert stah...nach em ne churze Schwatz si mir de zu ihm a Tisch ghocket und aer het ues chli vo sire abentuerleche Reis vo Amerika ueber Panama bis uf Bariloche abe verzeut. Aer het de ou gmeint, mir soeue eher dert bliebe zum uebernachte. Das hei mir de ou gmacht und hei aes super Apartmenthotel gfunde sogar mit Cheminee und de hei mir ues ae gueti Flaesche Wii und oepis ds aesse gchouft und heis ues vorem Fuerli gmuetlech gmacht.

Und denn si mir am naechschte Morge a Busbahnhof, zum a naechschti Ort, Pucon in Chile ds fahre. Es isch ae chline Minibus dert gstande mit em ne Fahrer und Biifahrer und suesch wit und breit niemer. Mir si de ou die ganzi Fahrt elei gsi...auso quasi ae Privatbus :-) So isch de ou d'Zollueberquerig aes Zuckerschlaecke gsi und mir hei sogar no am Thomas si Taxfree Zettel vo sire Laedertaesche choenne abstaempfle lah, obwohl mir Taesche gar nid derbi hei gha. Das het der Zoellner aber ou nid interessiert. Aer isch froh gsi, isch wieder mau oeper ueber si Zoll cho und aer het sogar no choenne Duetsch rede!!

In Pucon ahcho hei mir ues de uf d'Suechi nachere Unterkunft gmacht. Nach doch chli laengerer Zit und entweder usbuechete Hostels oder uebertuerete Hotel, hei mir de uf Empfehlig vo eim Hotel Bekanntschaft mit em Pucon Hostel gmacht.

http://www.puconhostelchile.com/

Ae super Tip fuer aui wo einisch dert ane goeh. Der Bsitzer isch mega zwaeg gsi, het ues es Druerzimmer gaeh und ds Etagebad hei mer ou fuer ues elei gha. Aer het ou no suesch chli mit ues gspraechlet und isch de sogar no mit em Outo mitcho ueses grosse Gepaeck vom Busbahnhof abhole :-) Aer het das Hostel ersch grad vorem ne Jahr mit au sine Brueder, gloub oepe 8 Stueck, bout und het ueber Internet, Chuchi, Woeschmaschine aues gha. Fuer ae naechschti Tag het aer ues de ou no ae Usritt organisiert und fuer am Abe haet aer ues ou no ae Tipp fuer nes Reschti gha (das vo sim Brueder). Dert si mer de aber nid ane gange, sondern i ne Urugayanischi Parilla, wos insgesammt 850 g Entercote gaeh het!!! Ig ha vo mine 350g nid aues gaesse, das hei mer de am naechschte Tag zu Sandwich verarbeiter, aber der Thomas het wacker sini 500g verdrueckt.

Guet gnaehrt und gsterckt si mir de uf uese Usritt mit em ne Chilenische Cowboy. D'Landschaft isch wunderschoen gsi und zmitzt im Wald hei mir no ae Pouse gmacht, si chli ds Bord duerab gstiege und si a ne super schoene Wasserfall cho.

Am Namittag hei mir de no Bikes gmietet und si oepe 30km gfahre. Das waer ou super schoen gsi, wenns nid ganz eso heiss waeri gsi. Drum bin ig de froh gsi, si mer wieder ds Pucon gsi und hei i See choenne go bade. Und nachem See hei mer no einisch im Hostel choenne go dusche (wohl verstande, aues im Priis vo eire Uebernachtig inbegriffe!!) und uese naetti Hostelbsitzer het ues de wieder mit Sack und Pack a Busbahhof gfahre. Fuer so ne guete Service het aer ae schwiizer Schluesselahhaengerbaendel vo ues uebercho, wo aer gloub ou no Freud het gha :-)

Und denn isch es los gange uf uesi 10 Stuendigi Busfahrt im ne "Cama" Sitz. Dae cha me fasch horizontal steue....Betonig uf fascht. Ig ha uf jede Fau die ideali Schlafposition nid gfunde und bi de ziemlech grederet in Santiago de Chile ahcho. Der Thomas het guet dueregschlafe.

Huet am Morge si mir de in Santiago i nes Hostel, wo vo zwe Schwiizer gfuehrt wird und hei es super feins Zmorge, mit guetem Brot (aendlech wieder einisch!!!) und saeuber gmachter Confi uebercho. Im Garte hets sogar no ae Haengematte gha...die han ig de in Beschlag gnoh und mi verlohrnig Schlaf nachegholt. Der Bsitzer vo daem Hostel tuet ues jetz no ae Wiitour zaemestelle fuer zwe Taeg...Details folge zu gegebener Zit :-)


As always - some thoughts for our English audience:
Made it from BUE to Bariloche (ARG - patagonian lake district - very touristy in summer & winter) in a 2.5hours uneventful flight, checked into a hotel and arranged for a river rafting tour for the next day - high summer season is just over know and until snowfall in June there are still a couple of month. Went for dinner according to our watches at 8pm - restaurant looked a little bit empty (just the two uf us) until about an hour later. Woke up the next day at 7.30am - according to our watch - and all looked still dark; somehow we hadnt realized that we had changed into a different timezone flying from BUE to Bariloche - seems like that the vacations are taking their toll...
Rafting was superb, somehow sitting at the front of the raft got me a little wet - may that be due to the cascades or due to the water games that we played between the two rafts that were close together (wetting the other team using your own paddle to splash water). Had a swim at the very end before we went back to have a hefty meat & wine lunch before going back to town. (note: pic's of this adventure were taken by a photographer who sold us the pic's at the end of the raft for something like USD 10 - somehow these people know how to make business and whom to take the money from - even though I keep telling them that the Swiss banks arent that secure anymore (at least some of them))
Back in town and aroud 9pm (now on the right timezone) we had once again meat and vine - 3 befe de lomo grilled to perfection for USD 18.-!!

Bariloche is also the town that proudly announces to be the best chocolate producer - hahaha!!! Well - the chocolate was really superb - truffel, white chocolate with flakes, fresh rasperry covered in a white chocolate crust and then dunked in milk chocolate - goes really well with a coffee cortado.

Next day we left by bus for San Martin de los Andes where we intended to only change buses and go further to the next town. At San Martin we had a quick lunch at a Delhi at the lake and met with Peter - there was actually a 1100er BMW motorcycle w/ a german plate parked outside the delhi and Peter looked as being the only rider of a motorcycle - so we said "Hi" and got talking. Peter having ridden his motorbike from the US east coast to the west and down to Panama from where he took a ferry to Chile - took him a couple of month. As Peter had been in San Martin before he advised to stay the night in town rather than going further - which we then did.
Got ourselves a 3* hostal which for 150 ARG pesos (divide by 3.6 get to USD) - our room turned out to include a kitchen, cosy fireplace in dining room, bedroom and bathroom (+2 TV's). This led us to decide to get our dinner at the next minimarket and have ourselves a romantic dinner for 2 at the fire.

Next day we caught a bus to Pucon (Chile, but still in the lakes district) - the bus could fit about 15 passengers - we were the only ones on board for the 4 hour ride and crossing the boarder was an easy play (we even got our tax-reclaim-form stamped for a return of the ARG VAT on a leather bag that I had bought at the "Bahnhofplatz" of BUE, might have been due to the fact that the boarder controller's dad was from germany and this guy was so proud to get the chance to talk some german with us that he didnt really care that we didnt have the bag w/us but had left it in BUE for a colleague to take back to CH later on.

Found a hostal in Pucon with one of the nicest owners we had met so far. Got a 3 bed bedroom with the promise that he wouldnt put anybody else in there, then he offered to drive us back to the bus station to get our big bagpacks, then organized a horse riding trip for the next day, drove us around some more and told us the whole story about how the hostal was built in only 3 month time, that he had something like 8 brothers of which one was the owner of a restaurant and should we choose to dine there we would just have to give his brother his regards and get a specially large portion. Well, we chose to have dinner at the Parilla Urugay which we had noted earlier as having a huge BBQ outside - together we got 850gr of meat, some grilled tomato to go with that and some wine on the side - what a feast - and all that under a star lit sky.

Next day the hostal owner drove us to the place where we were met by a cowboy with horses with whom we went on a relaxing 3hour trip in the middle of which we climbed down a steep valley (w/o horses) to see a beautiful waterfall. Back at town around lunch time - quickly a sandwich made up from the leftover meat from the night before - then rented some bikes and under blue sky and simmering hot air did an afternoon bikeride along a river. When we got back to town we were really looking forward to have a swim in the lake and to then quickly relax at the sandy black beach.
Back to the hostal where the owner had agreed to let us have a shower and change clothes before catching a night bus to Santiago de Chile - transport to the busstation was again done by the hostal owner - no charge!

Caught the bus at 9pm for the 10hour ride - we got some sleeping seats (cama) which allowed us to bring the seat to an almost vertical position. I believe I slept most of the ride while Caro woke up and on. Arrived in Santiago at 7am and went to a Swiss run hostal - for a Sunday morning we got there very early and even had the luxury of having breakfast at the hotel which Caro was really looking forward to, especially for the 'real' dark bread - they have homemade jam as well, and a hammok to relax in afterwards.

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