The ultimate holiday destination


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Published: January 11th 2010
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Bariloche lived up to our expectations, and the two days we spent on a bus on desolate Route 40 made it more the worthwhile. The journey from El Chalten was long, our first day was a drive of 12 hours to Perito Moreno. The scenery was again desolate and we even stopped at the aptly named La Siberia station for empanadas on the first day. I don't know how the people live out there, the climate is so harsh, with the wind not letting up much. Perito Moreno was a small enough town (but bigger than anything we had seen in 12 hours) it was freezing when we got there and we had to be up again early hours for our journey the next morning. Day two was another long drive, 13 more hours, staring out the window at endless plains of grassy land with the mountains in the distance. It wasn't until we were a couple hours from Bariloche that the scenery started to change as woodland, small mountains and lakes became the feature out the windows.
Arriving in Bariloche late we ventured to find another hostel, which we found relatively easy enough and got some sleep fresh for the morning. Now Bariloche is renowned for being the heart of the lakes district which has stunning scenery, it is also the place people come to do some skiing in the winter. The city is quite expansive along the lake, no real high rise but plenty of hotels and hostels to cater for everyone, it had a real holiday feel around the place.
Our first morning we awoke again to a pretty overcast day, winds picked up again, but we decided to head to Cerro Campanario (1,049m) to take in the view of the Lago Nahuel Huapi and the islands and surrounding mountains. We took the chairlift up to the top and took in the magnificent (if cloudy view), it really was a picturesque view, you really feel the grandness and beauty of nature there. It was really windy outside on the viewing platforms so we decided to take in the view over tea and coffee and cake. We admired the view, stuffing our faces and caught the chairlift back down, once we were back in Bariloche we went out for some dinner, I couldn't help but have the Bife de Chorizo and another lovely steak was soon in my belly. We also noticed today more than any how the Argentinians love to greet each other with a kiss, on the bus back it was like a kissathon. Even teenage boys would kiss each other, I found it a little strange but they all seemed quite comfortable with it. Our second day we decided to hire a car and do the 7 lakes drive, the roads weren't too bad as we headed around the lake to Villa La Angostura where the road became unpaved as it weaved its was to San Martin de Los Andes. It was a nice clear day and the views along the drive were lovely, through wooded forest, lovely lakes seemed all intertwined, lovely camping grounds for people as well and the snow capped mountains made it a great drive. We drove through Parque Nacional Lanin also. We arrived at San Martin de Los Andes on Lago Lacar, it was a lovely little town, it was in a great setting, it was peaceful, had very wide streets and wooded buildings. We had lunch there and some ice-cream as we prepared for the drive home. We took a different route home, on Route 237 and Route 40 through Junin de Los Andes and saw some more dramatic scenery, this time trees only lining the banks of the rivers, a reddy grassy coloured landscape with rock mountains, wide blue watered rivers flowing through and some brilliant blue lakes. We have been blessed with the long days it being December and we didn't get back till 9pm it was still light enough to get around.
Our third day in Bariloche we got the most perfect weather, we decided that we would go back to Cerro Campanario as we knew the sight would surely be something to savour. This time we decided to work off some steak and walk to the top. It was a tough steep walk but well worth it. The view was brilliant, we could sit out this time, we had something too eat and just sat there for while taking all the beauty in. There was something about this place I really liked. So peaceful and calm.
Back in Bariloche town we decided to do one other activity that many people do in Bariloche. We ate chocolate! There is some fabulous chocolate stores in Barilcoche, some of them are massive, like a supermarket of chocolate. Deb and I settled in at Abuela Goye (Grandma Goye) and had tea/coffee and some chocolate. Deb swears that it is the best chocolate she has tasted in her life. I think we're lucky she resisted until Day 3 here before venturing in or much more chocolate would have been devoured. I headed out to Cerro Catedral later in the day, where people go skiing in the winter, I got there a bit late (the bus took forever to come) so the cable car had finished. I had a walk around, enjoyed the sun, but it was pretty quiet not being ski season but you could imagine the buzz aound in the winter. We went to the movies that night to see Los Fantasmas de Scrooge (called A Christmas Carol in the western world) to try and get in the festive season as things have been a little quiet on that front here in Argentina. (And also the fact that the price of a drink in this town is scandalous)
Waking up our final morning in Bariloche we again saw great weather, I decided I would take in one more view of the place before the bus to Mendoza would whisk us off. I headed to Cerro Otto (1403m) only 5km from town. I took the gondola up, this time the view was similar to Cerro Campinario but different, you just felt a little further back and made it look a bit grander in size, not any more beautiful but gave it a bigger size. I could see Cerro Catedral and Lago Gutierez also. I soaked up some sun and had a coffee in the revolving restaurant at the top, a great idea.
We really loved Bariloche and the lakes in the national park, so scenic, tranquil and enjoyable. Not many places would you be having a swim on a little beach on the lake with snow capped mountains within view. It's the kind of place that if I won the lotto I would be sure to buy a place here or come here and holiday. It has the lovely lakes and walks in the summer, snowfields in the winter and is one of the most peaceful places we have been to. And to top it all off you can come home in the evening to a lovely Argentinian steak and wine. What more could you want (well you would probably want to know what the weather is like as it can also get cold, windy and wet). On to Mendoza next, Deb is really looking forward to it as we have heard many good things.


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