Patagonia!

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I finally made it to Patagonia! I've seriously wanted to go for so long. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't make it to the southern part to see penguins and glaciers, but that can wait for another trip to South America...and I still went to Patagonia.

My friend Meghan and I left Friday afternoon on hopped on a bus that took around 25 hours to get to Bariloche. By the time we got there Saturday around 6 and took a colectivo with our new Dutch friend to our Hostal, we were so tired that we just ate our dinner and headed back to our room. We had the option of booking a trek to a glacier but decided against it because it was a little pricy (which I regret now) and decided that we would go to cerro campanario after talking to our Spanish roommates.

The next morning we ate Breakfast and headed to the plaza to hang out in Downtown Bariloche and see if we could get some bus tickets. The only problem was that it was a Sunday and because we didn't have resident cards couldn't take a colectivo because the only place that sold individual tickets was closed. So we decided to just walk around Bariloche with our Dutch friend who we saw again in the plaza. I was kind of bummed that we hadn't decided to do the trek, but it was really ashy anyway. Instead we hung out by the water skipping stones and getting followed by a pack of street dogs. It was kind of scary because they would cross the street and everything with us and I was worried that we they were gonna get hit by a car. There was one dog that was so cute though because he tried to pick up a giant stone from the lake and then carried it around the town following us. We went to several chocolate stores to sample some chocolate and the dogs would wait outside for us until we came back in. Afterwards Meghan and I found a Mexican restaurant and were happy to have some chips and guac and burritos (however i still don't think my burrito was made from an actual tortilla). Finally we got a little bored and headed back to the hostel where we met a guy traveling around South America from Kyrgystan (i think i spelled that right). We bought several rounds of beer from the hostel bar and played cards. We ate dinner in the hostal again and met some Israelis (we're now pretty good friends). We all decided we were going to an Irish pub, which was of course closed when we got there. So we went back to the hostal and drank in the bar. We decided that the next day we would get bus tickets to go to llau llau, cerro campanario, and colonia suiza (a swiss colony). The Israelis decided to join us, but we tried to keep in on the downlow because we decided the guy from Kyrgystan was a little strange.

The next morning we grabbed breakfast and headed out to town to get our bus tickets. We bought the bus tickets painlessly and got on a bus to llau llau, a really expensive hotel. The views from the hotel was beautiful and it was fun hiking around the area so that we could get some really good pictures. Next we hopped on a bus to cerro campanario where we paid to take the chairlift to the top of the mountain. The view at the top is one of the top 10 best views in the world according to National Geographic. It was incredible! The lakes just stretched on for miles and miles and there was a 360 degree view of the whole area. There was also a little cafeteria at the top where we stopped for some coffee and empanadas. Afterwards we headed back down the chairlift and waited for a bus to colonia suiza. Well we waited an hour and a half and the bus never came. So we all decided to head back to town. We watched a movie back at the hostal and then went to a really nice steak dinner that the Israelis really wanted to go to. Then of course we drank again in the hostal. We were said sad that we had to leave in the morning, but we knew beforehand that it would have to be a short trip.

The next morning the Israelis joined us for breakfast and bid us farewell. Megan and I hopped on a colectivo back to take our main bus to Buenos Aires. We took another 20+ hour bus, filled with lots of movies, bus food, sleeping in uncomfortable positions, and staring ou the window. We got back just in time for class on Wednesday morning. Overall it was a great trip and although I was sad we couldn't stay longer and also make our way down to Southern Patagonia, it was still worth it. I guess that's just more reason for me to come back. I would love to spend at least a month just in Argentinian and Chilean Patagonia.

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Photos

mexican food!
although i'm pretty sure my burrito was made out of empanada dough