Bariloche: the Alaska-Colorado combo pack + Chocolate

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You never know how much you miss the green lushness of NC until you haven´t seen it for awhile and then BAM, there it is in front of you after so many weeks-months-years on the road. I have felt this familiar sensation of appreciation for my home state many times, though usually from an airplane. On Monday, I was welcomed into the arms of the most beautiful place I have ever seen, and let me tell you, NC has some catching up to do.

Bariloche and its surrounding environs hold for me what are the holy trinity of outdoor loveliness: greenery, super tall snow-capped mountains and WATER. There is glorious, sparkling blue water everywhere you look. I don´t even need to leave my freakin´hostel room to see the water. It´s right there. After 3 1/2 weeks in the desert of Mendoza, my eye holes are taking in all of this scenery as they possibly can.

To whit: Yesterday I adopted the very apt moniker of Outdoor Adventure Barbie. I had the outfit (the same outfit I´ve been wearing for what feels like years now... exactly like Barbie!) the backpack and my bus tickets. I was ready to conquer Cerro Campanario and do a 16 mile bike ride around the (sort of appropriately named) Circuito Chico! Leaving from my hostel in the morning, the wind was a bit rough but nothing OAB couldn´t handle with all of her fancy gear. After missing my bus stop, I hopped off a little late and landed at the teleferiqo entrance to the Cerro Campanario. Many Argentines, it would appear, like to skip the hour long hike to get to the top of the mountain, and prefer instead to pay $60 pesos to ride a chair lift to the top to take pictures. Not me. I laughed at these folks in their high heeled hiking boots and hoofed it. An hour later the reward was spectacular. I am not exagerating when I say that when I saw what lay before me, I got teary-eyed. It was almost too beautiful to stand. Well-played Cerro Campanario, well-played indeed.

Because there was still a somewhat lengthy outdoor adventure to be had, I scuttled down the mountain to be on my way to my next destination. After renting my bike from the very informative and yet very dry Neftali, and being warned about never mixing this gear with this gear, and absolutely never using this brake in combination with this gear, I headed out... completely confused about what I should and should not be doing. The one piece of advice that I did heed was the following: ¨The circuit is a lot of up and a lot of down, but no flat at all.¨ Yeah, I get it Neftali, we are in the Andes. It´s impressive.

Ten minutes later, I was done. I had had enough. Yes, it was beautiful, but there was a lot of up! There was no flat at all! Cars were whizzing by! Why was this happening? Stopping to collect my thoughts and eat my lunch of crackers and tuna straight-from-the-can, I steeled myself. ¨Your in Argentina, dammit. It´s time to man up.¨ The rest of the ride was enjoyable and breathtaking if not super difficult. Almost four hours later, I pedaled in to meet Neftali, who wanted to have a coffee and conversation date with me after I had just pedaled the ¨a lot of up¨all afternoon. Less than graciously, I declined his offer and went to wait for the bus.

Until this week, I believed Argentina to be beautiful but not a place I would consider returning to... I have a thing about always going to new places. However, after this brief dip into the delicious Patagonia, I now yearn to see the rest of it. I shall be back!

Today: chocolate and homemade beer tastings all around! Outdoor Adventure Barbie would surely (not) approve.

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