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Published: June 28th 2008
Hola Amigos,
After leaving Iguazú, we 'popped' (if that is the right word for a 20 hour bus journey) back to Buenos Aires to pick up our bags and bid a fond farewell to the city that is a new entrant in my Top Five Cities Of All Time list. We did a bit more shopping, visited the restaurant with the best garlic bread in all Latin America (Señor Telmo, if you're interested), and I went for a nice sunny run along the waterfront (the first in two months - my legs ached for 3 days!)
After 24 hours on dry land, we just couldn't wait to hop on another 20 hour bus. In much the same way as it takes one hour to get from anywhere in central London to anywhere else in central London, it seems to be taking us 20 hours to get to any new destination within Argentina! Our new destination was Bariloche, a mountain town in the Argentine lake district, home to erm...mountains and lakes. And chocolate. And fondue, which we haven't sampled yet, but intend to before we hop on (you guessed it) a 20 hour bus north to Mendoza this afternoon.
Bariloche is chocolate box pretty, small buildings built up a hillside, on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi, and surrounded by snowcapped peaks. Our hostel is on the tenth floor of one of the very few tall buildings in town, meaning we have incredible views over the town and lake. Patagonian towns all seem to be home to large groups of big dogs, who hang around on street corners doing not a lot, and Bariloche is no different. In addition, there are a lot of huge and very cute St Bernards (traditional mountain rescue dogs) with brandy barrels round their necks, posing for photos.
What have we been up to? Just a bit of walking mainly. There are a plethora of national parks round here, each one prettier than the last. We had a funny walk in one of the national park. Two obviously pedigree puppies decided to follow us for the duration of our hike, without any obvious signs of ownership. At one point they seemed to take offense at our choice of route, and started jumping up at us, biting Si´s trousers, and generally trying to drag us the other way. Annoyingly this cut our hike somewhat
short, but we can only guess at what invisible danger these brave mutts may have rescued us from, in true Lassie fashion. About 2 minutes later they vanished, and it was as if they´d never been there at all.
We also bussed round the 'Circuito Chico', the road that runs along side the lake. Our bus route finished at the self proclaimed ´most famous hotel in Argentina'. As it had started to rain, we thought we'd nip in to their bar for a quick drink, but the door man wasn't having any of it. Was it our muddy boots that put him off? Our skanky fleeces? The fact that we'd just been taking photos of each other pulling stupid faces in their foyer? Or our big woolly murdering gloves? Who can say. But the bar was apparently 'full', so we went and got lost and wet in the neighbouring lanes until the bus came round. Not the most successful day trip!
The time has now come for us to stretch our legs a bit in anticipation of the bus, and a pint of artesenal ale to take our minds off the fact we are missing glasto pear cider
St Bernard
These guys are everywhere, and their owners demand payment for taking snaps. This is a stealth shot... Quite a feat when your camera is the size of a rugby ball!this weekend.
Take care and much love to you all
Brrr!
Nat xxx
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Debbie Sheringham
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Llao Llao
I'm glad it's not just me and Dave that were turned away from 'Argentina's most famous hotel'! That makes me feel better. If you fancy a big splash out - go to the Don Molina restaurant. It was one of the best places we ate at. xxxx