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Published: March 12th 2009
Our Hostel
La Bolsa del Deporte, BarilocheWe very almost didn't even make it to the Argentinean Lakes District towns of Bariloche and El Bolson. There were a number of reasons for this including the extra time we had to wait out in Pucon for suitable weather to summit Volcan Villarica as well as the unplanned stop in Osorno, Chile for health reasons. We did everything we could to rearrange our schedule so that we could fit these two towns in - the wrap we got from other travellers was glowing on all accounts.
We hit Bariloche first as we travelled south and were pleased to find a reasonable sized lake-side town with charming Swiss influence - chalet style buildings and Saint Bernards roaming the streets. It sits on the shores of Lago Nahuel Huapi as well as being situated within a National Park of the same name. Argentineans by the thousands flock here both winter and summer, and it is easy to see why.
We found ourselves a quaint little hostel to act as our base for the time that we spent here. La Bolsa del Deporte came highly recommended by our friends JB and Charlotte. Although it was often difficult to know who actually
Our hostel, big screen...
Hostel Bolsa del Deporte, Bariloche worked here, the staff were among the friendliest and most helpful that we have come across on our travels so far. One of the nicest features of the hostel was the wood finishings throughout all areas. And when Steve's bunk bed collapsed on our first morning there they dealt with this professionally and we received an upgrade to a private room for the remainder of our stay. We promise that there was nothing funky going on! Luckily Lottie had just got up and wasn't underneath at the time. The only casualty was the ipod charger 😞
The day after we arrived was a Sunday which is when some markets take place at nearby Colonia Suiza. It is also possible to experience 'Curranto' - typical food of the area where everything (meat, vegetables and fruits) in large quantities is placed on top of a thick bed of plant, which sits on a pit of hot rocks/stones. More of the plant is placed on top of the food followed by layers of material and finally a load of dirt. It is then left to cook for at least one hour. There were craft stalls and musical entertainment while we waited. Steve
Old ski boots
A photo for Dave Williams, Bariloche says the food was delicious, Lottie could only watch because of the stupid 'bread & cracker' diet the doctor put her on after the hospital visit. On this same afternoon we hiked a portion of the Circuito Chico, taking in the breath-taking views at Bahia Lopez and Villa Tacul as well as enjoying a stroll through Sendero de los Arrayanas (Forest of the Arrayanas) where the trees are thought to be Walt Disney's inspiration for Bambi. The total distance of the loop is 60km more or less and we hiked only two to three hours of this. To reach the section that we wanted to hike from where we were at Colonia Suiza involved a bus ride but it was a 45 minute wait until the next one. With the day slipping away having spent more time at the 'Curranto' than expected, we stuck out our thumbs in the hope of saving some time but not expecting much of a result. The second car stopped for us and we were lucky to meet Aida Pawlak, her husband Tony and two beautiful daughters Camilla and Constance. It was only 15 to 20 minutes that we spent with this family from Buenos
Broken bunk..
No funny business... I promise! Aires but we hope to meet up with them again when we pass through their home city.
The following two days in Bariloche were dedicated to hiking, the first of which was to Refugio Frey. This is in the area of the Catedreal ski resort which services Bariloche. The hike in was relatively uneventful and in no way challenging for us. We had originally been advised to hike out using the same trail. Luckily we met an American climber at the Refugio and through chatting to him we learnt of an alternative route along Laguna Tonchek and up a pass to Laguna Schmoll and finally in the back of the ski resort. This was the highlight of our day with views of Mt Tronador sitting at 3554m. Steve's mate Marek has worked a number of seasons at the ski resort in the past so he was interested in checking out the area, surprised at how much terrain is covered. The second day of hiking was on Cerro Lopez, a popular mountain for hiking with a summit at 2076m. It was a steep slog to the refugio at 1620m, which would be our furthest point for the day. We have
Swiss Village
Colonia Suisa, Bariloche been finding on the hikes that we do that the estimated time published on maps as a guide is far from accurate. Perhaps the statistics are based on the average 80 year old hiking the trails? This one was no exception. The map advised to allow four hours one way to reach Refugio Lopez, actual time was 1 hour 45 minutes up and another 1 hour 30 minutes for the return. We are getting the idea now not to rely too heavily on maps for times.
Having made it through the painfully boring week of a diet restricted to bread and dry crackers, Lottie was more than happy to locate a reputable steak house. On the recommendation of a local (Saint Bernard photographer stationed near the Cathedral in town) we had dinner at El Nuevo Gaucho. Finally, the amazing beef that Argentina is known for, and the 'chimi churi'! And no visit to Bariloche is complete without a stop at Jauja. We warn you though, once is never enough when it comes to Jauja. It is an experience that must be repeated on at least a daily basis, several times a day if possible is best. So what am
Markets
Colonia Suiza I talking about? Jauja produces the world's best ice cream. Flavours never before imagined can be found here. We can't possibly begin to explain how damn good this ice cream is. Just do yourselves a favour and get to Bariloche at least once in your lives and make sure you seek out Jauja. Highly recommended would be 'Dulche de Leche con meringue'. Lottie would go as far as to say that the experience is life changing!
From Bariloche we made a quick side trip to El Bolson. The smaller town is two hours further south from Bariloche. It is nestled in between two mountain ranges and is another popular holiday destination for Argentineans in the summer months. The most notable quality about El Bolson (apart from the presence of a second Jauja) and what makes it so attractive to many people is its hippy reputation - it has been declared a non-nuclear zone as well as an ecological municipality. Now, there is a little place in Canada called Nelson which wins the hippy award hands down, but El Bolson is not far behind. Did we mention that we were over the moon to find another Jauja in the town
when we arrived?! While in El Bolson we enjoyed another two days of hiking. The hike to Refugio Cajon del Azul was recommended to us by our friends Gav and Sarah. There was a second refugio a little further on that we could have gone to and we asked one of the volunteers, interrupting him from tending to the vegetable garden, if it was worth the hike. His response to Steve was "What do you mean 'worth' man! It's like a whole other world out there man". Now you have to imagine this statement complete with doped tone of voice...get the picture? We certainly started to at this point! The second day of hiking to Refugio Piltriquitron was up behind the hostel that we were staying at. Unfortunately not the nicest of days in terms of weather. Along the way we stopped and had a look around El Bosque Tallado where we saw a collection of wood carvings that had been done in trees left after prescribed burns at the end of the 1970's/beginning of the 1980's. Some were very artistic and inspiring, others not so much. The morning before we left El Bolson to head back to Bariloche we
Lunch!!!
Colonia Suisa, Bariloche spent some time relaxing on the grass at Plaza Pagano. As it was Saturday morning there were awesome hippy markets taking place, delightful to wander around. And of course we couldn't leave before devouring a 1/4 litre tub of Dulche de Leche con meringue from Jauja.
We have a funny little tale to tell which didn't seem so funny to us at the time and perhaps illustrates a common mistake made by backpackers, particularly in Patagonia at this time of year...the reason we were heading back to Bariloche from El Bolson rather than continuing on our journey south was because we wanted to get across to Puerto Montt. We needed to get a bus across in to Chile so that we could pick up the popular Navimag cruise which only departs from here on Mondays and takes 4 days to journey down to Puerto Natales. We had timed it out perfectly so that we would get over there on the Sunday and sail out the following day. As soon as our bus arrived in Bariloche we started enquiring about bus departures to Puerto Montt only to be told over and over again 'no seats - full'. Kicking ourselves for
Preparing the "Curranto"
Colonia Suisa, Bariloche not booking seats on the bus earlier when we had looked in to it on several occasions (worried about locking ourselves in in case we needed to change our plans), we started investigating other options. No luck, well nothing feasible in any case. We resigned ourselves to the fact that the cruise wasn't going to happen for us (we had already pushed it back a week because of Lottie getting sick). We made ourselves feel better by focusing on how much money we would save - the cruise was USD500 per person for four days in the lowest level of accommodation possible which was 16 berth dorms. It's a gamble with the weather on this cruise as well. We didn't look to see what it was, better we don't know. Instead we booked a 34 hour bus journey from Bariloche, back through El Bolson again, down Route 40 to El Chalten. This one is our longest so far.
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Grandma
non-member comment
your travels
Congratulations! Wonderful Pictures!Absolutley Great discriptions of events, I`ve lived it all through you both, Wish I could taste the Ice cream!.....WELL DONE, Lots of love, Grandma and Grandad xxxxxxxx