The sad reality that our time in South America will soon be over is starting to set in as we continued further north in Patagonia, and ever so closer to our exit point of Rio de Janerio, Brazil.
We had a long dusty bus ride on the famous Route 40 to Bariloche, Argentina. Originally Bariloche wasn't on our plan, but we had heard good things and wanted to see what the Lake District is all about. On our bus ride north we saw hundreds of Guanachos, dozens of wild flightless birds, and an armadillo! We also made friends with a few Thai travelers, Bee and Bon. Bee's family owns a hotel in Thailand so hopefully we can meet up again on the other side of the world.
As we got closer to Bariloche the pampas made way for mountains and beautiful lakes. Our crash pad in town was at the top of the highest building in town with awesome views, aptly named Penthouse 1004. We grabbed some Mexican food and enjoyed the sunset from the hostel (see pic).
The next morning we cruised around town, planned the next few days, and did some housekeeping (I guess it would be backpack keeping?)...
We also noticed some strange things about Bariloche. First off the building style is very woodsy (log buildings, wood counters, everything - even the phone booths). Second it is a very popular spot for high school graduation trips in the summer, and therefore was packed with hormonal teenagers. Third, Barilcohe has some of the largest chocolate shops in the world, supermarkets of chocolate, and dozens of them at that. Last but not least strange in that the nicest building on the water, set on a pier fit for a steakhouse or high class seafood restaurant, is...wait for it...an ice rink? And this ain't no hockey rink, this is a little patch of slushy ice, with hundreds of Argentinians strapping on skates for the first time. Girls in miniskirts and tank tops skating, and lots of falling.
That night we were treated to free open air concerts set around town and featuring up and coming local bands. Our favourite was a teenage band that mainly covered Guns and Roses songs, complete with a mini teen trying to cover Slash's unique style. Long hair, shredded jeans, this little guy even lit and smoked a cigarette during one of his guitar solos.
The next morning we jumped on a city bus north to see some of Nahuel Huapi Park by bike. On the bus we ran into a family from Sacramento whom we seemed to see everyday for a week, which started in El Chalten. The bus ride out to the park really showed off the beauty of the area. So nice in fact we could see ourselves living here or having a vacation home for breaks from the Canadian winter, or snowboarding during the Canadian summer (the town is also home to the Southern Hemispheres' best ski resorts).
In the Park we rented some bikes, grabbed a map and headed out on the trail. The first part of our ride was really nice, with constant changing between up and down to get you sweating and then cooled down. An hour later we arrived in Colonia Suiza and the most hippy-ish town ever. The shopping malls appeared LSD induced, the Sunday market was buzzing, and the residents look like they may have migrated from Nelson, BC. We enjoyed some amazing artisan beer, strolled the market, and picked up a few trinkets for people back home. If you come to Bariloche, Colonia Suiza is definitely worth the trip. But to get the best of it make sure you come on a market day.
Leaving the town we took a wrong turn, which lead us on a beautiful, but long 30km ride around several lakes. When we finally found ashphalt we realized we had been here already on the bus and were 5 kms behind where we originally started, Doh!
Charis decided she would enjoy a beach more than another 30kms on a bike, so ducked off to a nice little spot along the road. Arik wanted to see it all so kept on trucking around the originally planed loop .
Arik
The ride was great; some amazing view points, lakes, and nice up and down flow. Not the World's Most Dangerous Road, but perhaps one of the world's nicest. The first accidental loop we took was more spectacular and pristine, the second loop was easier with pavement, a few more sights, and a lot more people. Butt...and I do mean BUTT, it was hard to sit for the next few days after 65kms on the bike in one day...
Charis
Well after biking over 30kms I decided to relax on the beach and it was great. Pulled my bike up on the grass and took a quick snooze. When I woke up there were about 10 families around with their thermos and mate cups. So I sat there guzzling cold water because it was roasting out and they sat there in the heat drinking thermoses full of mate. It was a great way to end the long bike ride.
Back in town we had to find another hostel because we forgot to book an extra night at the Penthouse...booking a hostel in a resort town during high-season at 9pm isn't easy. We visited 11 places before we could get a bed (we even had to stay in different hostels). These are the times when a positive attitude makes travel much easier. The right attitude can turn a bad situation into a funny or memorable one, and a good experience into a great one.
For dinner we had smoked wild boar sandwiches, delicious but hard to eat as it is cured like beef jerky, and checked out some more concerts around town.
In the morning we spent our last day relaxing, found some waffles, and at the bus station saw our friends from Sacramento again... Heading out of town we also splurged, for $6, on a Cama bus (like riding on a La-Z Boy) for the first time since arriving in Colombia 4 months ago. It was awesome, easily our best night bus sleep of the trip. However, once we settled into the leather reclining chairs we realized it won't make our next chicken bus trip very enjoyable...
Bariloche is a cool, if touristy, town in Argentine Patagonia. It feels and looks very west coast, and is perhaps what Vancouver would look like if only 80,000 people lived there. There are amazing lakes for the summer, good skiing in the winter, chocolate, hippies, artisanal beer (sounds kinda familiar, eh). It's on our list for a return trip...as is almost everywhere else.
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