Toasty!
Trip Start
Dec 22, 2007
1
22
48
Trip End
May 01, 2008
San Carlos de Bariloche,
Argentina
Monday, February 4, 2008
4-6 February
Mon 4 Feb
An early start for the bus to Bariloche, Argentina. The bus was not quite as nice as Cruz del Sur but the air conditioning worked and so did the toilet! The only problem was that they did not stop for a break, so we could buy lunch (7 hour bus trip). Luckily we did have snacks but the next bus trip we need to confirm if the bus stops or if meals are included!
The border formalities were pretty straight forward so our journey was about 8 hours. The trip was very pretty through forests, lakes and mountains. We arrived in a very hot Bariloche - 30oC which is the hottest is gets here. We were 5km away from our hostel so we took a cab. We stayed in a nicer place this time but the only down side is that where we were was in the middle of no where - 2km from town (which we knew) but we didn´t realise there were no small shops nearby. We had to walk 2km either way to get to food shops!
We´ve hit Bariloche in high season so it is teeming with Argentines, young, old and extremely wealthy!
Tues 5 Feb
We walked 3km to Cerro Otto which has a gondola. It was quite a long, hot ride up to the top but the views were amazing. We went on a walk for an hour at the top which was through a ´beardy´ forest. You´ll understand when you see the photos (which my assistant is currently working on...).
Back at the gondola, we had cake at the restaurant which revolved. Messed with my head a bit when looking at the floor - couldn´t figure out for a while which bit was moving!
We walked back to the hosteria and had a much need siesta. We then walked the 2km into town and found a car rental company which had cars available! We´ve booked a car from tomorrow for 4 days which we will drop off in Neuquen.
Wed 6 Feb
We now have a lovely silver Fiat Uno which we can just fit our backpacks into the boot! We drove the Circuito Chico which had some lovely views. The highlight of the trip was Cerro Campanario where we got on a chair lift for 360 views of the surrounding area. We also saw the famous Argetinan hotel, Llao Llao which sits in a beautiful area.
We did manage to buy some chocolate in the evening and ate some whilst watching Matrix with Spanish sub titles.
