Bariloche - Land of helado and chocolato
Trip Start
Jan 03, 2007
1
9
30
Trip End
Apr 05, 2007
Bariloche,
Argentina
Thursday, January 25, 2007
We have just returned from an awesome few days hiking to the glacial base of Mount Tronador (meaning the ´thunderous´one) in the Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi (750,000 hectares of interconnected lakes and mountainous terrain, with only the highest peaks remaining of what was once a massive glacier stretching over 500 sq kms)
Feeling rather ill prepared (compared to the other hard bitten mountaineering types we encountered) we arrived at Pampas Linda to
sign the mountain register for an ardous two day traverse to Otto Meiling (a simple refugio situated in the cleft btw two glaciers at the base of Mount Tronador- (an extinct volcano which lives up to its name ´thunderous one´when blocks of ice still sheer from its surface)
01-Barriloche at Dawn
. The park ranger took one look at Sarahs takkies and spandex skinnies´(something akin to Jane Fonda´s DIY yoga video´s), another glimpse out the window at the ominous black clouds, and promptly refused us premission to ascend. Without a tent and rather under-seasoned sleeping bags, we were admonished to sleeping under the tables of the parks restaurant (with the hostel beds already fully booked). Having beer slopped on our faces and hearing the loud banter of brazen men made for a rather fitful nights sleep....but we did get to meet a rather hunky horse-man who offered to carry our bags up the mountain pass the next day :-) We woke to bright sunshine and a blinding headache (must have been from the alcohol spillage :-) ), but the weather was good enough for our country-bumpkin ascent... yay!
After 5 hours of beechwooded switch-backs & irritating horse-flies (would the tree line ever end?), the mighty Tronador came into view - only another 1000m to ascend. We stopped for a breather (air becoming a bit of a premium) on a plateau overlooking the glacial valley from which we had climbed and two giant condors circled overhead. Julia had recently read that in order to maintain its interest one should pretend to be potential prey. With that she dropped to the floor, performing a highly sophisticated cockaroach manouevre (intending to look like a chick in distress) whilst I flapped protectively over her (these played-out personas, not unlike our everyday roles)
02-Panaroma on the Circuito Chico
. We probably looked like gringo´s with unfortunate IQ´s, but we did manage to hold the condor´s interest for a few moments more...unfortunately not enough to retrieve my camera from the backpack before it effortlessly ascended the next ridge on a well-chosen thermal. Without sounding too "twitcher like" this rare sighting of the condors, was probably akin to that of an ornithologist´s wet-dream. These magnificent creatures have a wing-span up to 3meters and even the juvenile is larger than a grown man. Otto Meiling refugio (aka: a VERY simple hiking hut)is built to accomodate 80 persons at a push. Being such fine weather and peak holiday period for Argentinian´s, this precarious little refugio was practically bursting at the woodwork with having to accomadate 120
persons!!! Once you´ve walked 18kms to the base of a glacier, accommodation options are rather limited. And so it was, that we were assigned our single mattress to be shared between the two of us plus another half (a body). The two toilets groaned under the load, but the refugio staff awed us with their organisation and culinary expertise..managing to feed 80 persons tenderloin chops out of a kitchen not much bigger than our walk-in grocery cupboard.
Under normal circumstances we might have griped about the mattress sharing, but considering the hot argentinian talent on show, Sarah and I licked our lips (..or was that our chops?) at the prospect of such ´compulsory´ sleeping arrangements
03-I wouldn´t mind having this view!
. With only one exit door jammed shut, it was a little disconcerting to hear the glacial fragments shearing all around us. It was kinda like being pinned to page 155 of "Touching the Void". The next day Sarah threw herself down an 18m glacial crevace (and had to pick her way out of it...nogal) whilst Jules returned to Pampa Linda early in order to try get us on a return bus to Bariloche. Being such peak season, you´ve gotta book your transport ahead of time (a lesson learnt not for the first time...you would think we are slow-learners). We had already booked our accommodation in Bariloche and didn´t fancy another night under the brothel tables, so option b) was..well...hitch hike. I mean how difficult can it be???
Twenty minutes later, our thumbs begining to show the first signs of cramp & departing cars thinning out rapidly, we decided it was time to change our strategy. After two days of no ablutions, Sarah was looking a bit like Charize Theron...out of ´Monster that is...whilst Jules could have éasily been mistaken for the ´friend´ out of Adam´s Family.´We had little chance of bumming a free lift (if life´s chances are pitched on beauty that is) so we agreed that Sarah should stick out her thumb whilst Jules danced around in the middle of the road (in that way they had to at least slow down) flaring a 100 peso
note. The plan was to quickly swop the 100 peso note for a tenna when (...if) somebody picked us up. Their eyes decieving them.
Anyway to cut a long story short, we did indeed manage to get our mangled bodies home courtesy of some really friendly argentinian students with whom spoke pretty good english (a rarety down here), and so we are now also versed in the socio-political and economic affairs of the country!
We were really sad to bid Barliloche good-bye but have now arrived in the potty joint of El Bolson to curb our scurvy with fresh turnips and home brewed ales.
Till later.....
Julio and Sara
