3 meals, 3 movies and a 20 hour journey later, we arrived in beautiful Bariloche in the heart of Patagonia. The views during the drive had been wonderful with lowland plains of pampas grass giving way to progressively larger and larger mountains as we approached the foothills of the Andes. For those who haven’t a clue about the geography of Argentina or simply can’t be arsed to look at a map, we had travelled west from Mar del Plata (on the east Atlantic coast) all the way across country heading south west to Bariloche which is beautifully located between huge mountains and lakes. On arrival here I was pretty taken aback by the whole place and would probably say that it’s one of the most naturally exquisite places that I’ve ever been. Taking a short cab journey to our hostel the Marcopoloinn the driver told me that the weather was quite changeable and the winters always brought snow but the weather we had was perfect, the sun was shining and there were no clouds in the sky although when the wind blew it was a little chilly. Marcopolo was a fairly good hostel with the added incentive of free dinner and it’s own bar and pool table we didn’t think we could go wrong although the free dinner turned out to be pretty gross and so we mostly opted to eat out anyway!
When checking in we were asked to tick boxes regarding activities that we might want to do whilst in Bariloche with options such a white water rafting, kayaking, horse riding, trekking, mountain biking, paragliding and I just ticked them all as this was our first opportunity to get out and experience the great outdoors although in reality we had neither the time nor the money to be doing all of it. After debating the idea of doing rafting, the guys decided they weren’t going to do it as it was a full day and it was 360 pesos which isn’t much in sterling but when you’re on a tight budget travelling it’s a lot so unfortunately I had to decline also despite hearing rave reviews from all the other guys in the hostel who had been. Instead we decided on the kayaking on our first day. Kayaking was great fun, after a short drive in the minibus we were there at a great big lake and after a short induction we were ready to go. I got paired up with a guy from the US called Sam who was apparently my American twin although I couldn’t see it. Luckily during our short induction we had been taught what to do if we capsized which I didn’t pay too much attention to as the water looked calm and I’d been before with my sister and we hadn’t capsized then. I even boldly said to the girls who looked nervous, don’t worry it’s nearly impossible to capsize on this water and you guessed it, the only ones to capsize it were Sam and I! I still blame the photographer who was positioned right in front of us, blocking our way along the shore as we’d been asked to stay as close to the shore as possible so in an attempt to avoid him, we both leant left while desperately paddling to the right to avoid him and in we went. Although it was freezing cold, it was a quite refreshing and we were pretty much at the shore already so we didn’t have to swim too far. I would hate to have tipped it in the middle of the lake that’s for sure! So we were the bait of the jokes when we finally caught up with the rest of them having been leading up until this moment. During our tea break some of the others (all natives) began jumping in off a log which I thought was brave since having been in already by accident, we knew just how cold it was ( this was glacial water after all!)
It was a nice experience overall and the instructors were very friendly and really nice guys too. On return to the hostel, we discovered the poor quality standard that was dinner and we also moved rooms so that we had 3 separate beds rather than Steve and I having to share a double for any longer than one night as his snoring really did not go down well along with the uncomfortable bed and one lumpy pillow! The room we moved to was worse as it was another one of those with the shower head just pointing down into the bathroom so to have a shower you had to get everything soaking wet whereas at least the last one had a bath in it. Anyway enough moaning about the room, the hostel was quite nice and the staff were generally very friendly and helpful and actually arranged the next part of our trip down south doing us a package for the travel and accommodation down to El Calafate.
The 2nd day we all agreed to do mountain biking which was fantastic due to the amazing views although it was quite tough going up some of the mountain roads but worth it on the way back down.
I’ve done a lot of cycling in my time but I’d say this was by far the most beautiful place I’ve ever ridden, I just couldn’t get enough of the place and the weather too was perfect! We even stopped in a small town in the heart of the mountains called Suise Colonia which was great as the place was buzzing as they had a festival going on and they had a band playing, entertainment, toffee apples, popcorn, markets, beer tents etc so we enjoyed having a deserved break from the cycling to immerse ourselves in the town festival. On arrival back at the bike hire place (the last part was all uphill) we were all pretty exhausted having cycled probably 35kms in mountains but we were determined to see the 1st point of call which we had apparently missed called Cerro Camponario. This was a place that Sam my kayak buddy had told me about because it had amazing views in all directions from the top which you could get to either by hiking or taking a ski lift.
Unfortunately on arrival we found out they had just closed so we decided to return the next day. On the way back we experienced the horribly cramped bus situation, it seems that from 18km where the bike place was to the centre everyman woman and dog wanted to get this bus so I was literally squashed like a tinned sardine, I’ve never been on such a packed bus, it seemed the driver was determined to squeeze as many people as possible onto it and no matter how squashed everyone was, he was going to keep stopping and letting more people on until eventually it was so full the doors wouldn’t open! Later we realised that this wasn’t a one off and these buses were always rammed to the rafters so you just got to deal with it and get comfy while you can!
The next day we decided to just have a chilled day and after wandering around the town centre for a while and eating, Lee and I decided to get on the beers and go and sit out on the balcony at our sister hostel as it was a lovely day. Bariloche is not terribly big and once you’ve seen the civic square and it’s nice clock tower and nice wooden designed buildings (unfortunately not in keeping with the rest of the city) and the cathedral, that’s pretty much it for sights to see in the city so we headed to the balcony to have a few beers. This was by far the best view I’ve ever seen from a hostel balcony although you do have quite a climb of 3 sets of steps to get up there but it’s worth it when you finally reach the top. It pretty much looks out on the city but the view straight ahead is across the huge lake and to the mountains in the distance. To top it off just inside where you can still see out, they have a large plasma screen tv and sofa so this is where we went to watch all footy games. On this occasion we met Stav, a nice Israeli girl who asked Lee where he got his tattoo (which incidentally he’s having removed or trying to) as she wants the same one on her back. After chatting with her for a while, it turns out she was travelling alone so we invited her to tag along with us for dinner (as we were sick of the tripe being served in the hostel) or rather she invited us as she apparently had found the best steak house in town and had eaten there for lunch and dinner every day! So after a day drinking and enjoying the sun, we went for steak and indeed it was one of the best steaks we’d had and Lee even said it was the best restaurant he’s ever been to so special thanks to Stav for introducing us to the place.
Having eaten well there was a glimmer of hope that we might sleep well too but no chance of that in this hostel. I even got my sleeping back out and used it as a pillow for extra comfort which didn’t make a great deal of difference but seemed to help me sleep a little. Apparently I too had been snoring the past couple of nights but I think I’d put this down to the fact that I had and still have a terribly sore and inflamed throat. Poor me hey! Oh and my foot has swollen the size of a football due to the new blisters and cuts I seem to be acquiring every day (think the cut on my heel came from capsizing the kayak and cutting it on rocks) but anyway I should just get some antibiotics perhaps or at least some soothers for my throat! So after another night of disjointed sleep we got up and decided to go to Camponario and check of this view that had apparently been voted by the national geographic as in the top 10 best views in the world so it had to be done! Unfortunately the weather had changed and it was slightly cloudybut the view was still amazing and the ski lift up was a fun and worthwhile experience too. Once up at the top, there are amazing panoramic views from all angles and you can see for miles. There is also a good selection of wildlife with birds of prey hovering just above and lizards all over the rocks as well as brightly coloured orchids and flowers. Just a beautiful place of nature and well worth seeing for 30 pesos there and back. This was our last day in Bariloche and so we thought we’d have alast supper our newly discovered steakhouse. First we went to the balcony hostel to watch Milan v Man U in the champions league where we met Graham, a nice Welsh guy who also was travelling alone (had been teaching English as a foreign language in BA) so we invited him to tag along too which he agreed to. So we all went for dinner together, had good steak and a good laugh and afterwards we went for drinks in the hostel bar. It was nice meeting 2 new friends who were genuine nice people and I’m sure we’ll all hook up again at some point. Well Stav is flying down to Calafate today which is our destination but we’re bussing it so we’ll be delayed but if she waits which i think she will then we’ll meet again. Graham is going to Brasil but will be in Colombia at some point so maybe I’ll go and meet him there since I’ll be on my own too. Steve has just confirmed he is nearly broke so he’s booked his flight back from Santiago so we don’t have much time left with Steve unfortunately and then after Paraguay, Igazu falls, Lee is heading back to Rio so I’ll be left alone L unless I go with him but I feel I have more to see and wouldn’t mind doing Machu Piccu!
Anyway so now we head south of Bariloche on a 12/13 hour bus journey through the beautiful Andes the heart of Patagonia towards El Calafate although we have a couple of stops on the way. It’s getting colder! Soon we’ll be reaching the glacier and all the lugging my big waterproof anorak will seem worth it I’m sure!
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