It was time to leave Chile and head for Argentina. So we hopped on a bus in Puerto Montt, Chile for an 8 hour bus ride across the Andes to the Argentine city of Bariloche. The views through the bus window were spectacular. Unfortunately the bus never stopped, so we couldn’t take any pictures. But no worries! Bariloche offered so many incredible vistas that we almost wore out Pat’s shutter finger. Bariloche is a tourist town much like Vail or Aspen Colorado. The summers offer great hiking, white water rafting, camping, fishing, etc… , while the winters are a skiers paradise. The highlight of our visit was the acquisition of new friends; Roxi, her dog Cassie, and Cat Huck! We were given an introduction through a mutual friend in San Diego. And in spite of that she decided to hang out with us. Roxi has retired and has a house just outside of Bariloche. Wait until you see the views this woman has to deal with everyday. So sit back, relax and discover the beautiful lake district of Argentina. This photo was taken from the top of Cerro LLoa LLoa.
Downtown Bariloche. We wonder if Bariloche was Petula Clark’s Inspiration. No, probably not. For you youngsters: Petula’s song ‘Downtown’ was a #1 hit in the late sixties. Bariloche, a very trendy, upscale city that doesn’t even begin to buzz until 9PM, which is about the time this photo was taken. Dinner time in Argentina begins around 10Pm. But if you’re really cool you sit down to dinner at midnight! One could hear just about every language imaginable spoken as you walked the steets. Mostly European and wealthy Argentines. And OHHHH the beef! Everything you’ve heard about how good their beef is is TRUE. And of course you need equally tasty wine to wash that great beef down with. Great views, lots of outdoor activities, great beef and wine; It’s no wonder Roxi settled here.
It’s alive! It’s alive! Pat’s embarassing moment number 1,734 (2008 only). We were walking down this crowded, very busy street, when we came upon this ‘statue’. Pat thinks it looks pretty cool and decides to get some pictures. He hears people giggling and Carrie trying to get his attention when, suddenly, the statue moves. A mime! We’re supposed to tip him but Pat was already sprinting for cover. Street entertainment like this was everywhere. While on the subject of street entainment; one cannot visit Bariloche and not notice all the dogs running loose. The infamous dogs of Bariloche! It’s amazing to watch them ‘work’ the tourist.
Cerro Otto is just on the edge of town. A short 10 minute bus ride. Take the tram to the top for some incredible views of the city and Lago Nahuel Huapi. We rode up with 2 locals who asked us what we thought of Bush. After we used the universal hand signal for loco, they laughed and said: “it’s the same here. Our politicians are loco as well”. Some things are the same around the world. We found that people averywhere accepted us as people and not on the basis of where we were from. Pretty cool!
Cerro Otto: Another view from the top, looking away from Bariloche.
Everyone meet Roxi! Lunch at Roxi’s doesn’t suck, huh? Lechuga con Pollo, a nice TALL cool one, and great company. We don’t know who her friend on the table was, but she stayed the entire time. Plus the view! Oh, the view. Life is tough Roxi. Oh yeah, Argentines don’t fool around with their cervezas. They come in one liter bottles.
Roxi’s House? or Lodge? or Palace? or whatever you want to call it, it’s just way cool! The house sits up a hill overlooking Lago Guitierez. Water is drawn from a stream running through the propery. Abundant wildlife. Views from every room. We sound like real estate agents, huh? I don’t think Roxi will be selling anytime soon. Even if she wanted to we wouldn’t let her.
Did we mention the view from Roxi’s deck? Well here it is. Ahh.. maybe a cool refreshing dip in the lake would be nice.
After Lunch at Chateau Roxi, we jumped in her car and headed south for a little hike. We don’t remember the name of the lake, but is was pretty nice. Cassie was the only one brave enough to jump into the cold mountain lake. I think we may have briefly seen one other couple. Other than that we had the place to ourselves. Roxi: What is the name of that lake?
After the ‘grueling’ hike, Roxi took us to a very fancy resort for some refreshments. This was our view while we sipped on a cold one. This adventure travel life is tough. And by the way they call this area the lake district. Can you guess why? After a great day of outdoor activities, Roxi took us back to Bariloche and introduced us to El Boliche de Alberto for some of the finest steaks we have ever eaten. We arrived at about 9:30 and after an hour wait we had a table. When we left at midnight the place was still packed with people waiting at the door. We returned to our Hostel fatter, dumber, and much happier.
Cerro Lloa Lloa: The next morning and time for another hike. This time we take a local bus for a 20 minute ride to the trailhead for Cerro Lloa Lloa. Well, actually we ended up getting off the bus at the wrong stop, about a mile from the trailhead. So we decided to try our hand at hitchhiking and after 5 minutes we were picked up by 2 women who dropped us off at the trailhead. The hike up is a bit steep, especially after all the beef and wine the previous night, but we did manage to make it to the top. For those of you that have hiked with us you know that we never do it without a bottle of wine. We have it on very good authority that wine reduces the lactic acid build up in muscles. Purely medicinal. If anyone can cite any medical journals proving this statement please add it to the comments section. That way when we are told by park rangers that alcohol is prohibited we can tell him that it is medicine and to call our doctor.
Cerro Lloa Lloa: Not much to say here other than the photos cannot do the place justice. Lakes and mountains were in every direction we looked.
We met these fellow hikers at the summit. Rodrigo and Marcelo were both on vacation and enjoying their beautiful country. We keep in touch with both. We are happy to report that Rodrigo(left) is in love with Eva (whom he met in Bariloche).
Cerro Lloa Lloa: Can you pick out Carrie hiding amongst all the trees. Enjoying sun and view?
This shot was taken from the beach in Bariloche. The water was way too cold for us tropical types, but the beaches were crowded none the less. Note the fancy castle looking hotel on the left. This was NOT our hotel.
Now this is real Grafitti! We found this painting on a wall near the lake in Bariloche. This is only a portion of the painting. Whenever and wherever we’ve found cool wall art we’ve snapped a photo and created for t-shirts, calendars, hand bags, buttons, you name it.
We begged Roxi to take us in for a few days and she said: Alright , but no complaining about my driving no matter where I take you. We drove south from her place to, we think, someplace called Lago Mascardi. (Roxi, if this is incorrect add a comment to the photo.). She made us cross this raging torrent by foot just for this photo. Man, she’s tough!
Roxi allowed us back into the car and we continued on until we saw this vista. Another picture moment! Note the lack of humans.
Roxi frollicking in a small (freezing) mountain lake with sidekick Cassie. Cassie provided the means of propulsion while Roxi simply relaxed in the tube.
A better shot of a 1 dog power engine. Guess what stroke Cassie is using? We thought it only fair that Cassie get in the tube and Roxi do the pulling, but she refused.
It’s getting late in the day, so time to head back to Roxi’s place. Couldn’t resist one last stop to get this photo!! WOW, what a country. If any of you out there have been to Argentina add a comment to this photo and share your experiences here.
The next day we reluctantly hopped a bus for El Bolson. Roughly a 3 hour bus ride south. It’s known as a hippie hangout, with a hippie market/fair. Right up Pat’s alley; or so we thought. We won’t go into the details but Pat got cranky and refused to take even one photo in El Bolson. So, we have nothing to show you. We did enjoy one afternoon of hippie watching during their market/fair and had a great hippie burger. Later, a band set up a played for hours. We would describe them as the Argentine String Cheese Incident. Have any questions or want to know why Pat got cranky in El Bolson ask in the comment section.