Bariloche, Lake District

MY LUCK WITH BUSES

Steph and I got ourselves on an 18 hour bus ride from Mendoza to Bariloche that ended up being a 24 hour bus ride.  You see,  our bus seemed to have engine trouble.  It kept stalling out.  Eventually our driver got the thing started, but decided to pull over for the night in front of a police station until another bus could arrive 5 hours later.  When the sun came up,  we decided to get some fresh air.  It was a nice sunny and crisp day.  Steph is a yoga expert so she led me through 4 series of yoga poses right there on the side of the road.  I am sure that it was a funny site to the passing trucks. 

Half the riders on the bus got taken away several hours before us as they were going to a different location.

  This meant there would be some empty seats.  A persistent Steph badgered the bus attendant until he said that we could take the 2 open first class seats.  The joke was on us though.  This replacement bus did not have air conditioning and the TV was yanked out. This meant we weren't going to be able to watch a scary movie about broken down buses or something of the like.  We did get an extra meal though which was...you guessed it... a nice assortment of ham and cheese sandwiches on different types of bread along with some of those very sweet dulce de leche cookies.  This meal was served right after we had made a stop at a minimart where we had gotten ice cream to cheer ourselves up.  I laughed hysterically when the guy came around to pour us Pepsi and with an ice cream in her mouth Steph said she did not want it unless he had sugar free Pepsi.   

For excitement on the bus we played a game of bingo.  Not an easy thing when they are saying the numbers in Castellano.  I'm sure that I would have won if I had understood half the numbers being called.  The lady behind me won a bottle of wine.

We finally got to the Lake District and the town of Bariloche at around 8pm.  Before we left the bus terminal we made sure to purchase our onward tickets to the next city.  We are running out of time and can't afford to be in any city an extra day.  Well, it appears we were too late again.  We are leaving a day later than we had planned.  However, now that we are here we are thinking it is not a bad thing.

BRRRRRR

I am finally able to make use of the cold weather clothes that have been occupying the bottom of my backpack.

  Out came the jacket, hat, gloves, long johns, hiking boots and all as it is very windy and cold here.  This is a perfect place for spiked coffee and cidar drinks.  Poor me, though, I have to stick with regular hot cocoa until the root canal antibiotics are finished.

We checked into the Marco Polo Inn hostel www.marcopoloinn.com.ar which was highly recommended by a friend from the last hostel.  We were not disappointed.  Free internet.  Hot showers.  Free breakfast and dinner.  Bar with pool tables.  Nightly activities.  Close to the cute little town center.  We share a room with a loft (yes, no bunks!) Our roommates are a very cool Idaho dude, Colorado chick, and Holland girl.

  At dinner we immediately made friends with Ellen from Stephs home town and Keira, Patrick and Paul from Ireland.  Then in walks Sebastian and Rogier who were with Steph in Bolivia.  Obviously, the party was about to begin.  So we all took a stroll around the corner to Wilkenny, an Irish pub.    We made sure it was an  early evening though as we wanted to get a head start on the activities in the morning.  Tucked in by 2AM.

HUFFING AND PUFFING

There are so many activities you can do in this beautiful location.  It is a ski resort, but there is no skiing right now as it is too warm.  You can do canyoning, but not right now as it is too cold.  You can go parapenteing, but not today as it is too windy.

  You can go horsebackriding, but not after you have been bruised from wine biking.  You can go hiking and so we did.

We walked on down to the local experts on hiking at Club Andino.  These guys were able to tell us about all the different trails.  We could take the number 20 bus to the starting point, but that bus only runs every 2 hours.  So, Steph, Roger and I decided to rent a car.  It cost us about $12 USD each for 24 hours.  We were so excited to have a car after months of relying on public transportation.  You would think that either Rogier (Holland) or I would offer to do the driving since we are experienced with cars that have steering wheels on the left side of the car.

  But, No!  It is way more exciting to have the English girl drive.

A quick stop at the Super Mercado for cheese, bread, salami, chocolate, crackers, bananas, cereal bars, water, energy drinks and we were off for a quick hike.  You'd think we were going to be gone for days.  We choose the Picada trail up to Roca Negro towards Cerro Lopez.  It was supposed to be a 1-2 hour hike up to the snow.  Who needs a map?!  We hiked the wrong way to a dead end warning us about trespassing for about 20 minutes before realizing it.  We should have realized it when a cat kept rolling in front of us trying to stop us.  It was the strangest and most annoying thing.  This cat literally would do flips in front of us every 5 steps we took.

  We should have paid attention to his warnings.

This hike was another occasion for me to face reality.  I am no longer 20 even though I sometimes act it.  I was huffing and puffing as we climbed this steep mountain in search of snow.  On a few occasions Rogier actually had to push me up the hill just to get my momentum going.  And he was hiking this thing in flip flops!  I was so excited to see what we thought was the refugio about 1.5 hours into the climb.  When we got there, the building was closed.  There were some amazing views along the way though.  Snow, lakes, waterfalls, etc.  The 25 year old and 30 year old I was with insisted that we keep going until we either reach snow or the actual refugio.

  Thank goodness it was just 30 minutes later that we hit snow and were able to start rolling back down the mountain.  I was the first to fall.   Steph soon followed.  We did make it down in one piece though before it got dark.

We cruised by the Llao Llao resort on the way home and decide to stop.   Steph flashed a big smile and the guard let us in.  He did have to call ahead to the cafe to let them know that riff raff was on the way in.  We got a nice seat next to the window and enjoyed very expensive 20 peso coffees in this posh place.  Rooms here go for $360-2800 USD per night.  Big difference from the $12 USD per night we are paying down the road!     

FONDUE AND ACCORDIANS

On our drive home we spotted a nice look out point to view the sunset.

  So, we grabbed some beers, Sebastian, and German Sofia to join us.  Sadly, it was too cloudy and dark for a good sunset photo.  We cruised back to grab Irish Paul and went to a restaurant that has a gigantic fondue pot out front.

A good time was had dipping pickles, tomatoes, sausage, and bread into melted cheese.  A better time was had when the apples, pineapple, oranges, stawberries and bananas came out as we got to dip those in chocolate.  Then the dueling accordians came out.  These guys wanted to know which countries we were from and then they started playing songs for each of us.  I got the New York New York song.  I guess Wish They All Could Be California Girls doesn`t translate well on the accordian.

ARGENTINE MASSAGE

We wanted to get use out of our car before having to turn it in at noon.

  This time I drove.  Hadn't driven a stick shift in about 25 years, so it was almost as bad as having the wrong side of the rode girl drive.  We found a nice little forest trail in the Llao Llao area that lead us to the lake about 30 minutes in.  We needed this easy trek to work out the pains from the day before.

Since it didn't do the full job, next on the agenda was a massage back at the hostel.  Argentine massage is much like Argentine pedicures...there is a reason you have not heard about it.  Thank goodness Steph went first so she was able to tell the lady that this crazy vibrating machine she used on her head was not good.  It was a pretty weak massage worth no more than the $20 USD I paid.

Our major plan for the day was to go parapenteing.

  Our 2pm appointment did not work out because the wind was too dangerous.  Neither did our 6pm appointment.  So, we have 1 more day to see if we will be able to run off one of these mountains with parachute wings on our backs to enjoy a graceful flight over the lake. 

ALL FUN AND GAMES

So what is it like having a long vacation like this?  It must be all fun and games right?  Well, just like at home you still have laundry to do, banking to do, bills to pay, errands to run, etc. etc.  In fact, it is harder to accomplish these things while on the road.  You must plan a few days here and there for such things.  It isn't like you can just throw your stuff in the washing machine at home and they will be done when you get back from grocery shopping.

  You`ve got to either locate a place that will do it all for you in machines, a place that will do it all for you by hand, or do it yourself in sinks and hope that it doesn't rain while they are hanging up drying when you only have another 12 hours before they must be stuffed back into your pack.  Factor in that your "smalls" as Steph calls them are hanging up for all your new hostel friends to laugh at and it is a daunting task.

Then there is the banking issue.  If you use a credit card, they charge you an extra 15%.  So, you are constantly needing to go to the ATM to get more cash out.  However, the machines will not allow you to take out more than a little bit at a time.  So, it is something you must do quite often.

  Some ATMs will charge you more fees than others, so then you need to decide the cost benefit of searching for just the right one in order to avoid the extra fees.   There is also a timing issue with going to ATMs.  Not at night.  Not when you need to continue on to tourist areas.  Not alone.  Not in a dodgy neighborhood.  You also have the option in some places of paying with different currency.  Do you take pesos? reais? dollars?  If so, what is YOUR  exchange rate?  Give me a second so I can do the math and determine if that is fair or better than the other fees I am trying to avoid.  Travellers Checks?  What are those?  Where is the Western Union?  I will just exchange these US bills I brought with me.   I don't think there is a fee there.  Sounds horrible doesn't it?

Then there is the internet headache.  Do you have skype?  Does it actually work?  Do you have USB? Does it actually work?  Do you have to wait more than 10 minutes for a page to display?  Can you open more than one window at a time?  Thank goodness for free internet in many of the hostels.  But, then you have this 20 minute time limit if others are waiting.  The pressure of the hovering gives you blog freeze.  

The most difficult chore is arranging transportation.  What airlines fly into that airport? Can you book online?  Where is the airline's office?  Are there direct flights?  On the day of the week we need?  Where is the bus station?  What busses go there?  How long does it take?  Direct route?  Is there a cama (bed) seat available? 

I know.

  You really feel sorry for me, right?!

ON TOP OF THE WORLD

We had hoped to parapente on our last day in Bariloche, but the wind was not on our side again.  Steph decided to do a 3 hour horseback ride.  Not appealing to me after already being sore from the hike and getting ready for a long bus ride.  So, my new Irish roommate Orrion and I decided to take it easy and ride the chairlift up to Cerro Campanario.  We took bus 20 to kilometer 17.2 where the ride began.  For 20 pesos you can get the best view of the area.  Took some photos and headed back down.

Orrion had heard that the best steaks in town could be had at El Boliche de Alberto so we went there for lunch.  Sure enough.  We had way more meat than any 2 people would eat.

  A local couple were laughing hysterically when our meals came.  This restaurant had photos of famous Argentines on the wall so you know that it was good.

Bariloche is known for its many chocolate factories too.  So, we did take a few chocolate breaks as we strolled the town until it was time to go to the bus station.  One particular chocolate fabricator is called Turista...think they were made just for us?

HOSTEL LIFE

Hostel life is pretty interesting.  It really isn't that bad.  You get used to it.  In the few days we stayed in Bariloche we had 8 different roommates in our 6 bed place.  All were very polite.  No issues at all, but then again, I can sleep under any conditions.

...even the snoring Spanyard dude.

The one constant roommate here was a girl from Holland.  She was staying in this room for one month while she did volunteer work.  During that time she will have had about 40 different people sleep in her room with her.  She said that she writes about all of them in her blog.  I'm going to have to do a google search to find out what type of hostel roommate I am!

You do want to claim your bunk early.  The top bunk is not the best option when getting in late and wanting to keep the lights off as to not distrub your roommates.  Always keep as covered up as possible when sleeping in a hostel or you will end up with strange bites when you wake up.  Not too many of the guys follow this advice.  I have become immune to seeing strangers in their underwear.