Bariloche 20-24 September 2008

Well my mission to Bariloche started from BA, a 22 hour bus ride from Retiro bus station. Retiro comprises over 70 platforms and stretches for about a km so finding the correct platform can take a while!! I was travelling on Via Bariloche which is reputed to be one of the better companies and one that my mate Rich from Bariloche had travelled on a week earlier and passed back favourable reports. I settled in to my seat on the lower level of the bus, which I chose because it is more cosy with only around 10 seats in total and close to the bathoom (which can have a few smelly drawbacks but worth the risk) and perhaps a less of a rolling movement. It also has the benefit of being next to the kitchen and bar area so the drinks and snacks can easily be obtained from the chap running up and down the stairs. I passed the time until dinner by reading, listening to my eyepod and trying to say a few words to the Spanish chap next to me, who was travelling with his family. His young daughter was noisy to start with and I was beginning to imagine a sleepless night ahead. I guess if you can´t beat em, join em, so I tried to have a yarn with them all and play a few little games with the daughter, which provided quite a bit of amusement for us all so it all worked out pretty well. Dinner wasn´t as good as the trip from Iguacu to Rosario but we were still served hot food and wine, although beer wasn´t available. It amused me when the chap next to me asked for a ´vaso de vino e sprite´, which is pretty much a red wine shandy!! Apparently all the young kids do it to get into wine and apparently this guy was never weaned off this idea hahah. I asked him ´te gusta vino tinto e sprite´, to which he replied ´si si, esta buneasimo´, classic! The attendant chap came around and offered whiskey, which I happily accepted ´con pepsi´ which he managed to understand after a while (perhaps whiskey and coke is not a common drink and judging by his proportion of 2/3 whiskey I think he thought he was doing me a favour hhaha).

My greatest moment of happiness that night came when the final movie started to screen after dinner. To this point I had to endure 3 terrible Spanish films, or at least try to block them out. I was going to ask the dude if they had any English movies but didn´t get around to it so was stoked when I am Legend with Will Smith came onto the screen. The chap next to me was a bit surprised, as I must have jumped forward in my seat with elation, rummaging through my bag to find my headset to plug into the ceiling jack. Kind of ironic really given I am Legend lends itself perfectly to being dubbed over in Spanish given there are only about 2 characters and very little dialogue whatsoever so English speaking and Spanish sub titles was an awesome bonus!

Arriving the next morning in the Lakes district was pretty incredible. It is now becoming pretty apparent that the southern areas of Southern America (i guess i will soon find out about the northern areas...) are characterised by enormous areas of desolate and barren terrain with pockets of beauty. Unlike New Zealand where the drive to a destination is often as rewarding as the destination itself, I often wonder if the long bus rides over completely uninspiring landscapes is really worth all the hassle as there is much travel through boring scenery and incredibly flat dusty roads to get to anywhere of any notable aesthetic quality. That being said, the lakes and cliffs that greeted me as we approached Bariloche were pretty amazing! The road wound its way down lower and lower through green lakes and rocky crags; I occasionally spotted some great lodges and batches on the lake front. Soon were were on the lake front of Bariloche, Lago Nahuel Huapi, looking north towards the main township. Perfectly blue skies reflected in the dark blue water was an incredible sight and something I had been looking forward to since the beginning of my trip. Stepping outside for the first time at the main bus station some 3km south of town was crisp but refreshing after a long bus trip. I found my way to the urban bus stop and headed into town.

My first stop was Hostel 1004, which is renowned as having the most amazing views of lake and of any hostel (and perhaps building) in Bariloche. I had a reservation for the following night and was told to try my luck for my day of arrival in case people had checked out. No one had so I made my way to Hostel 41 Below, which is run by a laid back kiwi guy, a point I had forgotten until i arrived. I was knocking around the reception checking in and a laid back chap with a very Flight of the Concords accent started to yarn to me, asking me how I was getting along in my jandals and t shirt in Bariloche...it was obvious to him that I reeked of kiwi ahah. Paul had been running the place for around 4 years with his striking Argentinian partner, travelling for around half the year in the off season. The walls were plastered with numerous photos of far off destinations, including Nepal, which provided great flashbacks.

I decided to make the most of the day rather than moping around the hostel. I sought suggestions as to decent day walks to pass the afternoon. Cerro Otto was a four hour return walk from the the hostel and provides great views over the lake. Off I went, via the supermarket and several frustrating return trips to the hostel to collect gear which I had forgotten; perhaps my lack of sleep was catching up with me! I also realised at this point, being my first trip into the Patagonian outdoors, that my idea of going light in South America might have been taken slightly too far as it had become alarmingly apparent that most of my basic thermal clothing had been left behind in Auckland. I had a fully set of heavy weight thermals but no mid layer or light base layers. This annoyed me greatly as the space required to pack several additional sets of thermals is nothing and the value added is huge. I was also kicking myself for not getting trekking pants from Mike before heading off...although many people seem to trek in jeans I could not bring myself to do such a thing on any serious walks! I would have to buy some... Anyway, off up Cerro Otto. I found the turn off and started to charge up a mountain bike trail which cuts a few corners off the windy road to the top, eventually re joining the main road a bout half way up. The trail was semi covered in snow and great views over the lake were around most corners. After re joining the road I soon came upon a ski resort and a bit further on the centre for cross country skiing or something. The road ended at this point and I was off up a snow covered track to the top of Reserva Telefonica. This view point is serviced by a gondola and then a cable car..pretty lazy really given the walk up is only a couple of hours and more rewarding, but that´s just my view. Upon getting to the top the guy at the office said it was 25 pesos to get to the viewing deck but I said I would just have a walk around and take a few photos...then snuck up under a fenced off areas to get to the same place so felt pretty good about that.

I met some cool guys at the hostel that night and had a yarn to one chap about Huayna Potosi in Bolivia, which is 6085m and something I am keep to do, if Bolivia is safe! Some good info obtained. The next morning I headed back to 1004 to check in. Upon arriving I figured that I didn´t really like the vibe and the people hanging around there so decided to stay only a night there and head back to 41 below for a couple of additional nights to catch up with the other chaps there. I dropped off my stuff and headed out to Cerro Campanario, which everyone said is the best place to soak up amazing panoramic views of the lakes and surrounds. The weather was perfect and a 30 minute walk from the bus stop bypasses the chair lift to the top, saving a crazy 40 pesos! The views were indeed amazing! I sat around in the sun eating ham and cheese baguettes and doing my best to talk to some locals, which is always entertaining.

I headed back down to the road and asked for direction to a beach, or playa. I am beginning to be capable of asking questions in Spanish, which is great, but I am still hopelessly unable to understand 90% of the responses so I trotted off and took a wrong turn and didn´t really come to a beach (I found it the next day on a separate trip) but did find the Bariloche Yacht Club tucked into a very calm bay, a simply awesome spot by the lake front! I headed into a nearby store and got a beer to accompany my remaining baguette and made my way down to the water front, ignoring the members only sign. Sitting on the lake front on an awesome day with a beer was just awesome...simple but very rewarding. Once finished, I simply jumped back on the bus and headed back into town to relax for the afternoon.

Hostel 1004 turned out to be pretty decent in fact! Totally chilled out in a very hippy sort of way! I waited for the sun to set which was a bit of a fizzer, although nice enough. I went inside to prepare dinner in the most amazing kitchen I have even been in, hostel or otherwise, with several 8 burner stainless gas cookers and a massive array of utensils and festooning every available wall surface! After about 10 minutes I looked outside to see a mass of red over the lake....the sunset I had expected and hoped for had put on a display afterall. I quickly threw down my cooking tools and ran to the room, drawing some attention to myself on the way but when my room mates made it outside with me and their own cameras they all realised what the rush was for. It was perhaps the most amazing sunset I have seen and I quickly shot a few panoramas in the fading light. Magic. I spent the rest of the night with a cool young Aussie couple (yes, one was a lawyer, cant escape them!) and planned to ride the around the Circuito Chico, a 35 km ride around Lago Llao Llao. We sat around drinking with the very alternative hostel owners, one of whom looked very like Jesus, but was amazing on the guitar and violin and did a duet with some chick on the recorder...awesome live music much to the delight of a drunk and loud American knob. The aussie chap and I headed into town around 1am to get more beer but couldn´t find anywhere (probably too early) so headed back to the hostel, which had shut down for the night.

The ride was amazing! We met up around 1230 the next morning after I had rechecked into Hostel 41 Below. The bus was crazy full!! Never had I been on such a full bus, packed with school kids and people going hope for a siesta or something I suppose. Everyone keep making room at each stop when 20 more people go on, madness but fun. The ride took us the full circuit of Lago Llao Llao and provided superb views of mountains, beaches and forest. At one point, pt panoramico, superb perfect mirror image views of the hills surrounding the lakes were to be had, which made the steep uphill grunt on the bike worth it! Only a small ride to return the bikes and get back on the bus remained.

That evening I caught up with Rich and Tara (I met tara in rio and again in BA) for a nice meal out at Pilgrims restaurant. We had a nice platter of wild bore, venison, salmon, duck, trout etc and a pizza. A really nice meal but from that point I realised that such luxurious eating out (especially after the expense of Brazil and BA) really is totally unsustainable and not nearly as rewarding as preparing food in hostels with others. It is great to become aware of these things as it has provided an important insight into the style of travel I prefer and the sorts of things I can do without. I am realising that the more simple thrills of living cheap but spending time and money seeing great sights and ´roughing ít´ provides a great deal more satisfaction and enjoyment than eating out in restaurants etc. However, that said, I still need to splash out somewhere in Argentina for a decent steak!

The next day was a simple kicking around sort of day. I bought a pair or pants and a fleece from the Garmont store, setting me back around 300 pesos, which is like 150 nzd so not too bad I guess, and abit cheaper than home. I now feel prepared to hit the outdoors! I met a cool guy in the North Face store and struck up a bit of a conversation. He had travelled to NZ and intends to return. He invited me back to his hostel later that night for a beer, which I happily accepted. We spent the night chatting, learning a bit of Spanish and sharing a few stories. He is going to set me up with his mates in Cordoba in Northern Argentina when I head up there so that should be interesting! Its great meeting locals and getting off the tourist trail a bit.

I bought my bus ticket and did a final walk around the town before starting my 36 hour bus ride to El Calafate via Comodoro Rivadavia and Rio Gallegos! That is a whole new story altogether.