April 1st and 2nd 2015

The bus from Puerto Varas  Chile to San Carlos de Bariloche  Argentina leaves daily, in fact several companies run a daily bus, despite rumours to the contrary.  Either way I go with Cruz Del Sur which leaves their Puerto Varas office on San Francisco street at 8:50.  It costs 18,000 CLP (36 CAD dollars) which seems expensive until you see the general bus prices in Argentina. To board the bus you need to show your passport and proof you’re eligible to enter Argentina.  If you’re Canadian, American or Australian, this means showing the receipt for your prepaid reciprocity fee.  Check out my short article on how to do that here for those interested in the nitty gritty of it.

The journey takes between five and seven hours, entirely border dependant, mine ends up taking just under six.  The border is a simple affair of getting stamped out of Chile, then driving another 45 minutes to the Argentinean border office.  (Don’t worry it’s normal and you didn’t miss your chance to get an entry stamp.)

Once we arrive at the Argentinean offices we’re instructed to bring all our hand luggage with us off the bus.  I’m at the front of the bus and end up first in line in the nondescript immigration office,.  I put on my best border smile and am stamped in quickly by a grinning young woman after she checks my reciprocity fee and asks me where I’m planning to stay.  Then it’s a simple matter of waiting for the officers to get through the whole busload of people and climbing back up onto the bus which speeds off through the hilly roads towards Bariloche.

I arrive at the Bariloche bus station and find that the local buses are on strike so I have no choice but to take a taxi into town and pay in USD at the much lower value official change rate. There’s another detail about Argentina that people need to know about:  The official exchange rate vs. the blue rate.  Rather than go into detail, here’s a link to a great breakdown of what this strange currency set up is, and what it means for travellers.  Summed up to a phrase it means this:  bring as much US cash as you can when you enter Argentina.  It makes the country almost affordable.

At any rate the taxi (7 USD)  takes me to the doorstep of the lovely Hopa Home Hostel, located ideally at the edge of the centre of town.  Funnily enough it’s a simple 25 minute walk so I could have saved myself some money. Oh well.

I look to check in but when I find out I have to pay upon check in, I instead store my big bag and head to the centre of town to find one of the infamous ‘cambio men’  who will change dollars for me at or near the blue rate.  It’s about a 50% difference so it’s worth the effort.

Finding change is not hard or dangerous at all (save for the rare chance of counterfeit bills)and I end up in a sports shop changing just over 200 dollars at 12 pesos to the dollar.  For the record you get a better rate with 50’s and 100’s but I only had 20’s and as always while travelling you work with what you’ve got.

I head back to the hostel and pay my bill, not without noticing the countless chocolate stores lining the streets.  Bariloche feels incredibly Swiss for being in South America and as I’m about to check into my dorm I notice a small flyer for the annual chocolate festival, starting the next day.  Perfectly timed visit Luke.

I spend the rest of the day wandering around town, down by the stunning lake,  surrounded by mountains shrouded in clouds.  Now, just after the Argentinean summer which runs from December through to February there’s no snow atop them, but I can only imagine the scene would be more dramatic in winter time.  Of course it would be colder too, and I wouldn’t be wandering in a t-shirt and shorts.

The highlight of the day is undeniable, and surprisingly it’s not even chocolate related, though it is delicious.

I’m speaking of course, about my first experience with Argentinean steak.  I end up in a small restaurant called La Rivera and order Bife De Chorizo, basically 440 grams of perfect sirloin strip steak with a side of fries for 139 pesos (about 14 Canadian dollars).

Now I like steak, but back home I certainly wouldn’t call myself a steak man.  Usually give me a good burger and I’ll enjoy it more than most steaks.  But all that is about to change.  I pop the first bite  of this massive hunk of meat in and as the flavourful fat starts to melt in my mouth I’m convinced, Argentinean steak is a food deserving of Gods. It’s so good that I manage to eat the whole thing and go to bed with a full belly and a wide smile on my face.

I wake up the next morning still full and decide I have to work off the steak so that I can have more of it during my short stay in Argentina.  (I finish having eaten 4 of them)  That in mind I grab the number 20 bus after spending the 25 pesos bus card and load it up with another 24 pesos before hopping on the number 20 bus bound for the circuito chico and Parque municipal Llao Llao located within Nahuel Huapi National Park

The circuito chico is something I’d recommend most visitors to Bariloche try to experience, a gruelling but beautiful circuit where the recommended mode of transports is bicycles, which you can rent at the beginning of the circuit. For me though it’s out of the question as bike riding drives my injured right leg (old blood clot) to great pain, so instead I continue on the bus past the start point to Puerto Panuelo where I disembark and head off for in search of a hike for the day.

I walk out to the lake first and look into some boat trips out to islands with strange forests and waterfalls which are expensive, and frankly out of my budget at over 50 dollars for a half day round trip.  They look interesting though if you’re not on the backpacker budget.

Instead of a boat, I head back to the road and continue up it a little ways through a forest of towering pine trees until I reach a small parking lot and information booth, whose friendly attendant gives me two suggestions for a day hike, a wander through a stunning forest leaving from right there in the parking lot, or, a little further along the road, a hike which climbs up to Cerro Llao-Llao which is what she describes as ‘an okay lookout spot.’  I don’t know why, but I choose that, perhaps thinking the climb will justify another steak.  My stomach rumbles.

I continue up along the road maybe 500 meters and find the well marked trailhead on my right, and hurry into the forest for what I’m expecting to be an okay walk to clear my head and think about writing.  Before the end it has turned into much more than that.

I walk along the well maintained trail, many felled trees having clearly been moved to clear the path. Even in the middle of the forest the wind off the various mountain lakes that surround Bariloche is significant, and I’m surprised more trees haven’t fallen down.

After maybe 40 minutes of walking I reach the split in the trail.  If I continue straight, it will take me down to a small beach and then eventually back to the main road, but I go left towards the lookout, starting to ascend immediately.

It takes a while before I’m up out of the trees and after that ten minutes of uphill I’m breathing hard, though I’m not so winded that I can’t appreciate the brilliant, if somewhat obstructed view.  Still, the promise of what’s to come is enough to keep me moving up the hill at a quick pace.

As I continue to climb, I start running into people for the first time on the hike, a few groups catching up to me and a few other people coming down from the summit.  We snap a few photos for each other but I’m still in the trees so I keep moving up, eventually reaching the first of two peaks, rocky outcrops jutting out from the hill and offering a truly spectacular view.

I’m reminded of my brief time in the Rocky Mountains of Western Canada 8 years ago as I look down at the sprawling lakes, countless mountains exploding up out of the earth beside them.  Dozens of hawks surf the thermals above the lakes and only add to the serene, awe inspiring scene.

As I stand there, chilled wind whipping in my face, a small crowd stars to gather so I turn and regard a fairly sheer rock face for a few moments before heading back from the path and clambering up it, as best I can.  I make it, though not without minor incidents and almost falling, but the solitude paired with the view is perfection.  We’re it not for the powerful winds I’d have my laptop out and be writing away, instead after nearly an hour spent sitting there losing myself in the view, I cut back up through the forest until I rejoin the path near a power station atop the hill.

5 more minutes takes me to the end of the trail, a rather hilarious sign, and the best view of them all.

 

I head out onto the rocks and once again am wowed by my perch atop the lakes, huge mountains looming above me.  In the winter and spring adding snow to the mountain tops would only improve this stunning view.

I ask some locals to snap a few photos of me, and then take a seat out near the edge of the outcropping, my feet dangling over the empty space.  I’m glad I’m not scared of heights as the feeling is euphoric.

Eventually I feel bad for being in people’s photos and decide once again to go off trail and head for a little more solitude.  When I first get there I’m not so alone, meeting a lovely American family from Wisconsin.  There son has been working in Bariloche and they’ve come for a visit, there first time out of North America, and not a bad place to see first at that.

Eventually they say there goodbyes and I’m left alone atop the rocks staring down at the beautiful Argentinean Andes.   I settle down to write only for a slight misting rain to start falling which forces my laptop away and leaves me confined to the I-pod touch to finish off a lingering rap song.

After a little more time climbing over the rocks and exploring all there is to explore up there I head back down the trail and hurry back to main road, unsure of when the buses stop running.

As I go I take some time to photograph the stunning golf course which looks like a lot of fun, but very expensive.  (Wow,  I just looked it up, I was right. 400USD for 18 holes without a cart or club rental, with those things included you’re looking at 1140USD, almost a standard month’s budget for me)

That done I wait 10 minutes or so before climbing onto the 20 bus back to Bariloche for 12 pesos on the required preloaded card.  (If you don’t want to buy the card you can try asking a local on the bus to use there’s and pay them the money for the fare)  Maybe 45 minutes later I’m climbing out just above the main square.  I’m pulled out of the bus by the huge Argentinean flag billowing in the sun filled air.

I snap the few photos above and am thrilled to see a bunch of barbecues going in the park.  I stop by and buy a delicious chori-pan  (Delicious chorizo sausage in a bun with all the trimmings) and happen to encounter a friendly German guy from the hostel.  We end up eating together and heading back to the hostel with a minor detour to see the worlds longest chocolate bar get made…  but that’s a story for another entry, the next one, all about the Bariloche Chocolate festival in all it’s tasty goodness. Here’s a little preview… just to wet your appetite.