April 1st-5th 2015

The Bariloche chocolate festival, running simultaneously with easter every year, is not only a good time for people of all ages, it’s a place where dreams most would call childish madness, have a chance at coming true.  For real, it’s a town god mad on Chocolate.  I’ll even grudgingly admit it’s the closest I’ll likely get to a Willy Wonka type experience.  Unless I finally find that Golden Ticket I’ve been chasing all these years.  Either way, this is the bottom line, if you’re anywhere near Bariloche around Easter, get there. It’s a great time.

There’s countless events I didn’t get a chance to attend, huge concerts put on in the centre square of town, lots of cookie decorating and other such thing for kids, and plenty more things, that said, my first experience of the Chocolate festival and easter in Bariloche was, of course,  the giant 8.5 tonnes chocolate egg.  I mean let’s be honest, what else would it be.

After hiking up to Cerro LLao Llao my second day in Bariloche I was hungry so after finding Choripan and meeting up with a German friend from a hostel we wandered past a big white tent with a line outside.  After asking a local what people were lining up for, we were told right away, “To see the giant chocolate egg.”  Okay, I’m darting to the back of the line.

As we wait about 5 minutes to get in we joke about having to hold each other back to keep from ruining easter for everyone.  Honestly as we reach the front of the line the aroma of 8.5 tonnes of rich delicious chocolate wafting into my nostrils is almost too much to bear.  I’m started to get worried I might break some rules in there.

We’re then allowed into the tent and I gasp.  I just gasp.  When I heard giant egg,  my imagination went pretty big.  It didn’t go this big.  And the photo doesn’t even do this massive construction justice.  It’s just wow.

All around us are monuments to the insanity of this town, the biggest of them all the egg, but huge placards with artistic photo’s documenting the creation of this egg and egg’s of years past encircle this absurd creation.  The people in the tent within us are equally stunned, kids with grins so wide that only kids can wear them reach out over the fence towards the chocolate.  Silly ineffective kids, reaching won’t get you chocolate, now a smooth hurdling jump followed by as much gluttony as you can manage before security drags you away.  Yes…. that might do the trick.  Temptation creeps into my brain, and snapping a final few pictures I force myself out of then and onto Bariloche’s main street.

But the chocolate insanity isn’t done yet, not by a long shot. Just a few blocks away we find another huge gathering of people, severals blocks of the main street closed down, lane markers replaced with a long line of tables interconnected and covered in foil.  There a a huge group of men in white chef’s or chocolatier uniforms, a news crew and loudspeakers set up.  Three Chocolate queens even appear at the scene and through careful listening to the staticky loudspeaker voice we figure out why the huge crowd is here, they are attempting to break the world record for the longest chocolate bar ever made, there target length being 150 meters long.

My German friend and I edge our way closer to the barrier and impatiently wait for the beginning of the procedure.  Soon all the men and women in their white hats line up with big mixing bowls near a giant metal drum.  I’m told it’s filled with just over a tonne of chocolate.  Yummers!

Then it begins in earnest and the artists take their bowls of chocolate and being pouring it out onto the table and brushing it out like Picasso himself.  Then it comes time to add the toppings before the warm liquid chocolate  cools and solidifies into the bar.  We wait as they take the final measurements. 142.5 not quite 150 but according to them still good for the record of Longest chocolate bar. I have not fact checked this as I’d rather believe I was part of the world record success.

Then the distribution begins.  I’d be lying if I said I didn’t use my size to reach over the rows of children and parents in front to make sure we get some chocolate.  The chocolatiers sadly neglect our section and I have to fight hard to secure us a piece of the bar, with raisins as an add on.  We then head out of the rough mob like crowd to enjoy our portion in the peace of another street before heading to back to hostel.

Now we’ll skip forward to easter Sunday for the final hoorah of the festival.    You’ve seen the giant egg, well on the morning of easter Sunday, they break it down and give it out to everyone who cares to lineup.  Yeah I know.  Sadly it seems better organized this year than photos would suggest from past years, and even when I arrive an hour before the scheduled start time of 10 am there’s a line of about 2 blocks in the street.  I decide I’d rather watch them break it down than eat, since I can afford some purchased chocolate later.

They start about on time, some lucky men climbing inside the giant structure from a secret entrance at the bottom and scaling the scaffolding concealed inside.  Then, much like the Berlin Wall, this egg begins to crumble and is quickly taken down, huge chunks of chocolate falling to encircled ground designed to catch it, as chocolatiers gather the huge face sized chunks and set to cutting..  Soon after the line is allowed to move and the gift of chocolate is given to thousands.  The first people in line are interviewed by a news crew, turns out they lined up just before 6 am.  Now that’s commitment.

I soon decide It’s time to go have a look at the line, though even I didn’t expect it to be so long.  4 or 5 abreast it takes me 7 minutes of fast walking to get to the end.  Expect a video soon.

I return to see the egg much more demolished before heading back towards the hostel.  On the way I ask a nice Argentinean couple if I can take a picture with them and their chocolate.  They agree happily and I discover each person in line got a large fry container of chocolate, not just a little piece.  Damn.

They smile for the photo and then the woman kindly asks me If I’d like to try a piece.  I nod and grin and take an offered piece.  It’s abnormally delicious, almost like I can taste the collective in the individual piece, pretty special.

From there it’s a quick stop at El Turista chocolate shop to buy myself some easter treats before heading back to the hostel and spending a relaxing day blogging, writing, and eating steak.  Tomorrow morning it’s back to Chile, though I’m sure of one thing.  Argentina… I’ll be back!