At 7:00 a.m., early morning on Thursday April 6, we drove out of El Chalten on our 1300 kilometre drive from El Chalten to Bariloche. It took us two full days of driving with one rough camp beside the river in Rio Mayo. See the post "Life in the Truck" for an account of our daily activities - not much was different other than we didn´t camp on the beach, and nobody had a birthday to celebrate.
On our journey, we passed through the typical Patagonian Steppe scenery for miles, and miles, and miles. Its amazing just how many miles there are of flat land. Then on our second day around mid-day we started to see hills, then mountains, then trees and then lakes. The Argentinian road system is well established and roads are generally paved and well marked. However, roads off the main routes are still unpaved. Its all very civilized, and my fears of being hijacked by bandits in Argentina have been long abandoned. In fact, I would feel quite safe renting a car and driving through any of the areas we have been to so far.
We passed through El Bolson, which is a recently founded (1970s) small hippie town with a unique personality located about 120 kilometres south of Bariloche. We didn´t stop there, but it looked quite interesting as we drove through.
Bariloche (population about 120,000), the ski capital of South America, is situated in the foothills of the Andes surrounded by lakes and mountains such Nahuel Huapi, Gutiemez, Moreno, and Mascardi Lakes, and Cerro Catedral, Lopez and Tronador. It is known as the "American Switzerland" and Swiss influences are obvious, such as in the architecture of its stone and wood buildings, its chocolate factories and shops, its numerous St. Bernard dogs and in the local food. Its odd to see photographers in the square around the Civic Center approaching tourists to take their pictures with overgrown St. Bernards dogs and their lazy puppies. I guess in some places its snakes, some places camels, and in Bariloche, its St. Bernards! I am still trying to get my mind around the phenomonem of the Swiss culture in the middle of Argentina, a country that has such a rich culture of its own.
On our discovery walking tour of Bariloche, we came across a skating arena perched on top of a terminal for catamaran trips in the lakes and looking out across Lake Hahuel Huapi to Chile. The ice didn´t look quite what we would be used to in Canada, but the skaters were having a wild time, and that is what counts.
Bariloche is a tourist centre and whereas it is best known for its skiing (Tronador and Catedral) there are a variety of other activities such as kayaking on the lakes, rafting, para-gliding, mountain biking, and of course, horseback riding. Consistently, I chose a full day on horseback riding with the Family Haneck who have owned their estancia in the Steppes over 150 years. The riding itself was fun but the pace could have been a little faster. The horses were lovely, and my skewbald criollo horse was so sensitive I only had to move my leg a quarter of an inch and he moved on, and he responded immediately to the slightest motion of my hand asking him to go forward, to the left, to the right, and to stop. They told me I was honoured to ride him because ususally he was one of the guide's horses.
The special part of the day, was the warmth and hospitality of the family. We (6 of our group and two others) were greeted with the traditional Argentian kiss on the cheek, and warmly welcomed into their home. The father took us riding in the morning and the son in the afternoon. The mother prepared a delicious traditional meal and the brother prepared the traditional barbequeue of beef, lamb, and chorizzo sauseage over a wood fire . Desert was baked custard (i.e. creme caramel) one of my favourite deserts. Too bad for my body weight that this is so popular here in Argentina. Maybe I will eat my fill soon!
We rode through a meadow, and a forest of mixed local trees with autumnal yellow and orange leaves, then climbed up a ridge and had an outstanding view of the Patagonian steppe countryside, and the mountain ranges of Las Buiteras and Carbon. Riding the trails was so dusty as the arid soil of the steppe blew around us disturbed by the horses hooves. Our clothes and faces were quite black when we returned. We were very fortunate in the weather. The sky was absolutely blue and cloudless, and it was warm enough to ride without a jacket and just in jeans.
Ray in the meantime investigated the outskirts of Bariloche and took a ski-lift up Cerro Campanario and saw some spectacular views over the mountains and lakes. He also took a bus around the Circuito Chico, visited a beautiful golf course and came back with hopes of a golf game today, Monday. Unfortunately this has not materialized as there has been a steady drizzle all day. Its also a little damp and much colder. Monday therefore, has been a much needed rest day, lazing in the hostel, attending to administrative stuff, and now at the Internet in town. Our days are generally very busy, with little downtime, and the odd day like today is a necessity. We all feel it - and it is so much easier to relax in the hostels than at the camp sites. The hostels we have stayed in have been full of character, spotlessly clean and great amenities.
We celebrated Easter day with a group (all 25 of us including Diana and Tony) dinner at the restaurant "Bonito" just outside of town where we feasted on a cheese fondue and exchanged Easter eggs. Once back at the hostel, some of the group partied noisily late into the early hours of the morning, while the more sedate of the group, ourselves included, went off to bed around 1 a.m.
The Argentianians we have met have all been lovely. They are very warm and hospitable, have wonderful open smiles, are very courteous, reserved and cultured. They are also very social people and you can see this when you watch the way they interact among themselves. There are always hearty greetings, intense conversations, and lots of smiles and energy.
Tomorrow, we leave for Pucon in Chile and 3 nights camping before arriving in Santiago on Friday. In Santiago, eight of the current group leave us and seven new people come aboard. It will be quite interesting to see how the dynamics of the group change.
Hasta luego!
On our journey, we passed through the typical Patagonian Steppe scenery for miles, and miles, and miles. Its amazing just how many miles there are of flat land. Then on our second day around mid-day we started to see hills, then mountains, then trees and then lakes. The Argentinian road system is well established and roads are generally paved and well marked. However, roads off the main routes are still unpaved. Its all very civilized, and my fears of being hijacked by bandits in Argentina have been long abandoned. In fact, I would feel quite safe renting a car and driving through any of the areas we have been to so far.
We passed through El Bolson, which is a recently founded (1970s) small hippie town with a unique personality located about 120 kilometres south of Bariloche. We didn´t stop there, but it looked quite interesting as we drove through.
Bariloche (population about 120,000), the ski capital of South America, is situated in the foothills of the Andes surrounded by lakes and mountains such Nahuel Huapi, Gutiemez, Moreno, and Mascardi Lakes, and Cerro Catedral, Lopez and Tronador. It is known as the "American Switzerland" and Swiss influences are obvious, such as in the architecture of its stone and wood buildings, its chocolate factories and shops, its numerous St. Bernard dogs and in the local food. Its odd to see photographers in the square around the Civic Center approaching tourists to take their pictures with overgrown St. Bernards dogs and their lazy puppies. I guess in some places its snakes, some places camels, and in Bariloche, its St. Bernards! I am still trying to get my mind around the phenomonem of the Swiss culture in the middle of Argentina, a country that has such a rich culture of its own.
On our discovery walking tour of Bariloche, we came across a skating arena perched on top of a terminal for catamaran trips in the lakes and looking out across Lake Hahuel Huapi to Chile. The ice didn´t look quite what we would be used to in Canada, but the skaters were having a wild time, and that is what counts.
Bariloche is a tourist centre and whereas it is best known for its skiing (Tronador and Catedral) there are a variety of other activities such as kayaking on the lakes, rafting, para-gliding, mountain biking, and of course, horseback riding. Consistently, I chose a full day on horseback riding with the Family Haneck who have owned their estancia in the Steppes over 150 years. The riding itself was fun but the pace could have been a little faster. The horses were lovely, and my skewbald criollo horse was so sensitive I only had to move my leg a quarter of an inch and he moved on, and he responded immediately to the slightest motion of my hand asking him to go forward, to the left, to the right, and to stop. They told me I was honoured to ride him because ususally he was one of the guide's horses.
The special part of the day, was the warmth and hospitality of the family. We (6 of our group and two others) were greeted with the traditional Argentian kiss on the cheek, and warmly welcomed into their home. The father took us riding in the morning and the son in the afternoon. The mother prepared a delicious traditional meal and the brother prepared the traditional barbequeue of beef, lamb, and chorizzo sauseage over a wood fire . Desert was baked custard (i.e. creme caramel) one of my favourite deserts. Too bad for my body weight that this is so popular here in Argentina. Maybe I will eat my fill soon!
We rode through a meadow, and a forest of mixed local trees with autumnal yellow and orange leaves, then climbed up a ridge and had an outstanding view of the Patagonian steppe countryside, and the mountain ranges of Las Buiteras and Carbon. Riding the trails was so dusty as the arid soil of the steppe blew around us disturbed by the horses hooves. Our clothes and faces were quite black when we returned. We were very fortunate in the weather. The sky was absolutely blue and cloudless, and it was warm enough to ride without a jacket and just in jeans.
Ray in the meantime investigated the outskirts of Bariloche and took a ski-lift up Cerro Campanario and saw some spectacular views over the mountains and lakes. He also took a bus around the Circuito Chico, visited a beautiful golf course and came back with hopes of a golf game today, Monday. Unfortunately this has not materialized as there has been a steady drizzle all day. Its also a little damp and much colder. Monday therefore, has been a much needed rest day, lazing in the hostel, attending to administrative stuff, and now at the Internet in town. Our days are generally very busy, with little downtime, and the odd day like today is a necessity. We all feel it - and it is so much easier to relax in the hostels than at the camp sites. The hostels we have stayed in have been full of character, spotlessly clean and great amenities.
We celebrated Easter day with a group (all 25 of us including Diana and Tony) dinner at the restaurant "Bonito" just outside of town where we feasted on a cheese fondue and exchanged Easter eggs. Once back at the hostel, some of the group partied noisily late into the early hours of the morning, while the more sedate of the group, ourselves included, went off to bed around 1 a.m.
The Argentianians we have met have all been lovely. They are very warm and hospitable, have wonderful open smiles, are very courteous, reserved and cultured. They are also very social people and you can see this when you watch the way they interact among themselves. There are always hearty greetings, intense conversations, and lots of smiles and energy.
Tomorrow, we leave for Pucon in Chile and 3 nights camping before arriving in Santiago on Friday. In Santiago, eight of the current group leave us and seven new people come aboard. It will be quite interesting to see how the dynamics of the group change.
Hasta luego!
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