Bariloche, Argentina 13th-16th Nov

Switzerland of Argentina is what we heard this place was going to be like and no word of a lie!

Mountains and more mountains, reflecting in gigantic blue lakes, so ideally picturesque, with the town of Bariloche also offering about 15 different chocolate shops on its main street… pretty close to Switzerland I’d say but maybe even better! Ha-ha!

A very happy purchase at Mamuschka Chocolate shop!

For us this was the true start of Patagonia, as our bus wound its way through the Lake District to the town of Bariloche. After checking into our hostel, we sat down with a very large book on what there was to do in Bariloche – from hiking and river rafting to kayaking, cycling and boat tours – so much to choose from, so little time (only 3 days) and if you thought Derek was going to let me sit around and eat chocolate, you are mistaken.

Our selected piece of steak...

We thought the best way to begin this action filled town was a good Argentine steak and vino – we’d been recommended by most to go to El Boliche de Alberto– an amazing parilla (grill house) where the steaks are so big you can share them and so affordable too! It’s great because the waiter is also the guy who cuts your steak from a huge pile of meat on a table and cooks it to perfection! Well, needless to say we loved this place so much, we came back here again on our last night! Topped off with a Jauja ice-cream of course… too delicious!

The first day we launched into a 20km hike up to the Frey Refuge – all helped by great weather and no ash ( that we heard occasionally blew over from one of the active Chilean volcanoes). The hike was tiring but great.

We got some incredible views of snow covered peaks reflecting into Lago Gutierrez (one of the lakes) – so tranquil!

 We then walked through an amazing forest of really old trees alongside this gushing river that was working its way down to the lake. Finally we headed up a fairly steep section to the refuge  at the base of the glacier – where we managed to trudge through about 20 metres of snow – where we settled into a picnic whilst watching some rock climbers scale one of the faces’. All in all about 6 and a half hours of hiking and when we got back home we were absolutely knackered!

Last bit in snow up to the refuge.

We opted for a slightly less active second day and chose a full day tour on a boat through a couple of the lakes. First impressions were not ideal, as we noticed the average age was about 60 and we were by far the youngest people on the tour. A real “tour group” – the ones Derek and I had successfully avoided up until now! Once the boat got going we soon forgot about it and enjoyed the most incredibly beautiful sights. The water was the most amazing blue colour, the waterfalls streaming off the edges of these snow-capped mountains, all surrounded by incredibly green protected reserve forests – wow, wow, wow!

The pace was generally slow going once we got off at Puerto Blest where some opted for the restaurant option, us another picnic as we waited in the sunshine until the boat got going again.



The size of these tree's are just enormous!

We then stopped off at a part of the reserve that is cleverly decked so that you can walk and admire hundreds of years old trees, an impressive waterfall and a spectacular lake - perhaps the prettiest we’d seen. This last stop was so worthwhile and totally made the day!

Breath-taking and just unreal!

A great view on way home from our boat tour.

After getting off the boat, where the port was, was quite close to the famous 5 star hotel called LLAO LLAO which the Argentinians pronounce “sjhow sjhow”.

LLAO LLAO

We’d heard great reports from Lou and Simo that this is where we needed to make a stop. Together with a little “gift” money Pauline had given us to treat ourselves, we knew we would do well here.  At about 6.30pm that eve, with the sun still beating down, we ordered a very civilized tea, coffee, scones and apple cake, all served on the veranda overlooking the lake. It was so much fun to go somewhere like this for a treat!



Posh interior!

The actual hotel, very well known for receiving politicians and celebs, has an upmarket wooden cabin feel, deerskin covered chairs, huge big fireplaces – I guess something so well suited for winter, when Bariloche becomes Argentina’s prime skiing destination! We came back to reality with a bump when we had to ask the guard at the guardhouse where the local bus stop was and proceeded to wait for the bus back to our hostel!

Our final day we rented bikes and did a 25km circuit – it had some steep hills which made it hard for me, Derek cruised usual style – around a couple of the lakes, with a couple great viewpoints! The map we’d been given had detours off the usual route which although time was tight as we had to catch a bus early that eve, we decided worth doing.





The first detour took us here - beautiful!

First detour was to this beautiful blue lake, fantastic view and almost a mini beach that although warm that day, knowing the water would be ice-cold, couldn’t quite tempt us. Not sure I quite appreciated what we saw as all that kept going through my mind was how was I going to get up the really long hill we’d just come whizzing down!









Derek swimming in the Secret Lake

A little further on, bikes parked, we did a short walk into a forest area and came across the Secret Lake – a bit brown, but were told warmer and warm enough to swim in… This big lake was so quiet and peaceful - almost in the middle of nowhere. Derek did jump in and have a quick swim and in no time we were back on our bikes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cycling trip was a fantastic way to see some of this area, sadly just after halfway we got to experience a little of what the folk here in Bariloche have to deal with, ash! The ash spoilt the view - giving the mountains and lakes a hazy look, but other than that it didn’t really bother us (no face masks required!) 


Absolutely exhausted, over looking a great yet hazy view- with Llao Llao in the background.

I know I’ve repeated myself countless times, but we could just not get over how vast these lakes spread and just how blue they were. These dramatic peaks were just amazing. Perhaps not used to seeing snow... we just couldn’t stop staring at these snow covered mountains that seemed to surround us.

Bariloche is just one of the most beautiful and scenic places I have ever been too. I just couldn’t believe we were seeing what we saw! I think this place would be a hiker’s paradise! There were so many hikes and walks we could have done and more and yet our time here was up and before we knew it, we were packed up and heading for that bus station.

Great memories in a place where every thought recalls an amazing picture in your head! Bariloche, we love you!