The Blaus - South America and Europe

20 de Febrero - Bariloche and El Bolson, Argentina

We took a 36 hour bus ride from El Chalten up to Bariloche, which is in the Lake Region of Argentina. The bus ride was not that bad, we stopped every few hours and we could get out and stretch our legs and get something to eat or drink at the gas station or restaurant before we had to jump back on the bus. It was another long journey through the pampas of Argentina, and we must admit that we have seen our share of desert out the window of the bus, so the last 4 hours of the journey through the mountainous lake region was a nice change of atmosphere.

Bariloche is a big tourist center spectacularly set on a large lake completely surrounded by mountains. It is also a big ski resort area in the winter, so there are two main seasons for tourism, and that is why it supports such a huge tourist population. They call it the San Francisco of Argentina, but its hills are modest compared to the streets of San Francisco. However Bariloche does have its very own Lombard Street that looks very similar to the one in SF. The town is scattered with chocolate shops (which are very good), and German and Swiss hotels, restaurants and cafes. Many Germans settled here after WWII and they have built a community that looks and feels very similar to the Alps. There are lots of chalets and beer houses, and the building design is mostly Tudor style, so the town looks very German.

The area has one main lake, and another 5 or 6 lakes within a few miles of town. All are perfectly blue with mountains all around them. We met our friends Pete and Rachel here and have spent the past 3 days exploring the different lakes. All the lakes are all accessible by bus, and perfect for packing a picnic and hiking around, then cooling off in the water. We found one small, green lake inside the National Park that we had almost all to ourselves. There were only a few other people anywhere to be seen. We dove in from a little wooden pier and the water was a perfect temperature. While swimming in the middle of that lake, you could see nothing but green all around and the peaceful surrounding mountains. It was another amazing setting that we felt lucky not to have to share with many other people. The area is very spectacular, and it is the first truly developed tourist spot that we have been to in Argentina. Bariloche is a popular summer vacation spot for Argentines as well as foreigners.

We stayed at a very nice little Hosteria in Bariloche named Piuke. The owner was an 81 year old Hungarian guy who came to Argetnina after WWII. He was incredibly nice, and told us where to go and what to see around Bariloche. He was very excited that our names were Blau and that Billy´s family is from Romania, and kept repeating to us, ¨Aaah Blau, muy bueno.¨ We took to calling him Pappy, as he was like a grandfather to us. Jen got sick for a day which was probably food poisoning, and Pappy wanted to take care of her, and made sure she only ate the right things to get well. He would not even let her put sugar in her tea in the morning, but we snuck some in when he wasn´t looking. We took a few pictures with him before we left, and he made sure that his rose garden was featured in all the shots. The buildings of his hosteria were surrounded by the most beautiful flower gardens, which have won awards from the Horticulture Society in Bariloche. He made our experience in Bariloche very special and memorable.

After 4 days of good meals and walking to almost all the lakes around Bariloche, we headed to El Bolson, which is about 2 hours away from Bariloche by bus. We hope to do some fly fishing here in El Bolson, as this is one of the best places in the world to fly fish (pesca con mosca). El Bolson is also an artisan community, but Pappy insisted it was a hippie colony. He told us to go to the city center and look at all the hippies. We thought that was very funny, as he was describing it like it was a zoo. Maybe we don´t think that hippies are much of a spectacle since we see them all the time in the Haight at home. We haven´t found too many hippies here so far, but we will keep and eye out for them, just in case.

posted by The Blaus @ 5:36 PM