Trip to Bariloche - Part 4, last part

This is the center of Bariloche. The artesian market
was right behind this plaza.

Sunday morning we had breakfast in the hotel and checked out early. There was a short group hike that day, but several of my friends and I elected to go back into Bariloche to shop before we left for the airport. It was Dianna, Lindsay, and Holly. We had a great time because it was low key. We ate at a nice pizzeria for lunch and ended up sitting in a park and relaxing before the bus picked us up. All of us were very tired from all of the excitement from the weekend.

This is the motley crew: Dianna, Lindsay,
and Holly (from left to right) chillin' at the
park. Note the people making out in
the background--so Argentine!

We had a lot of fun. I bought some great cheap t-shirts, and my friend Holly was hit on by a store owner and got free sunglasses over all of this. It was a pretty day.

This is Diana showing off her flashy new ring
purchased at the artesian market (turquoise) and
wielding Holly's beautiful amethyst earrings.

Our bus picked us up and we headed to the airport. We had a 22:00 flight back to Buenos Aires’s Newberry Jorge Airport. I think everyone was very tired during the flight. It was a very smooth flight until we got to Buenos Aires, which was still having bad weather. (apparently there had been a tornado touchdown earlier in the day) The landing was rocky. I was glad to be back in Buenos Aires because I love this city.

The program arranged us to go back to our homes in buses. I got home after midnight. María had her nieces there and they got home just a little bit after I got home. Therefore, she had a meal for all of us. Usually we have empanadas de carne on Sunday nights. Matias (María’s son) burnt them, therefore he whipped up some milanesas and María made my favorite tomato-cucumber-basil salad. Everything was very tasty and it was good to be back home with my Argentine family.

P.S. María thought my story about my underwear being soaked was hysterical. I think I have a true Argentine mom now, she says the same sarcastic things my family is prone to do at times, haha. Also, hotel’s laundry services are a godsend. I only had 2 pairs of jeans, and my clothing was cruddy, and they laundered one pair for me!

Trip to Bariloche - Part 3

I decided that I didn’t want to go with the group on Saturday, because I wanted to go horseback riding in Patagonia. I’m glad I didn’t go with the group because I had more fun on my own. I also had more time to spend with my friend Lindsay.

The group didn’t have very good luck. The itinerary included a lot of travel by bus. Unfortunately, one of the buses broke down. Then the group was 8, but they didn't return until after 9. I’m glad I did my own thing.

This was my guide overlooking the lakes from one of the vantage points on the trail.

So in the morning I headed to Tom Wesley's Cabalgatas by bus. (Side note, the bus system for Bariloche is great and is very simple to use.) The bus left me off at the main road and I walked about a quarter of a mile back to the estancia (estancia is about the equivalent of ranch). It seemed at first that it was a small estancia, but my opinion changed once I saw all of the land that was part of it. Also this was one of two different locations that Tom Wesley’s family owned in Patagonia. The estancia in Bariloche just had trained horses, mostly quarter horses. On the other larger estancia in another part of Patagonia, they have a breeding and training facility It was about 40 pesos to go on an hour and half trek. It was exciting because I haven’t rode a horse for quite awhile.

This was my horse, saddled up and ready to go!

The guide was very nice. After I was on the horse we were able to talk for quite awhile. It was great because he didn’t speak any English, which surely helped me continue to use Spanish. It was really neat because we departed from the shed with a boxer-dog that accompanied us the whole time. I thought this was amusing because I doubt horses would like my dog, Molly--Lord knows the sheep detest her!

The trail was a bit steep at points. The horses were very used to going the same way, and I almost didn't have to any directing. It was cool because I would be in the middle of a forest and all of a sudden we’d walk to an amazing vantage point. Some of the views were completely amazing. I took some pictures of the experience. The next picture is one of my favorites, with the reflection of the island on the water. It was breathtaking to see.

This view is spectacular.

I definitely want to go on more cabalgatas, horse riding tours, while I’m here in Argentina. I had a lot of fun. We never had horses at the family farm growing up. The cabalgatas surely are an interesting way to see the terrain.

After the almost 2 hour ride, my guide was able to recommend several restaurants to eat lunch or dinner in Bariloche. We parted ways and I headed back to catch the bus. I also called Lindsay since we had previously decided that we would try to get together in town after my ride. We connected downtown and ate lunch at one of the recommended restaurants. We had a wonderful afternoon walking around the streets of Bariloche and going into several little shops.

Then I had this genius idea of going into a book store because I was looking for postcards, soduku, and pens. For my parents and friends who might find it strange that I went into a bookstore not to buy books, I will tell you that I have made a pact with myself only to buy 1 book at a time here—the one I’m reading—otherwise I’ll purchase so many books that I’ll never be able to return to the states with two suitcases.

However, I found my equal. Lindsay loves buying books as much as I do. She ended up with a hefty stack that just solidified our friendship. We’re both bookaholics. She admired my control. I had a bit of a quiver to buy a book, but I resisted through lots of breathing, haha. I’m sure my mother will be thrilled!!! I never found my soduko book here, but I did find pens—now my mother is rolling her eyes—this was a kind of pen that my research investigator used this summer, so I had to buy 2. See, I was controlled—we both decided we better get out of the store before we bought anything else.

…then we stumbled onto an artesian market…

I’ve learned that artesian or food markets are among my favorite places wherever I travel. Usually the people at artesian markets are interesting to talk to, and I also prefer home crafted things to the traditional over merchandized tourist items that are at many of the shops in towns like Bariloche. Lindsay went crazy and bought several pairs of earrings and other jewelry. It took longer for me to find some things, but I did buy some presents for friends/relatives. Some of you might be the recipients of them…hehe…

Many of the booths at the artesian market had knitted items in wool. So I started asking them if it there was a local yarn store, and I got the directions. I was very excited because the lady said that this particular store had great alpaca and llama yarn. After Lindsay and I were finished with the market, we walked up there. Of course the 2 shops closed about an hour before we got there. I’ll have to find natural fiber elsewhere. On a positive note, the one lady gave me a recommendation for a yarn shop here in Buenos Aires.

Lindsay and I got back early to Hotel Amancay so that we could prepare for dinner ahead of the group. Before we got ready, we decided to have an afternoon cocktail—oh the life! I had a wonderful daiquiri de frutilla—strawberry daiquiri. It was amazing. I have pictures of this drink in my album. It had really strawberries! Also for those Spanish speakers out there, frutilla is fresa here. If you say fresa people will just give you a “look”.

The group was supposed to get back at 8 so we would all take a bus back into Bariloche to eat in different restaurants in Bariloche. After dinner we would have the option to go out to different bars/baliches. The program had a bus that would pick us up at 1AM and 5AM to return to the hotel.

The night ended up to be pretty funny because the bus broke down for the group and they never got back until close to 9:30PM. Lindsay, myself, and all of the others who didn’t go on the trip that day were all waiting back at the hotel for them. We ended up going to the hotel bar and socializing over a bottle of wine.

We left to go to dinner shortly after 10PM. My friends and I decided we were going to go out that night. Our guides wanted us to eat quickly. I really wanted to go to a restaurant that had Patagonian lamb, but it ended up there wasn’t time for that. A group of us had a nice meal of carne de chorizo, which was quite good. We met our guides and they showed us some nice bars and later boliche’s to go to.

I think we had guides this night because typically Bariloche is a tourist area, and the prices change somewhat depending on how the opinion of the person that is at the door of the bar—if you get what I’m saying. We went to a Pub first for a few hours. Then the group headed to a baliche. I had a headache from the smoke in a pub so a friend and I took a taxi back to our hotel. It turned out to be a great day!

Trip to Bariloche - Part 2

We departed early following breakfast. Plans had changed due to weather since it was supposed to rain—making it a perfect day to hike (sarcasm). We got to the mountain, as it drizzled, and started climbing. It was a steep climb for about the first 800 feet, but it got easier because the terrain changed from rocks to dirt and vegetation. The only problem was that it continued to rain for longer periods.

See the nasty rain clouds. They're awful.

We got to the first vantage point and it was only misting, therefore I was able to take a few photos. Then we started up the next bit, as it progressively begins to rain more. Keep in mind I wasn’t equipped for this trip since I didn’t have a jacket appropriate for hiking nor hiking shoes—just sneakers and a t-shirt. Also keep in mind that with every 500 feet the temperature reduces half a degree or so, therefore I was starting to get quite wet and cold. Also I was very worried that the rain would ruin my camera. The camera bag I bought is supposed to be waterproof, but I still was concerned. Luckily the guide told me that I should put my camera in his waterproof hiking backpack—what a godsend.

The guide was really nice. I told him of my interest in plants, therefore he was pointing out to me some species that weren’t indigenous to Patagonia. I also found out that Argentina doesn’t have many government enabled programs to preserve forest land. This struck me as kind of strange when it seems to be a huge priority to preserve/maintain green spaces in the cities. I’ll go back to my new catch phrase, “Es Argentina / It’s Argentina.”

At the second vantage point the view really wasn’t that good because of all the rain clouds. The rain would come and go for the next two hours as we ascended up to the third and fourth vantage points. Eventually the group came to easier trail, while it also started to pour cold rain. Of course it put everyone in a certain foul mood at this point. This part of the trail didn’t have tree cover; all of the rain was coming down directly on us.

At the second vantage point the view really wasn’t that good because of all the rain clouds. The rain would come and go for the next two hours as we ascended up to the third and fourth vantage points. Eventually the group came to easier trail, while it also started to pour cold rain. Of course it put everyone in a certain foul mood at this point. This part of the trail didn’t have tree cover; all of the rain was coming down directly on us.

We got to the top of the mountain eventually where we were supposed to eat our lunch. At the top was this large pink house/shelter. All of the COPA students when in there, but the lunches kind of stunk. We had these pretty awful (now soggy) milanesa sandwiches and some little thin sandwiches—very popular in Argentina—that tasted awful. We were there for an hour and a half as it continued to pour outside the building. The guides confirmed with the weather report that it was going to continue to rain. Just at the point that most of us were warming up, they decided to take us down—only this time it was raining harder and it was freezing.

Our ascent was about 4.5 hours. Luckily going down the mountain went faster—we made the trek in less than 2 hours. In my humble opinion, it was because we all wanted to get out of the rain.

This picture is when the sun was coming out at the last vantage point.
The sun was shining to brightly that it hurt your eyes to look at it.

When we finally got down to the first vantage point, the rain decided to cease—praise God! However we were still very wet. The last part was the hardest to come down since it was also the steepest part—it was miserable. It’s good that I have been maintaining a state of fitness because several people on the trek suffered exhaustion. I was very good until I twisted my ankle, thusly jerked my knee. I still have lingering problems with steps sometimes. I think I twisted something.

The guides were worried that the buses wouldn’t be there when we got to the base of the mountain since the hike took about 5 hours instead of the intended 8 hours. We got to the base of the mountain and stood under a roof at a Pancho (hot dog) stand at the base of the mountain and luckily someone had called for the buses to return early. We were all wet, hungry, and miserable. It was good the buses were there—it avoided a coup d’état.

Apparently rain isn’t very typical for this part of the year in Bariloche. Usually it only rains 1 or 2 days per month during the dry season. Obviously we got the short end of that stick.

All in all the day of hiking kind of stunk, but I’m glad that I went on the trek. It was a good experience. There’s nothing like returning to the hotel soaked, leaving your mucky sneakers at the door, and ringing your soaked underwear out in the hotel shower, to wake yourself up to the reality of nature.

When we were cleaned up—and dry—we went into town to eat. The group split up into groups and went to different restaurants.

My group went to a great Swiss restaurant that had local trout. They also had lamb, fondue, and beef. Sadly it was a tough decision for lamb or trout. I decided on the trout with roasted almonds because it sounded good and the waiter assured me it was very tasty—“Es muy rico”. We ate in table and shared a bottle of wine. The deserts were amazing, too. I had a chocolate mint mousse that was amazing. It was a good meal and a lot of fun. After hiking for as long as we did, I believe anything would have tasted good, however.

Trip to Bariloche - Part 1

Finally I’m going to write about my Bariloche trip 2 weeks ago. I apologize for its tardiness, but I had it written, but didn’t have time—or energy—until now to revise/edit it. Now you’ll have the story to go along with the pictures that I posted.

As part of our study abroad program, COPA sponsors a group trip during orientation for each of their programs. For the Buenos Aires, the trip was to San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina (Bariloche). Bariloche is part the lake region of Patagonia, and is located on the western border of Argentina very close to Chile. The program flew us there in two groups for a 4 day vacation.

The trip was organized by the program office. On the onset the program director, Mario, made a deal with us: If everyone talked Castellano (Spanish) for the entire trip, the program would buy alcohol, wine and beer, to accompany our meals. I think it left a little bit of an impact. It was a pretty easy deal to make too, since they planned on taking us to a microbrewery in Bariloche.

The focus of the trip was 4 days of hiking. For those of you who know me, you’re aware that hiking isn’t exactly my cup of tea, however, we were told that everything in the trip was option, except one thing: una parasilla.

A parasilla, or chairlift, translates to living hell if you don’t like heights. I don’t like heights—I abhor them. More on this later.

We planned to leave Buenos Aires at Thursday, 28 Feb at 10:22 AM, but we ended up leaving late from Buenos Aires because it was down pouring in BA. We left about 4 hours late. When we finally left, it was about a 2 hour flight from Jorge Newberry Airport in Buenos Aires to Bariloche International Airport. The ascent was amazing into the airport because there are mountain ranges and lakes surrounding this part of Argentina. The view was incredible! However it was really scary for a moment because you couldn’t see a runway anywhere since there didn’t seem to be life for miles. All of a sudden we landed!

We ate our boxed lunches the program provided at our first stop since we weren’t permitted to eat in the bus. We pulled up to this mountain with a huge “parasilla”. Just seeing it made my heart quiver. I sucked it up, closed my eyes, and prayed as I ascended up the freaking thing that all would be well. I think I would like chairlifts much better if they didn’t do the creaking and intermittent stopping—the creaking is 100% worse at each of the transfer poles. My heart still raced the whole time…

The view definitely was worth the pain of descending up the stupid chair lift. You really could see the entire area. I got some of my best pictures from the whole trip from that vantage point. Still I would have rather just compared my pictures to the other people than actually experiencing it for myself. Of course what goes up must come down, and the descent down was worse than going up the damn thing.

Next we went to another area for a small hike before dinner. This was a trail that was close to several lakes and we hiked for about 15 minutes to get to the first vantage point. Later we did another 25 minute hike to get to a better view. We ran into a snake during this hike. I took a picture of it for my favorite—and only—cousin since I know she LOVES reptiles.

Later we went to a restaurant for dinner—it was about 8PM by now, early for dinner by Argentine standards—to a microbrewery that served a family style meal. The waiters brought all kinds of things to our table: bread, meat, cheese, nachos (argentine style), lamb, stew, etc. They also brought 2 pitchers of beer per table. They had light, dark, and raspberry beer; I’m not a big beer fan, but I did like the light and raspberry flavors. Then they served us ice cream for desert. Afterward we went our Hotel Amancay (the web site has great pictures) and my roommate and I talked until 2AM.

Sadly that killed us the next morning when we had to get up at 8:30 for the hike.

Photos from Bariloche

Hi Folks,

Sorry for the suspense, but I have finally uploaded my pictures from Bariloche. The stories from there will come in a separate post later today.

Pictures of Bariloche


Chau...