Bariloche

Hola! This past weekend was our program trip to Bariloche, a small touristy town in the lakes region of Patagonia near the Andes on the border with Chile. Ninety of us (half the entire group) took a 2 hour flight south Saturday morning. When we arrived we took tour buses into the main part of town for lunch. After that we drove to Cerro Campanario, where we took a chairlift up a mountain to look out over several lakes and the Andes. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and the view was absolutely breathtaking. Definitely the most beautiful thing nature-wise I've ever seen. The entire region is basically just super clear blue lakes and huge mountains. There is barely any flat land in between anywhere. Later in the afternoon we went to Bahia Lopez, a bay where we started a short hike up to Mirador del Brazo Tristeza, to look out on more lakes. Basically every cool view the entire weekend was lakes and mountains, but I could have looked at them forever. Absolutely amazing. That night we took a city bus from our hotel into the city center with all the restaurants and pubs. I had trout for dinner, because Bariloche is apparently known for its salmon-colored trout. We missed the bus home so we had to take an expensive taxi back to the hotel. It was the scariest ride of my life...the guy was going 80 km/hr down the middle of the winding road through mountainous terrain, passing buses and generally driving like crazy. Taxis also don't have working seatbelts here, which is upsetting. Two of my friends from WI and I jumped in the pool for 5 minutes even though it was freezing, just because we hadn't been swimming in so long!

Sunday morning we got up and took a guided hike up a mountain near the hotel. After that one of the guides Jaime rushed three of us down to make it to this boat excursion we had paid to go on. We literally ran down the trail, sliding on rocks and dust and jumping over tree trunks. It was quite scary and exhilarating, and is apparently called "patacross." Our guide was very proud of us for making it down so fast. Around 2 we boarded the Cau Cau, a touristy ferry that runs on the Nahuel Huapi, a huge lake. Our first stop was at a national park, home to the Bosque de las Arrayanes, the only forest in the world of these twisty, orange-colored trees called Arrayanes. The forest was really cool, and it looked like a fairytale or something with all the trees of such a bizarre shape and color. After that we went to La Isla Victoria, a private island turned national park filled with exotic trees from all over the world, including sequoias. The weather was pretty rainy and cold, but we still enjoyed the tour and the variety of trees. On the boat we also got to feed seagulls up on the open deck. You just stood there with a cracker in your fingers and your arm outstretched and a bird would swoop down and snatch it from you. Saturday night we found a cheap cafe in Bariloche and afterward had some delicious ice cream. We also bought chocolates and raspberry beer, as Bariloche is the chocolate capital of Argentina (there is a shop on every block in the town) and famous for its artisan beer.

Monday morning we checked out of the hotel early and set out for an all-day hike up Cerro Lopez. It was about a 3 hr. hike up to this little refuge on the mountain where we ate lunch and hung out with all the guides. The view was absolutely fantastic. I was really proud of myself because it was a lot of hiking and I'm not usually outdoorsy/adventurous. Everyone did really well even though there were some difficult rocky, steep spots where people were slipping and sliding down. We got back on the buses to go directly to the airport after this, and I got back to my apartment in BA around 11 at night. The flights were super easy, and the security is way more relaxed than in the U.S. There is no 3 oz. liquid rule, they don't make you take off your shoes or even show your passport/ID, and the girl behind me had a kitchen knife in her bag that they didn't confiscate.

All in all, the trip was a really nice (if short) break from crazy city life in Buenos Aires. The town of Bariloche itself was touristy, but the natural beauty around it was the most stunning thing I have ever seen. My pictures don't capture even a slice of how beautiful the scenery was. Seriously. I would love to go back in winter for skiing, which is what the town is most known for.

Well, I have a 3 hr. Spanish placement exam tomorrow morning that determines whether or not I can enroll in the public university. I'm trying to do some last minute grammar cramming...Hasta pronto. Chau!