After being a tour guide around Mendoza twice, I'm really excited to be traveling to new places with my parents before going home. My first stop was Bariloche in northern Patagonia. Bariloche is the lake district in Argentina, and after being there for four days, I couldn't get enough of the gorgeous views of all the lakes. Every vantage point was a little different of the sparkling lakes and foresty mountains, but the entire area was lined with yellow flowers called retamas that have taken over the sides of the streets and all the open space. There are hidden lakes in between the hills, and bridges that cross over the rivers. The snow capped Andes are in the background with uniquely jagged rock formations and glaciers on top melting into waterfalls. Some of the rocks on top of the mountains look like horns or spikes. And we saw some beautiful pink sunsets over the sparkling lakes. It's kind of a magical place.
We arrived there Tuesday and rented a car to find the house we rented, discovering that our house, although 21 kilometers out of town, is in the most beautiful and popular part of Bariloche, on the San Pedro peninsula. We had a bit of a drive to find the house, but it had a deck overlooking the lake and the islands across the water, with full glass windows to see the view too. There is German and Swiss influence in the area, so the first night we went to a German beer garden to try artisanal beer from Bariloche, called Berlina. The restaurant sat us on the grass, picnic style, until a table opened up, from which we could see an open meadow of horses grazing and the sun going down. The next day we drove through the tourist circuits around the lakes, weaving through forests and past beaches and panoramic viewpoints. At a few stops we hiked a couple kilometers to reach a mirador, or a viewpoint. The forests were overgrown with the retamas, a bamboo type plant, and a tree with a funky orange fruit that falls onto the forest floor and dries up. The bosque de los Arrayanes, which consisted of unique arrayane tees, is actually the influence for the design of the trees and forest in Bambi. We walked through the trails, which were overtaken by dead branches of the bamboo type plant that were leaning in towards the trail, creating arcs we had to duck under.
The road brought us to Colonia Suiza, an old Swiss colony that is now a tourist trap with craft items and artisanal chocolate. The factory of the Berlina beer is located there, which we took a short tour of to see how the beer was made.
My friend Carolyn from IFSA joined my parents and me for the next two days since our giant lake shore house had two other empty rooms, and Carolyn was traveling by herself throughout Patagonia. The four of us hiked up Cerro Lopez, one of the mountains in Bariloche with a glacier and snow still on top. The hike brought us straight up hill, hiking in sand while swatting away hundreds of horse flies. There is a restaurant half way up the trail that serves beer and snacks, with a patio overlooking the lakes. It's a bit crazy that in the middle of our peaceful and remote hike, there is a restraunt reminding us that civilization isn't too far away. The second half of the hike leads to a refugio on the top of the mountain, which is a lodge where hikers can stay the night and obtain more food in the middle of their trek through the mountains in Bariloche. Refugio Lopez is a little pink house sitting right above tree line on Cerro Lopez, with the glacier and snow melt waterfalls as a backdrop. It baffled my mind that there was a little house that far up the mountain. I can't fathom how it was built. However, I realized when closer to finishing the hike that there is a road that goes up the mountain too, so it can't be too hard to deliver supplies to the house. Reaching the refugio was so satisfying, after two hours of steep incline in the heat with so many flies. We were slapping and waving our hands all over the whole hike to avoid the flies. I was especially proud of ourselves because the previous day at an information both at another hike, the information lady told us about this hike up Cerro Lopez, and said she could do it in two hours, but "us tourists" would probably take three. We reminded her we are from Colorado and know how to hike, and proved her wrong by hiking up in almost exactly two hours. The refugio actually had a pool built into the stone behind the house, with some of the coolest and most refreshing, clear water. I wish it wasn't too windy at the top to want to swim. The hike back down was dangerous in the steep sand, but surprisingly none of us fell once. We ended the hike with a stout beer and artisanal chocolate.
We hiked a few more miradores the next day to get some different perspectives of the views. It's all so amazing, but the same view every time just from different vantage points. We explored Cerro Catedral, the ski resort in Bariloche, even though it's summer and there was no snow. Pink and purple lupins had taken over the ski runs, creating meadows just filled with flowers; it's too bad those will just get snowed on and covered up this winter.
One hike near the ski hill took us to see another lake, but we didn't hike long. We explored the town of Bariloche in the afternoon, which has Swiss influence in the architecture of the old churches and a famous clock tower. People were outside selling pictures with their St Bernards and young puppies. Every corner of the main street in town is a chocolate shop, so we tried all the different samples, and bought fancy desserts to try.
It's been really fun traveling with my parents. It's such a different mood than my other travels here. We've been sleeping in late, making full breakfasts with eggs and real juice (not Tang). We rented a car, which has been really helpful in seeing everything. Nothing is better than home cooked meals either, so my mom made a few dinners of roasted vegetables, chicken, pasta. It's been really relaxing just having a glass of wine with my parents or sitting on the deck in the mornings. My dad tried fernet and coke, and I was so surprised he actually liked it and wanted more. Having my parents here replaces my college kid budget, which means I get to do some of the traveling quicker and easier, meaning flying instead of taking buses. It makes traveling so much easier.
I missed my parents so much, it's so good to be reunited!
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