Bunking in Bariloche

Most honeymooners sleep on a king size bed covered in rose pedals. Dave and I prefer bunk beds .... at least our wallets do. Thus, we bunked in Bariloche for the week!

Bariloche, Arg. is another Swiss-like ski village in the lakes region of Argentina. It is the entry way to Patagonia where all of the glaciers are located. In appearance it is a cross between San Francisco with curvy streets and Lake Tahoe with a pristine lake surrounded by beautiful mountains.

We were here for seven nights, a bit longer than needed. The week started slow with a chair lift ride up to Cerro Campanario for a lazy man´s view of Bariloche. Our second hike to the top of Cerro Lopez took a little more skill. It took five hours and was steep, starting on very dry and rocky ground, finishing at a snow topped peak.

Our third hike was around a popular trekking and bike circuit called Circuito Chico at Parque Municipal Llao-Llao. Here we enjoyed our typical lunch of the most fabulous sweet croissant (stolen from our free breakfast) with sliced tomato and avocado bought from our favorite neighborhood produce store.

Even on the go, we also appreciate the traditional siesta where everything closes from 12:30 - 4:30 p.m. This is a lengthy siesta, but in a town where the nightlife starts at 1 a.m. and goes until 7 a.m., it is much needed.

Our 9 p.m. dinners cooked in our hostel, Hostel 41 Below, were considered early by Argentinian standards.

In Bariloche for dessert, and breakfast, lunch and dinner where applicable, chocolate is the food of choice, originating from the city´s Swiss ancestry. Without hesitation, Dave and I took a self-guided and self-created chocolate tour, hitting two factories and several shops on popular Mitre and Moreno streets. In addition to free samples galore, we bought one or two items from each store to make sure they were safe for the general public ; - )

After three shops, I was on to something. One of the most popular chocolates was fudge with a mint center. Aha....Andes Candies, a favorite of Dave and my grandmothers'. We suspect some American entrepreneur stole the idea and brought it back to the U.S. for us all to enjoy!

To close, just a few other observations on Bariloche:
- The town mascot is the St. Bernard, although a smattering of other street dogs are everywhere.
- No one in this town can make change. The bank even sent us to a change store, who then tried to send us back to the bank.
- This is a very expensive South American town. We found that activities like rafting and kayaking, and lodging were double the price from neighboring Chile and from what we´ve heard, more than quadruple the price of Bolivia.
- Like most of South America the plumbing is not what we are used to in the States. Flushing systems are unique and all toilet paper must be thrown into the bucket. Oh the smell!

At 6 a.m. tomorrow, we head on the legendary Ruta 40, a three-day bus ride down a dirt road to the epicenter of the Patagonia region.

Until then,
- Elizabeth