San Carlos de Bariloche (but more commonly as Bariloche)
27 September to 2 October 2006
(Bariloche Photos)

Bariloche is a major tourist destination for Argentineans and foreigners alike. In the winter it functions as one of Argentina's main ski centres, and in the summer it is a haven for trekkers. It is in a breathtakingly scenic location on the south side of Lago Nahuel Huapi, in the Andean pre-cordillera. It is also my first incursion into Argentinean Patagonia.

I don't think Bariloche has a low season. The first thing you notice on arrival are the swarms of adolescents in groups of 20 to 50, identically outfitted, singing and cheering as they clog up the town centre. Bariloche is where high schoolers, most from in or around Buenos Aires and on the verge of graduating, come to celebrate and cause mayhem. The closet thing we have in the US is "Spring Break" (around the Easter holiday) - the gathering of college kids on the Florida coasts. Australian high schoolers have their "schoolies" week up at the Queensland beach resort town of Surfers Paradise where they literally run riot. At least here it appears to be somewhat controlled as these trips are organised by their schools and are therefore chaperoned.

Bariloche is also known for chocolate shops, elves and St Bernard's that loiter around the civic centre touting for photos (their owners, not the dogs). Every other store is a chocolate shop, and although I did not buy any I had the thickest, richest hot chocolate at a place with a large statue of "abuela" (grandma) in her apron out front (just in case you ever pass through and find yourself in need of a proper hot chocolate). Fair enough, chocolate goes with lakes and snow capped mountains after all (I wonder where they got this idea?). The elves and Russian Dolls I cannot explain. But it appeared as if shops that did not sell chocolate sold elf-like creatures, some quite grotesque looking, and Russian Dolls along with the standard array of souvenirs.

Anyway, the area initially opened up to tourism in the late 1930's when the railway arrived. Like Pocono, Chile, the log and stone architecture is all over from the civic buildings to the boutique shops and the masses of cabañas. However, a complete anathema to all of this is the tower block where my 10th floor penthouse hostel was located. How could such a building have been built? Who knows. But, "Hostel 1004" (as in 10th floor, apartment 4) had views that could not be believed. You are spellbound the moment you walk through the door. Being about 10 years old, I learned that it was the first youth hostel in Bariloche. Many have sprung up since, not surprisingly. The young staff, who are also partners in the hostel, are very friendly and welcoming. It also had a kitchen that you would expect to find in an upscale restaurant, not a youth hostel. It has a sister hostel, "La Morada", up one of the hills a few kms out of town, that sounded like it was the ultimate "chill out" place. Possibly more apt for couples than lone travelers.
During my stay, I probably did not take full advantage of all the activities on offer. Bariloche has a good bus network that takes you to just about all the nearby sites from the ski centre to the ritzy and reassuringly expensive hotel Llao Llao (pronounced "shaow shaow" in Argentinean accent). I missed out on having a "cafecito" at the Llao Llao, preferring to spend an afternoon exploring the trails through the neighboring Parque Municipal Llao Llao. Also by the hotel and park entrance is Puerto Pañuelo from where day long excursions of the lake depart.

My curiosity took me to El Catedral, Bariloche's ski centre. I was toying with the idea of having a few lessons. I had arrived at the last week of the season and it already appeared that parts of the ski village were closing down. Though, from others in the hostel who can come to ski, the snow sounded like it was still pretty good. Lessons turned out to be a little to expensive for my budget.

My one big physical activity while staying in Bariloche was cycling the circular route known as "Circuito Chico". I soon discovered that "Chico" it most definitely was not! At the hostel I found a very "simpatico" Galician, Alejandro, was also keen for a ride. After we spent about an hour and a half looking for a bicycle shop that was open (it was Sunday, but even still!) we finally set off at midday along the very busy road (thanks the bus loads of high schoolers) to Llao Llao. Circuito Chico is about 60km, which sounded like a lot, but seemed doable. However, I was not quite prepared for the near impossible number of hills. Alejandro was also keen to check out Lago Gutierrez, an extra 10km off of the original circuit. After 40km, I was not keen.

When we reached the decisive fork in the road, left for Bariloche and right for the lake, I very near told him, "You can go right, but I am heading back to town" (but in Spanish of course as he did not speak any English, something like "¡No puedo!"). But I gritted my teeth, dug deep for every spare ounce of energy and said nothing. The ride took about 7 hours, including plenty of photo and food stops, and took in some beautiful scenery (I managed to get my St. Bernard's photo at one of the stops). Pero ¡casi me mató! - But it nearly killed me! We celebrated our achievement, which I suspected was not all that significant for him, over a "parilla" (the famous Argentinean mixed grill) and a few beers.