Bariloche

Hi internet, black hole, and/or mom!

Recently, I went to Bariloche with my friend Lizzie. 

Bariloche is the northern most entrance to Patagonia, the region of the southernmost tip of South American.  Patagonia holds a mystical wonder for many people.  It is untouched nature for the most part, reaching across the two biggest oceans and split down the middle by the Andes Mtns.  The few roads in the region are often driverless and dirt.  

Bariloche, however, holds the beauty of Patagonia but can hardly be pegged as “vacant”. In fact, it’s a bustling city!  Filled with these guys (70 kilos of love- more than moi!)

And people too, of course!  In the summer, the lakes and mountains provide a plethora of outdoor activities that attract all sorts of tourists and backpackers.  In the winter, it is South America’s biggest ski town. 

Unfortunately, Lizzie and I arrived at just about the most awkward time you could ever visit Bariloche.  Misinformed, we missed the start of ski season (just one week too early!).  And, clearly, summer had passed! We were the ONLY ones in our entire hostel!

Nonetheless, we enjoyed ourselves entirely!  I would love to return in the summer sometime, but I still loved it in the awkward-time!

We went on a 25 km bike through a really mountainous region.  25 km didn’t seem like too much (after all, we’re young and able, right?) But OMG, it was SO HARD!  It was mostly uphill and I had to walk my bike a ton.

But boy, was it beautiful!  We saw the most gorgeous vistas of the lakes:

Pretended to be rich as we visited Hotel LLao LLao, the most beautiful and extravagant hotel I’ve ever seen: See, the patio and view from the back, the elegant inside (pics don’t do justice at all!), the “less desireable” view from the front (pic of lizzie and me, with my toolish reflective biker’s tape on my leg) and that cheesestick is actually a mezuza- the owners are Jewish!

Left our bikes on the side of the road to hike and find little treasures such as:

 

LAGO ESCONDIDO!!

Lago Escondido, the best echo spot ever.  We did lots of yelling here.  I still can’t get over how amazing and tranqui the lake was!

We looked for duendes in this enchanted forest:

We found a hidden mountain cemetery:

I hope someone writes me a poem like this after I die:

The clearest water ever (you could even drink it!):

Needless to say, we were POOPED after that day!  We had been hiking and biking until after sunset (it was SO dark biking thru the woods on the last leg of the trip).  We promptly crashed into bed that night!  But not before seeing Llao Llao from the other side, just before the sun set:

I’ll post more about the trip tomorrow!!