En La Bolsa, baby!

The church, lake and mountains.
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Overnight bus to Bariloche and another lovely meal, this time included champagne, steak and cognac!  That's what you get on Via Bariloche, my favourite of all the bus companies in Argentina.

Invented in 1862, San Carlos de Bariloche hasn't changed much.  It's application to be an autonomous region was turned down by the Argentinian courts in 1967 and the residents have resented the rest of Argentina ever since.  So much so, that none of them have ever left the towns limits, which is a shame as there are some really nice things to see.

Bay at the start of the Parque.
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First night was spent in Tango Inn which is not as close to the centre as they like you to believe.  The next night was spent in La Bosla del deporte which is way better.  Really friendly guys who run the place and right in the centre.

Bariloche is very touristy.  Lots of Argentinians and Chileanos come here and you can see why.  Amazing scenery and great ice cream!

I hired a bike and cycled the Circuito Chico.  Starting at the hostel, the worst bit was cycling to the Parque Nacional as the roads were fairly busy and not many people give a shit about cyclists.  Once in the park, the road is practically empty and the views amazing.  It took me about 5 hours to do the whole circuit, including detours to see a cemetary and a bit of a random cycle down a little peninsula full of flash houses.

Wouldn't you like to wake upto this everyday?
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The next day, I found some flyers for a discount on Massages at a local beauty salon.  Sweet!  1 hour massage for 10 USD!  The only little thing scaring me slightly was a Belgium girl who'd been for a massage a few days before and was now so ill she had to be flown home.  All down to the toxins released during the massage apparently!

I didn't get ill and so I set off for El Bolson and Jazz festival that was supposed to be the highlight of the social year in that area.