La Ruta de los Siete Lagos (Seven Lakes Route)

Jes peering out of the tent in the morning.
see all photos »

San Martin de los Andes to Bariloche (Argentina)

Reluctantly, we finally left our cozy aparthotel and hit the famous "Ruta de los Siete Lagos" (Seven Lakes Route) bound eventually for Bariloche.  The route lived up to its reputation.  The first 50 kilometers were paved, and we stopped near the start of the dirt road at a truly gorgeous wild camping spot.  The campsite sat in a beautiful valley with a snowy, rocky peak reflecting on the lake to one side, and strange stone towers atop a mountain on the opposite side.  We set up our tent next to the river bank, built a fire, and cooked up another camp stove pasta dinner before going to sleep under a clear mountain sky with endless stars.

the most stunning scenery yet: Lago Nahuel Huapi

Shhhh! Jes went undercover in her sleeping bag for some close-up shots.
see all photos »

In the morning, it was back to tough times on a dirt and gravel road as we climbed about 1000 meters over the course of the day.  But the views continued to be amazing throughout the ride, difficult as it was.  When we finally hit the paved road leading south to Villa La Agnostura, another resort town, we were plumb beat.  Still, we had to stop a few more times to gawk at the most stunning scenery yet: Lago Nahuel Huapi.  This huge, impossibly clear lake is surrounded by snowy peaks in nearly every direction.  I don't know that I've ever seen a more beautiful place.

Near San Martin, Argentina.
see all photos »

After spending the night in Villa La Agnostura, including another parilla dinner, we set off the next morning for Bariloche.  The road to Bariloche simply followed Lago Nahuel Huapi for about 40 kilometers, providing more gorgeous scenery for our relatively easy ride.  A tailwind (yes!) helped us along, and even literally pushed us along one 10 kilometer stretch at about 35 k/hour!  But the payback for this gloriously easy riding came with our last 10 kilometers into Bariloche.  We knew Bariloche was the "principal destination" of the region, and was bigger than San Martin.  But we were not prepared for the completely insane traffic leading all the way into town.  It was slow going indeed as we had to repeatedly veer off the narrow road to make way for two-way truck traffic.  Bariloche has about 100,000 people, but its infrastructure is not developed for this big a population, certainly not when you factor in the hordes of tourists that flock here.  The city is in a lovely spot on Lago Nahuel Huapi, but it has a chaotic urban feel that's a bit unpleasant.  Still, it has its highlights, such as the views from the lakeside, steep hilly streets reminiscent of San Francisco, and amazing food, including the best chocolates (Mamuschka) and ice cream (Jauja) in Argentina.  (I went to Jauja every day! Yum!)  Best of all, there is great hiking to be done around here, and in the winter Cerro Catedral, one of Argentina's best ski resorts, beckons from a mere 20 kilometers away.  Still, we found ourselves missing San Martin a little, and really, the only reasonable way to visit the Lakes District is to get out of the towns and into the gorgeous nature all around.

On La Ruta de los 7 Lagos, Argentina.
see all photos »

After two days in Bariloche we decided to take a bus to Chile, where we planned to continue biking on the remote and culturally distinct island of Chiloe.