Bring on the Snow

On the boat Cau Cau
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Bariloche

We woke up early in the morning and caught a flight to Bariloche; which arrived around 2pm. We walked around and checked out the town in search of a room since one was not booked. We decided upon Carlos V; which was filled with the kind of character I had been searching for. Once we were settled in we decided to walk the town; which reminded me of something that you would see in a movie. Surrounding the city was beautiful white-capped mountains and glistening water with perfect pebbles. There were beautiful log buildings in the town center where each day a farmers market was set up where locals would sell there creations. We decided to pull up a bar stool at the tap room; which had the back of the bar covered in memorabilia from tourists from around the world. We tried a few local brews and a local appetizer made of sautéed veggies in the shape of a pyramid. As the sunset we started to get chilly and headed back for some warm clothes to get ready for dinner. For dinner we decided upon the local Fondue restaurant to warm us up from the inside out. We decided upon the chicken and steak fondue along with a local bottle of wine. It was delicious and warmed us up so much that it rushed us right out of the restaurant for the cool breeze of the outdoors. Once dinner was over we walked along the streets and window-shopped at the local chocolate shops in the area. There are chocolate shops on every corner as Bariloche is known for it’s delicious chocolates that both melt in your mouth and your heart. After our walk we headed back to our room to catch up on some sleep and get ready for the following day.

There were trees that were like the CA sequoia and trails that we could follow all around the island.

Arrayanes Forest
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September 29^th, 2007: Day 14

We continued to discover and walk around the town in the morning to find out what this beautiful city had to offer. We found a delicious sandwhich shop by our hotel and decided to hop on a mid-day tour of the city. We were picked up by a tour bus and took a drive along the water to view the rest of the city. There were areas of the city; which were made of old log and some new modern areas. The bus ride was about 40 minutes long of all sightseeing of homes, cabins, & local establishments. We finally made it to the boat CACA for our ride along the water. The view from the boat was so surreal because of how perfect the setting was. The water was perfect and calm and on each side while the mountains moved passed us on each side of the boat. The weather was perfect without a cloud in the sky. The sea gulls followed the boat closely as the passengers held out crackers to be eaten right out of their hands. Even the sea gulls looked nice in this setting. Our first stop was at Victoria Island where we had about an hour to hike around the island. There were trees that were like the CA sequoia and trails that we could follow all around the island. We ended up over looking the water from a different view and could see the ducks sitting and enjoying the calm waters as it hit the shore. As we walked along further Jeremy started to point out the thickness of the trunks of the trees. Because of this we decided to have a photo shoot. It may have been senior pictures, but I’m not completely sure. Anyway it was completely fun. We headed back to the boat to move on to the next destination. The next destination Bosque de Arraynes had trees that were the color of newly stained wood. The trees peeled like the paper tree does in the U.S, but appeared to be different on the inside. There was a type of fungus growing on a lot of trees that appeared to be beehives, but unfortunately slowly kill the trees. The paths were all paved with stairs so that new paths are not created. The trees stay protected this way and maintain their beauty. After this walk ended we hopped back on the boat and headed back to shore. Along the way we enjoyed the same relaxing view as on the way to the island. In the background a remake of the entire Guns n Roses cd played, but a sweet and peaceful voice that almost made you believe that the lyrics were saying gentle sweet nothings. Getting closer to the homestead we stopped at the supermarket and picked up some wine and cheese to be enjoyed with our comfortable bed and English speaking television. Oh I tell you it is the simple things that you miss. After a few nice & relaxing hours we headed out to dinner for a steak at the famous El Boliche de Albert. We had a delicious steak dinner and enjoyed the people watching of the patrons in the dining room as well as walking by the restaurant. The food was delicious, but we were unfortunately rushed out as they were closing. It was the first time that had happened the whole trip. What a day it’s off to bed.

Looking up at the giant trees.
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September 30^th, 2007: Day 15

We were picked up early for a driving day tour of the Cirquito chico. We took a ride up the ski lift@ Cerro Companiero. We had an overlook of many different points of interest including Nahuel Huapi and Perito Moreno lakes and the snowcapped peaks of Cerro Lopez and Catedral, which tower over the water. Along the way we stopped at Meli-Hue a lovely lavender farm where they gave a presentation of the making of perfumes, lotions, and soaps. They also had a teahouse on the premises which served the most soothing tea. Once the presentation was over they  sprayed both Jeremy and I with either the male or female version of the perfume. I would love to tell you it smelled great, but it pretty much made me want to hurl. Once we left this location we headed to our next destination the Hotel Llao Llao (pronounced zow zow). We stopped outside of the Llao Llao hotel for a few minutes and admired the structure and the setting of the hotel. It was in the most peaceful location and seemed to be very secluded as you could see the mountains and water all around it. Once we decided to move on we continued to pass by many lakes and streams before ending at our final destination of the day the Cerro Cathedral. Since the first day of spring is tomorrow the snow had begin to melt at the ski resort and the mud was beginning to shine through. Because of the melted snow we decided that we were not going to ski that day, but enjoy the location. We walked around the ski resort and admired the slopes and the many ski lift riders the went around the entire mountain. We also enjoyed watching a few people falling on there butts. Am I horrible or what? We could see it all since we decided to camp out at the Punta Base restaurant; which as you probably figured is located at the base of the mountain. After hanging out here for a bit we took the short walk around the base of the resort and looked at the different buildings while I played the part of the queen of the snow mountain; which was not much more than a pile of snow. We walked past tons of people with dark faces and white eyes and we couldn't figure out if they were sun burned or just really dirty from the ski slopes. After we headed back towards town And set up another tour for tomorrow as it may be our last day to enjoy this beautiful city. By the time we set up our tour and rented our super high tech snow boots it had gotten closer to dinner time. So we headed for a couple of glasses of wine and lots of food. At dinner this evening I managed to put myself in a major food coma, but it's ok because this is vacation.

Snow sledding at the end of our hike.
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October 1st, 2007: Day 16

Today is the official first day of spring in Argentina, but the deep mountains are still covered in plenty of snow. We were picked up in the early morning by a 4 x 4 truck to head out ready to conquer the deep and cold snow further into the mountains. We circled around the snow and ice curved mountain for what seemed to be at least two hours. At one point our guide had to jump out and break the ice with his shovel to help us move along. Finally we ended at the Refugio up in the mountains as a base camp before our long hike in Laguna verde. All bundled up and ready to freeze our butts off we headed out to hit the hills. The snow was packed in certain areas, but in the unpacked areas I would fall in all the way up to my knees. It was exciting being in the snow since it has been six years since I have gotten the opportunity to play like a child in the snow again. We saw  a few bunnies on the hike; which is the one thing that Jeremy and I seem to see every trip that we go on. We headed toward a look out point, but before we got there we stood where the lake was frozen over. Jeremy's foot fell through the ice right and although our group had seen this a really bright woman on our tour decided to run to the center for a picture and fell completely in with both feet. After this excitement we stopped to enjoy a cup of tea with our tour guide out of his thermos. After this we headed to the look out point and enjoyed the view of the mountains and birds circling the sky. On our way back down I was tired of either falling or almost falling so I decided to slide down on my butt when it looked like the area allowed it. On the way back down we saw a melted spot on a pond that had ducks enjoying the day. Once we arrived back at the refugio we had an authentic Argentinian parilla lunch that I believe may have been buffalo, but it wasn't confirmed. After lunch we got to break out the snow sleds and take a couple of hills while Jeremy nailed me with a couple of snow balls. I finally had to surrender because apparently Jeremy growing up in Minnesota gave him better snow ball making skills than I have. After getting back into town we finally hit up a chocolate shop Yeah. So we purchased an assorted box of chocolates for a little boutique in town called Mamuschka. It melted in mouth and was very delicious. After this we headed to a teeny tiny local taco shop to enjoy a few refreshments . Once we were ready to move on we finally walked over to the place that I had been dying to go to the irish bar "Wilkenny". It had a good read in Lonely Planet and we had met a couple of people on our journey that reinforced this idea. So we hit up the bar and found that it was an over priced irish bar and decided to head out to get some dinner. So we headed to local Mexican restaurant (because I missed mexican) for authentic Mexican food straight out of Mexico.

Bariloche Centro Civico
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October 2nd, 2007 - Day 17

Today we woke up early as this was our last afternoon in Bariloche. We walked up the stream and enjoyed the peacefulness of the calm water and the beautiful mountain views. After walking for a bit we headed into town and took a few more pictures to assist us in remembering our time here. Since this was our last day we stopped and got ice cream at the local favorite Jujua. The ice cream was to die for and never had a chance once it was in our hands. After finishing our ice cream we headed to the Museum of Modern Art in town; which we were told was the best in the country. It showed the different tyes of arts and specialty animals of the country while giving us facts on the country as well. Once we were finished at the museum we headed over to Artes pub for lunch. Since it was Oktoberfest we enjoyed the Oktoberfest beer along with some sausage and sauerkraut before heading to the bus station for our 17 hour bus ride to Mendoza.