Mountians, lakes and an estancia

Views from Llao Llao viewpoint
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We arrived in Bariloche after two days on a bus from El Chalten via Route 40, the longest road in Argentina. The part we traveled on was a dirt track for most of the way on uncomfortable buses. Not a journey I will remember for the right reasons. The scenery was, well baron. Apart from the Andes to the west, there really was nothing to see.

Bariloche is a big tourist destination for Argentineans as well as us gringos. Accommodation was hard to find, but we eventually sorted ourselves out. We spent a day exploring the area around 'one of the best hotels in the world', hotel Llao Llao. Beautiful panoramic views around of the sparkling lakes and mountains surrounding Bariloche. A short walk through a pleasantly cool forest to a viewpoint on the Llao Llao hill was well worth the trip. We got the bus back to town via a couple of micro breweries. Nice beers, but pretty expensive. They were actually close to London prices, which is pretty much unheard of! Expensive place Bariloche.

Beautiful panoramic views around of the sparkling lakes and mountains surrounding Bariloche

Circuito Chico
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The next 2 days were spent on a wonderful estancia, where we ate lots of great meat, drank lots of wine and checked out the great scenery by horseback. Really was a great place where we felt totally at home (Estancias Patagonicas). Thoroughly recommended.

We hired bikes on our return to the town and spent a day cycling up and hills on the tourist route called Circito Chico. Didn´t feel small to us! 60kms of hills! Great views, although slightly tarnished by low cloud and some rain. Still a fun day though. And Gini rediscovered her cycling legs!

Hotel Llao Llao
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After a day of ice cream, chocolate and a steak for me and a trout for Gini, it was time to move on to our next destination: the home of Malbec. We were very excited by this.