Bariloche

We took a twenty hour bus ride across Argentina and arrived in Bariloche at about ten the morning.  We immediately took a liking to the place because it looked like a Colorado mountain town with a huge lake next to it.  My only complaint I´ve ever had about Colorado has been the lack of water, so this place fit Emily and I like a glove.  We loved it here.  We went for a few hikes to the peaks immediately surrounding the lake and enjoyed the crisp early autumn air and wonderful views.  The lake had some of the clearest water we´ve seen anywhere down here and the whole town was spotlessly clean.  All the leaves here had just begun to change and the weather was beautiful for most of our stay.  Our one complaint was that we decided to come during Semanta Santa (the week leading up to Easter).  This is a huge holiday in all of Latin America and Argentina is no exception.  The place was packed with Argentines from everywhere, they too apparently appreciate the beauty of this place.  We had really good luck with hostels and stayed at two great places, but prices were inflated due to the holiday.  All in all we had a geat time, but it was a little strange being so far from Colorado in a place that seemed nearly the same.  We are making our way up to Mendoza next, but bus tickets are hard to come by so we´ll probably end up in a town about half way there, Neuquen.