Majestic Patagonia - Bariloche

Lago Guillelmo - lake outside main city of Bariloche
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Arriving in Bariloche was quite a relief after the 22 hour bus journey we we endured. I guess endurance isn´t really the word, coz its not too bad really. The food was laid on, and there is even wine served with dinner! Anyway enough of that. Here I am sitting in an internet place in Bariloche and have just uploaded some photos. I´ve had quite a bit of trouble this morning with technology (yet again!) as the internet places are truly a hit and miss affair. Some you have to ask whether you can ask if USBs are ok, others will only let you check email. So you just have to act like a stupid gringo and ask, hoping someone around can translate. So when these photos are done, I´m outta here. A bit tired of sitting in front of a screen for the last 2 hours to be honest. But I want to keep this blog up to date, otherwise it will be so easy to forget.

Black Glacier from a distance
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The scenery around Bariloche is majestic. The actual name is San Carlos de Bariloche, and you´ll have to look that up if you´re remotely interested in why. Its very Swiss, Austrian/western European, and packed to the gunnels with ritzy eating places and outdoor shops.  A very slick tourist machine operates here! Its an adventure playground I guess you could say. Hiking up glaciers, white water rafting, skydiving, skiing, mountain climbing, canopying (with flying fox things) are on offer, so in that respect its very similar to Queenstown in New Zealand. The architecture of the place is also European and colonial type influences aren´t that common. The main lake that the town itself sits on is Nahuel Huapi, but other lakes surround the area, bounded to the west by the majestic Andes.

Cerro Tronador - highest peak in Bariloche area
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Yesterday we went on an all-day hike into Nahuel Huapi National Park to see Black Glacier. I believe the indigenous name for it is Anon. Anyway about 12 of us were picked up in a van and driven about 2 hours to our first hike (1.5hrs) which was to see a very picturesque waterfall. All the time we could see the glacier and Cerro Tronador in the distrance. We stopped for lunch at a very nice picnic ground where there was also a kiosk. The hike to see Black Glacier was about an hour, and absolutely breathtaking. Its very cool here, in terms of temperature, understandable considering the winds blow straight from the Andes! The whole way we were treated to breathtaking scenery whereever you cared to look.

Black Glacier close up (that peaked looking stuff in the foreground in the water is black ice!)
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I guess I´ve never seen a glacier before, and (for me at least) it was something to behold. Its called Black Glacier because its made of permafrost and through its movement over million of years has collected lots of particles of other minerals, debris and so on . The mountain it comes from is called Cerro Tronador and is 3,478 metres high and snow-capped all year round. Its called that because every now and again huge chunks of ice break away and cause this thunderous sound, which we were fortunate enough to both see and hear! Its weird, but the peak itself is owned by both Argentina and Chile and was the source of a border dispute, settled by the US, UK and a number of others in the mid 50´s I believe.

El Manso - the river made from the melting glacier and through some weird fluke of nature flows into the Pacific!
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Anyway we are departing this pretty place at 11;00 in the morning, so will make the most of the last bit of the arvo to check it out a little more.Another couple of days in Argentina before making our way to Chile. The others in the group went canyoning this morning, which I gave a big swerve to! Great if you´re fit, love heights and trust the equipment!

Anyway people, over and out for now. All is well and I´m still having a blast! The only thing is so much is packed into so few days, making it difficult to get "quiet" or "alone" time. But I´m learning how to manage that.

The picnic ground where we had lunch
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Cheers everyone!