Whether you’re a high school senior in Argentina or a student studying abroad, Bariloche is a prime destination for sun, snowboarding, and cervezas. Apparently this is a hot spot for high school kids; I guess kind of like our spring break in Cancun. Not only is Bariloche famous for its skiing in the Andes, it is also well known for its many chocolate stores (see picture) and delicious food. During my 4 day visit, I seem to have conquered it all.
After this last trip, I’ve become very fond of traveling by omnibus. This trip was by far the longest, clocking in at just about 22 hours. We kept ourselves busy by watching some American movie classics; among them Harry Potter 4, The Italian Job, Mean Girls, and Love Actually. Much of my time was also consumed by picture taking out my window as we traveled farther into beautiful Patagonia (the huge southern region of Argentina). Having left Retiro bus station in Buenos Aires Thursday afternoon, we arrived in Bariloche around 10 the next morning.
Like in Iguazú, we stayed at the Hostel Inn. I have to say, it is almost offensive that I only paid $16 USD per night for what I got…Not only did we have our rooms get cleaned daily (this is a hostel, remember), we also got free breakfast and dinner and an absolutely STUNNING view of the Andes. There was a large patio with small tables and comfortable lounge chairs that overlooked the town and a large lake with the mountains behind it. It was absolutely gorgeous.
While others decided to be really intense and go for a 20 mile bike ride immediately after arrival, the rest of us found that sitting and having a luxurious lunch seemed like a much, much better option. Downtown Bariloche was very quaint, just like a ski town should be. The streets were lined with restaurants, chocolate stores, cafes, and cute little shops that sold warm, handmade sweaters (I got myself one, it has llamas on it).
After lunch, we figured we should be at least somewhat productive, so we decided to visit one of the viewpoints that we were recommended. When we arrived, the chairlift that we were planning on taking up was apparently closed…at 3:15 in the afternoon. So we decide we’ll hike up it I guess. Yea…nearly died. I felt like it was 90 degrees up the entire hour. BUT, we made it, and the view was unreal. We almost got in a fight with the chairlift workers to let us take it down. We had to argue with them until we finally just said, “If you make us walk back down that, we will die.” Apparently that one was legitimate enough.
That night we found our favorite bar, an Irish pub called Wilkenny. If you ever get down to Bariloche, try one of their signature brews- the Wilkenny Tostada. Later that night, a friend and I decided that we weren’t ready to go to bed yet, so instead we found a crack-in-the-wall bar and decided to explore. We met a few very nice Argentine girls who took up our foosball challenge. We played USA vs. Argentina, and we won. How embarrassing for them…we don’t even like soccer that much.
Saturday morning we woke up to a lot of rain. I had planned to go snowboarding, but we decided to save it for Sunday, since the weather was supposed to be much better. Instead we took a ferry out to a National Park called the Parque de Arranayes. It’s a forest full of these bizarre trees that look like twisty breadsticks and have crazy, wavy branches that go off in every direction. It was a very pretty walk, after which we enjoyed our complimentary hot chocolate as part of the boat fare.
Sunday was our ski/snowboard day, and we had perfect weather. You can rent equipment and also ski jacket/snowpants/gloves/goggles/helmets. Very convenient. However, though the weather was great, the snow was not. Spring skiing was definitely apparent, so the snow was getting more slushy in the last weeks of skiing. We still had a pretty good morning, but then soon after we decided it was a better idea to go back down and eat chocolate. The rest of the day was very relaxing, and we checked out the ski resort area until a bus took us home. Another recommendation: Diez Empanadas. It is a restaurant that sells only empanadas and has a bunch of different flavors. Everyone must experience it.
Monday we spent our day in town. After a long lunch, we stopped at a few more chocolate stores, did some casual shopping, and made Jauja, an ice cream shop, our last stop before heading back to gather our things for the trip home. Jauja is claimed to be the best ice cream in Argentina, and I’m gonna have to agree. For 15 pesos I had a huge bowl of dark chocolate mousse, raspberries and cream, and pineapple ice cream. The best thing ever.
Monday afternoon we made our way to the bus station. The ride was, again, seemed much shorter than it was, because I had a lot to take pictures of on the way home. It was an absolutely wonderful weekend. I couldn’t have been more happy or more relaxed, and I spent it with a great group of friends.
So I started my week yesterday, Wednesday. I had 3 classes, and now it’s the weekend again.
Rough, I know.
GOOD NEWS:
1. I received my Brazil visa today. It was quite possibly the easiest government/document-related process I have ever done. Apparently in the States it takes a month to complete. For me, it was a 30 second conversation, followed by a trip to the bank and a trip back to the embassy today to pick it up.
2. We will be having a tango make-up class at IES this Monday, unless we get an email from the university saying that the strike is over. I’m also considering going to a tango class tomorrow evening to jump-start my tango skills.
Hope has been restored.
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