Beautiful Bariloche

Crossing from Chile into Argentina.

So far I have only been to Chile in South America. This changed when I jumped the border to visit Argentina. Having lived in Europe for long periods of time, and being from also being from Australia, I am unused to seeing country borders on the road. They have them in Europe, the booths are there and sometimes even a few police officers, but there is no stopping, no visas required, and no money changing either. When crossing from Chile to Argentina your bus stops at the Chilean side first, you walk in an do your visa stuff, get your stamp and then get back on the bus and go to the Argentinian side, through what I call 'no-mans' land, and do the same (and pay the $100 reciprocal visa charge if you're from the States, Canada or Australia). You aren't supposed to bring fruit, vegetables and other animal products across the border, but the Argentines are so relaxed that they don't seem to care. The Chileans, however, get your bags off the bus and run the sniffer dog over them - hate for their neighbours perhaps?

A Swiss-like town of San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina.

The bus ride from Puerto Varas to Bariloche is worth mentioning for a few reasons. I took a bus with AndesMar, an Argentine bus company, and was very impressed with the service. Got on the bus and 5 minutes later I was served a coffee and biscuits. Ok, the coffee was the worst I've ever had I think, but it's served on a tray and it makes you feel like you're on a plane. Sandwiches were also served for lunch, and after this we played a game of Bingo! Each passenger was given a little bingo slip, the 'flight attendant' hooked up his microphone and called out the numbers (two fat ladies, 88) for the chance to wine a bottle of wine - they clearly have too much in Argentina! I also have to give a big round of applause to the guy on the bus pouring the boiling water for the coffee and tea - not a drop spilt and his body just moved with the bumps and turns of the mountainous roads. Speaking of roads, these ones through the mountains into Argentina swerved and zig-zagged like a Scotsman drinking Tennant's Super on the way home from a Celtic game, and the bus driver was trying out for pole position on next years F1. Instead of thinking about the possibility of dying on the trip, I looked out the window and enjoyed the view, which was amazing!

Some of the views from the bus into town.

Chocolate!!

St Bernards being used to sell expensive photos with tourists.

Getting out once in Bariloche and you can immediately see the difference between the neighbours - the grass is definitely greener on the other side in this case! Pulling into the bus terminal and grabbing a cab (lazy I know!) to the hostel, this place really did feel like Switzerland. Town sitting on the slope of a hill overlooking a deep blue lake and surrounded by soaring, snow-capped mountains! The town is also know for it's chocolate, just like Switzerland, and along with the many many artisan chocolate stores, everything has a real christmasy feel to it - I even saw in one window front a self-snowing Christmas tree, which threw down snow from the top, collected it down the bottom and repeat. The town has that Queenstown snow-town, summer adventure feel to it with it's architecture, mixed in with Argentine style - mad driving and the strange accents. Argentinian people are very friendly, you say thank you very much for something, they say 'no, no please!' The bus drivers say hi to everyone and even kiss some people when they get on! Everyone is smiley, happy to help, relaxed (sometimes too much!) and always sipping Mate (every hostel receptionist so far...), which I enjoy as well. I also saw one guy with a leather Mate carrier with room for his cup and flash - very fancy!

Beautiful Bariloche!

The perfect way to see Argentina - or the world even!

First thing on the list was changing money, and if you have ever been to Argentina, you may know what a funny way they have of doing it here. The government has done something funny with it, something with deregulating it (I'm not sure and can't explain as I'm no economist), and so there is the 'official' exchange rate and then there is the 'blue dollar.' Basically, you get a better exchange rate on the black market rather than a money exchange office, so that is how I went about changing some Chilean Pesos to Argentinian Pesos. The hostel guy told me that 'Samuel' was they guy to do it with, so I wandered the streets, and I was approached by these money guys, "Change? Cambio?" and i'd reply, "Are you Samuel?" This is how is went for a while, and decided to see what another guy could offer me. Back of a souvenir shop, a small tin box behind some 'I Love Bariloche' shirts, the guy has stacks of foreign bills - I tell him I'd think about it and come back. I did find my guy eventually, and Samuel took me upstairs to his 'office.' It was a single room with a barred and blocked out window, a single 3-legged stool in one corner with an electronic money counter sitting on it and a tin box on the ground full of cash. We did the change and he was really friendly and a good guy - he's a young from Spain but living here... I wonder what he tells his mum what he does for a living her ("I'm in banking mum!"). Changing this money I felt a little like I was buy drugs or guns on the street, and thought I was going to get caught... but that's how it's done here.

Enjoying the chairlift up to Cerro Campanario.

Wooden church on Lago  Llau Llau.

The view from Campinario.

Bariloche and the surrounding area looks like the Swizz Alps, so I thought what better way to enjoy it than to do some hiking to see the mountains and the lakes. Carro Campinario is close to the city, a 20 min local bus trip away, and give a great view of the area. I cheated and paid for a chairlift up (150ARS/$15) but that was fun and part of the experience I think, but when I got to the top, I was nearly blown away - figuratively and literally! The wind here was incredible - if you face into it you get the cheapest facelift, but maybe also a free snack of bugs. Giving a 360 view of the lakes, I couldn't stop taking photos, and really couldn't believe that I was actually here! Stopped in the small cafe at the top for a coffee - a real coffee too! In Chile they don't use a machine, it's boiling water and a packet of Nescafe. In Argentina, when you order a coffee, you also get a small glass of sparkling water - very posh! After ordering the coffee, I realised that I didn't have enough money, and card wasn't accepted either - I desperately explained that to the waiter that I didn't have enough and asked if he took Chilean Pesos, he said no problem and did a quick money exchange for me - everyone is in the banking industry it seems.

Enjoying the view from the cafe at Cerro Campinario.

A 'Swiss' cabin in Argentina.

I also had a great walk around from Llau Llau (pronouned 'j-ow' in Argentina) to Bahia Lopez (Lopez Bay),  starting from the very expensive and very impressive Hotel Llau Llau. The walk was quite easy, but enjoyable and the landscape was incredible - I kept forgetting where I was. There are many ways you can see the area - boat trips, cycling and by car, but walking is the best for soaking it all up, and taking photos of course! I also made a short trip to Villa Trufel, a 2 hour bus trip away on the other side of the lake to Bariloche. The village was tiny and you can count the houses on your fingers - this doesn't stop them from having a cosy little cafe and a restaurant with an open fire and an extensive menu. A coffee (plus sparkling water) and 'media luna' (croissant) before starting a walk, the weather wasn't great but cleared up 10 minutes into the walk. Distances on walks here seem to be exaggerated - I took the 1 hour return trail to see a waterfall, and it took me 15 minutes to reach the viewpoint. Since this one took me such a short time, I took the longer one that said 2 hour return, and was back in time for the bus within an hour. Dinner in a nice restaurant that night was well deserved and I managed to find one 2 blocks from the hostel. Locally brewed craft beers (at 50% off Happy Hour prices) and great food, along with a vibrant atmosphere, I felt really content with my time here in this town. I started speaking to a French guy at the beer, who recommended a few beers to me, and he asked how I liked the town so far. I replied that I think I want to live here - he just laughed and said that's what he said 6 months ago, and he's still here.

The Hotel Llau Llau.

My time in Bariloche had come to an end, after a great 6 days there. I had a great time, and I was also blessed to have shared that time with a great person who made the experience ever better - you know who you are and thank you. I am now in my 2nd month of travelling and haven't really been alone for more than a day - you may think that is a bad thing, but it has been great. You need your time alone sometimes, but the best kind of travelling partner is someone who knows that and gives you that time - and the time you spend together should be really natural. If you are lucky enough to find these people on the road, be more than just Facebook friends. It is such a change to talk to 'real' people, not just 'hostel' people, who just talk about what they've 'done' (Oh yeah, I DID Santiago, it was awesome) and trying to be cool and seem wordly, and there is always some long-haired guy playing Bob Marley on the guitar (and trying to sing). Give people a chance, and you will find some good ones - you can't be friends with everyone either, but you can always be friendly, so smile and wave people.

Bariloche - the Switzerland of South America.