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The Argentinean lake district in the summer is an impressive complex of lakes and mountains which attract wealthy Argentines for hiking and biking. In the winter the same crowd returns for the excellent skiing and warm bars or restaurants to recuperate in. The first day in Bariloche (tourist centre of the lake district) gave us the opportunity to appreciate its glory in summer and winter through the beautiful photographs in our hostel while the rain pounded the window and strong winds tore at anyone foolish enough to go out. The remaining time saw the rain subside but the winds were relentless and we were forced to abandon our plans for biking and hiking after a fairly miserable 15km hike up and down a mountain.
OK so our timing was a little off and perhaps autumn was not the best time to come but thanks to recommendation by a kiwi traveller we were stranded in a really nice hostel close to the centre of town so we could dash in and out during breaks in the weather. Bariloche itself is a very charismatic lakeside town packed with chocolate shops, bars and restaurants. Actually that is inaccurate; they have chocolate supermarkets packed with everything from simple bars to massive gateaux that make your arteries start to clog with a glance, exactly where you need to hide out on an inhospitable day. However amazing the chocolate shops were it is difficult to spend three days in them without the novelty fading a little bit so barring meals we found ourselves spending a large proportion of the day hanging around the hostel hoping for a break in the winds.
As I said, the hostel was what made the stay enjoyable or more precisely the people we met there and the communal atmosphere. The main room had one massive table where everyone sat, played cards, drank wine and ate meals. Without really being aware of it or making a massive effort we found ourselves part of a weird hostel community in which the Dutch girl's disastrous haircut, the Irish girl's ongoing battle with the Spanish language and the Israeli guy's good natured mangling of English became our day to day life. Each time we were forced to retreat back to the hostel we found ourselves hanging around with a random assortment of new friends discussing whatever popped into our heads and having a great time. So on our final day we hauled six of our hostel mates off to a steakhouse and packed ourselves with eye-wateringly huge steaks before our latest 17 hour bus ride north to Mendoza, wine capital of Argentina. Luckily for us we are taking two of our new Kiwi friends up north with us so we will try to keep the spirit of Bariloche alive as long as we can. Don't think we have forgotten all you guys at home though, we wish you could all be here with us and we are thinking about you as we travel.
Love A & R
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