Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
After our overnight bus we arrived Monday morning in the Lake District, in a town called Bariloche. The views as we arrived were amazing ... the views once we had checked into our hostel were incredible!! We stayed at a hostel on the tenth floor of an apartment block, which had huge windows and a balcony all the way along one side of the kitchen and lounge, overlooking the beautiful lake and mountains that provided the backdrop for Bariloche. It really felt like we were in a Swiss ski retreat rather than in Argentina - the style of the town was all wooden and and cabin-like!
After showering and checking into our room, we headed out for lunch with our friend Jo who we had met in Puerto Madryn. She was also travelling to Bariloche and then into Chile so we decided to do that bit of the journey together. After eating lunch in a cute restaurant that was adorned with old fashioned children's toys hanging from the ceiling, we got an ice-cream (from what is apparently known as the best ice-cream shop in Argentina!) and went to sit by the edge of the lake to eat them! Bariloche is also known for its yummy chocolate and so to confirm that we really were fat glutineous pigs, we then went to the best chocolate shop in town, Mamushkas, to sample all the delicious chocolates on display! Feeling rather sick, we left the chocolate shop to go and book a hire car for the next day so we could drive around the nearby lakes. That evening we met a French guy, Charles, who was also hoping to visit the lakes, so we said he was welcome to join our trip, which also made it a bit cheaper for us.
The next day, we were up reasonably early to pick up the car and grab some food for the day. We had decided to drive the 'Seven Lakes' route, which (obviously) was a gravel road that ran along beside seven different lakes. The scenery was stunning, and we had lots of stops for photos and then a beautiful lunch stop in front of a river with mountains in the background. At the end of the route was a small town called San Martin de los Andes where we stopped for a stroll by the lake and drinks in a cafe, before making our way back to Bariloche. That evening we went out for a cheap and yummy Mexican meal before crashing out in bed.
Wednesday, we set off in the car again (as we had decided to hire it for a second day) towards Pampa Linda to visit the Ventisquero Negro (a black glacier) and the base of Monte Tronador. Again, the scenery on this route was absolutely spectacular, and confirmed our thoughts that the Lake District was our favourite place we had visited in Argentina. One view across a bright turquoise lake was so stunning and peaceful - it seemed so surreal that it was hard to believe it was really there right in front of you! The glacier was also very impressive, with snowcapped mountains all around it. After sitting looking out over the glacier for a while, and going for a short walk to the base of Monte Tronador, we headed back to Bariloche.
That evening, as it was our last in Argentina :o( we decided to go for a nice meal with Jo, to a gorgeous little hobbit-like restaurant called Tarquino. The building was so cute and really did look like it belonged to hobbits! The food was also delicious. We had steak (of course) and lamb to share and then chocolate fondue for dessert ... a perfect end to a brilliant time had in Argentina - we were very sad to leave.
The next morning, we had a quick stroll around the shops to buy a few last minute souvenirs, before heading to the bus terminal to catch our bus across the border to Chile.
- comments