Pata-GONE-ia

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Argentina, Jan - Argentina

After a good chill session in El Bolsón, we took a short bus ride to El Bariloche, our last stop in Patagonia! Like El Bolsón, El Bariloche is not in the heart of the jutting peaks, glaciers and long scenic hikes that make Patagonia famous, but with not too much effort, it does offer some beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and lakes. We allowed the laid back, hippie vibe from El Bolsón to carry us through El Bariloche, doing daily hikes and excursions, but not trying to push ourselves too hard.

The biggest highlights by far were first and foremost spending some high quality time with our new Canadian buddy we picked up in El Bolsón, Sue. We did almost everything together in El Bariloche with a lot of laughs. We also ran into Sebastian and Oliver again randomly (who we met on the W Trek and saw again in El Chaltén) in Nahuel Huapi National Park, and they joined us later for some great beers and burgers at Manush Brewery. And of course, honorable mention goes to the steak we ate with Sue at Alto el Fuego (did vegetarian Lindsey have a bite?!?!). A big shout out to Ari Mizrahi for the restaurant recommendations.

Lowlights usually aren’t included, but our hostel gets a special shoutout as being terrible having 1. beds missing boards, i.e. oddly sagging mattresses, 2. no running water after 10:00 PM two of three nights, i.e. one flush and you’re done for the night, and 3. dirtiness of the room which was not quite up to my standards, i.e. horrifying to Lindsey. The town was so overcrowded that there was no possibility of switching accommodations.

Highlights…

  • We sunbathed at a secluded spot on Lago Nahuel Huapi, which would have been crazy hot had we not been lounging and relaxing, like lazy seals, on some small boulders half in and half out of the water.
  • We hiked up Cerro Campanario and a trail to a beach (albeit the wind made it too cold to hang long) in Nahuel Huapi National Park. As you may be able to gather from the pictures, El Bariloche is really unique how the city sprawls in a suburban-like manner in and around the National Park and the Cerros (mountain tops) spread throughout the city.
  • Took the Gondola up to Cerro Otto for some amazing views of the city and surrounding lakes.
  • Shaving

The Shaving

To view all of our photos from El Bariloche (there aren’t a ton), click here.

4 Comments

  1. Danny’s beard is so unbelievable before he shaved it that I need to give it a mention.

  2. Sounds like where we stayed in Koh Phi Phi. I got some lovely bug bites from that place. In fact some German chick recommended I cut my foot off, the bites were so bad. I wonder what happened to her…..

    • Lindsey

      Yeah, tell us Jake, what did happen to that one?

  3. Nancy Davis

    You’re hostel reminds me of the time Norman and I were rafting on the Rogue River in Oregon. Although the accommodations were fine, they neglected to tell us that the power and water go off at 10pm and it becomes pitch black….well I was in The bathroom when all went dark and had some adventure getting back to bed….but in spite of all, you’re bad experiences seem to be at all time low! Your adventures just sound great….spoke to Susie who loved being with you . Will be interested to hear about the Galapogus . We have been eating our way through Rome….they now have many gluten free places…unfortunately we are leaving Sat. The good thing is we’ll be on baby watch for the next 4-6 weeks…getting close! Enjoy! Xxx

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