Bariloche, Patagonia

Sitting in our "full cama" comfortable leather seats on the overnight bus from Valparaiso, Chile down to Osorno (the gateway to the Chilean Patagonia), we hoped Patagonia wouldn't be destroyed by the ash - we weren't let down. This was one of the highlights of our entire trip!

Not long after crossing the Chilean border back to Argentina we witnessed the ash cover that we had heard so many other backpackers talk about - advising us against visiting this Patagonian town. At first we both thought it was snow on the trees but soon realised, with the beige tint, that it was ash.

As we entered Bariloche though, thankfully any evidence of the volcano disappeared.

Volcano eruption in the distance

Bariloche - the town itself - was small compared to other Argentinian towns with a population of over 100,000 people. The town is long and narrow, built along the shore of Lake Nahuel Huapi and surrounded by the Nahuel Huapi National Park. If you forget for a second that you're in Argentina, you'd actually feel like you're in a Swiss Alpine resort town - that's what it reminded us of and many other travellers we met here. Especially once you travel out to the suburbs, which is where we ventured on a 30-40k cycle for a full day during our stay there.

Lake Nahuel Huapi

It was raining the morning we arrived but we still headed out for a stroll around the town to see what it had to offer. After a couple of hours of walking in and out of cute Swiss looking shops, selling mostly outdoor gear or else chocolate (Bariloche is well known in Argentina for it's chocolate), we quickly bored and resorted to a long lunch in one of the quiet cafes. We decided we'd get straight into activities the following day, only to find out that it was a bank holiday which - in typical South American style - the hostel staff and activity agencies had neglected to tell us! This meant nothing was operating of course and we were stuck again around the town - which like any ski resort village, hasn't much to offer apart from accommodation for all the tourists who come here for the plentiful activities and sights surrounding the place.

However, we made up for this the rest of the time we spent there, making sure we got out every day to take advantage of this beautiful Patagonian paradise! We took a bus in the morning about 15km outside town along the lake, where we collected our bikes and hit off on a 30k round trip bordering the lake to the West of Bariloche.

Immediately, we felt like we were in the middle of a Patagonian paradise. Just as we had imagined it and more - on the hilly cycle surrounded by beautiful trees and furze (much prettier than the stuff at home!) and a backdrop of the Andes which always reminds you of where you are, we would often stumble on viewing points of various smaller lakes that dotted the area amidst plush green, and randomly placed Swiss style cottages. 

We drank fresh water from a mountain stream, stopped for a 'pancho' (hot dog) in the middle of nowhere...

...found an artesanal beer house - again in the middle of nowhere...

... all before stopping to take in a breath taking panoramic postcard view that just couldn't be justified with our mere standard lenses... 

...and finally took a breezy free - wheel down a steep hill the other side of the view!

We got back from our cycle tired & aching but ready for another scenic day in one of the many beautiful Patagonian lakes. We were picked up in the morning and met Diego, our guide, at Lake Gutierrez where we 'suited up' for a full day of kayaking. Niall wasn't too impressed when we discovered we'd be sharing a kayak, but it was great fun and another little slice of paradise. With clear turquoise water beneath us, the famous Route 40 up high to our left, and a locally well known ski resort and it's mountain (minus the snow) up high to our right, we were so glad we crawled out of bed with sore thighs for the day that lay ahead! 

The weather was perfect - not too cool or warm but sun & clear skies. We paddled for a couple of hours until we reached a small beach leading into a small wood, from which was yet another colourful postcard view in front of us. We had the place all to ourselves - including the lake (until a lone fisherman passed by); it was as if we landed on the beach of a deserted island! 

 Diego was  full of interesting stories about Patagonia and about his own life - how he moved he for the outdoor life 15 years ago from Buenos Aires, and went onto have his family here. He put on a hot pot of fresh empanadas and we chatted away under the trees while swatting away the bugs!

After relaxing on the beach, taking alot of photos, and a quick dip in the water (I only got the legs wet) - which apparently is what makes you a "real Patagonian" given how cold it is - we hit off again on the other side of the lake.

We stopped again on the way back at another picturesque spot for a coffee and bickie, taking in another great view before the long stretch home. 

What a fantastic day - afterwards we agreed it was one of best days we spent during our whole trip. Lovely weather, still water, a turquoise Patagonian lake all to ourselves, great guide Diego, and a bit of paddling in the mix..... perfect!

http://www.puravidapatagonia.com.ar/

The next morning we picked up our hire car and hit off South on Route 40 to see the Black Glacier. It started off a beautiful clear day but soon the ash cloud crept in until we couldn't keep the windows down anymore. After a long slow drive we eventually made it. Lucky it was black or we might not have seen it, but unfortunately the view was obscured  by the heavy ash cloud - still, we had to admit, experiencing the effects of a natural disaster while travelling kinda added to the adventure of it all!

The black chunks are black ice (literally)! 

 The next day we headed North of Bariloche on the famous "7 Lakes" drive, still on Route 40. The drive was interesting, scenic, sometimes upsetting, different to what we had seen before. About 20km outside Bariloche we hit the ash cloud. It was thicker than we had experienced before - we learned that between here and about 30km North was directly in the path of the Volcano ash due to the wind direction. We passed so many road workers all shoveling or bulldozing piles and piles of ash - a 'groundhog day' sort of a job, in that as soon as they've cleared the ash from the road there's another pile waiting for them tomorrow.
We passed some beautiful looking hotels and parks - all been forced to shut down due to the ash.

The couple of villages we passed through were also completely covered in ash - despite best efforts to maintain the place. These hotels, restaurants, and touristic towns all had existed solely due to their location on the 7 lakes drive, and now - for the foreseeable future - were dead; ghost towns, and the local people's livelihood vanished. We felt so bad for these people, there was nothing they could do. We stopped over and had lunch in one of the deserted restaurants. We were treated like kings - maybe we were the only tourists who stopped here in a while, but we felt they deserved it.

We stopped at a lake surrounded by - what looked like a beautiful large beach of smooth sand. Niall continued to walk towards the water only to discover (just in time!) that it was actually quicksand!

Look closely and you'll see ripples in the sand

 He got out in time and when we found a view point over the lake we could see the ripples of movement in the sand - it was quite creepy! This was caused apparently, by the falling ash - shrinking the lake as well as creating a quicksand.






The ash cloud soon disappeared to reveal clear blue skies and took our time along the drive, taking in all the scenery and enjoying each of the 7 lakes. We reached our destination - 'San Martin De Los Andes' by evening and found ourselves a rustic hostel for the night.

San Martin was a beautiful small town, on the edge of Lake Lacar. We were glad to see that this town was relatively unaffected by the ash and there seemed to be alot of tourists around. We arrived just in time for a short stroll around and dinner before leaving again in the morning.

Although we were affected ourselves by the ash during our drive and during our time in Bariloche, it didn't take at all from our experience there and we would highly recommend taking a car out for the 7 lakes drive. We had just enough time for a long lunch and a reflection on our time in this beautiful gateway to Patagonia, before catching our overnight (23 hour) bus to Buenos Aires later that day.

Of all the places we visited in South America this was one of our favorites and a place we would return to again if we're ever lucky enough to come back to Argentina!

Our route from Osorno to Bariloche, and our 3 day road trip on Route 40

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