San Carlos de Bariloche is a beautiful mountain town on the edges of picturesque lake Nahuel Huapi. Bariloche is at the tip of Patagonia and it was 28 degrees with sunny skies. A perfect day for a walk around this gorgeous town that has a strong Swiss influence (many peaked chalets and chocolate shops which reminded me of Banff).
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| View of Northern Patagonia from the air. |
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| Typical building in the town centre. |
The views of the mountains across the lake were breathtaking. I was not prepared for how beautiful it is here. As you walk through the town you are continually distracted by how breathtaking the lake and mountains are. Words cannot describe how it felt.
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| I could live here! |
We saw the centre square with a statue of Julio Roca. He was the man who lead the "Conquest of the Desert" and killed ALL the native Argentinians in the area. The locals hate him and have painted "Genocide" and "Injustice" all over his statue. I agree with the locals.
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| Statue of Julio Roca - expressing the local opinion. |
After all the wine drinking adventures, I chose to take a more "traditional" adventure. I spent the day at the "Los Baqueanos" ranch along the lake and went horseback riding and kayaking.
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| Los Baqueanos Ranch House. |
I named my horse Floyd - he was easy to manage and very calm throughout the entire 2 hour trek. We traveled from the lakefront, through a meadow, through the forest, across a river, up the mountain side and returned along the lake shore. The beautiful scenery was panoramic and striking (yes, I finally discovered www.thesaurus.com).
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| Zanner & Floyd - friends for life. |
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| Horseback riding leader - Argentinian Cowboy |
When we made it to the lake shore - all the horses rushed to drink the water and walk in the cool refreshing lake. Floyd was a big chicken and didn't want to have anything to do with the water. It was scorching hot - Floyd needs to get a life and party in the water with the other horses!
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| Just look what Floyd is missing! |
After horseback riding we were treated to a 4 course meal in the beautiful chalet. Kayaking along the lake was scenic and so refreshing after the dusty, dirty horseback ride. It is a very cold lake, though. Not many swimmers.
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| Inside the chalet. |
After kayaking, the guides treated us to traditional Argentinian tea called mate (pronounced mahtay). I had my first official mate sip along the shores of lake Nahuel Huapi. It was very important for me to participate in authentic Argentine culture, and to experience it such a gorgeous setting is something I'll never forget. Drinking mate is done out of a decorated gourd with a steel straw. The tea is loose leaf and the steel straw has a strainer on the bottom. The gourd is passed around between friends and family and everyone drinks from the same cup and straw. It was an honor to be included in the sharing.
Being the true Canadian girl that I am - I went for a swim once I returned to the hotel. "No problem" I said as my teeth chattered and the goose bumps arose. Once I got out of the frigid waters, all the people sun tanning on the lawn were saying things to me in Spanish. I imagine that they were saying things like "What possessed you to do that?" or "Crazy Canadian Girl - if you're hot you should drink beer and eat ice cream!".
The next day I took a chair lift to get a bird's eye view of Bariloche. I look forward to returning to this area!
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| Chairlift ride to see 360 degree views of Bariloche - my friend Oliver reminded me to take off my flip flops incase I lost one! |
What would a viewing platform photo be without a jumping picture? Nice air, Oli!
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