The Interlochen of the South

If Buenos Aires is the Paris of the South, as it's often referred to, it's not too hard to think of what to call Bariloche. Sitting atop the Andes mountains just east of the border with Chile lies one of Argentina's most popular winter retreats. I would have joined the masses on the world class ski slopes had I possessed just an ounce of talent or coordination, but I'm a bit young to become one with a Pine tree. As such, I spent most of my time hiking the spectacular trails in search of my testicles. It turns out than they were, in fact, nestled somewhere in between by stomach and liver, but the scenery was well worth the scare.

The bus ride was a mere 24 hours, broken up in to about a hundred 20 minute segments. The ride was punctuated by so many pick ups and drop offs that sleeping was nearly impossible, but at least I had plenty of time to think of how bad I had to go to the bathroom. Apparently, I'm expected to drop the goods into a filthy plastic bowl at 60 miles an hour with no tp in sight. I don't think so.

All jokes aside, the place was amazing. The region is called the lake district, and for good reason. A quick look around makes this very clear. I met a couple of friends there, and we walked around the Swiss village that is downtown Bariloche, and found a nice little hostel a few blocks away from the main square. We spent the day walking around stopping for chocolate every block or two.

The next day was spent hiking the trails around Llau Llau, one of the most famous resorts in Argentina. I didn't want to waste the my disk space with a picture, but I highly recommend that you google it.

After a night hanging out with the Argentines in out hostel, we pulled ourselves out of bed for a trip to the famous Black Glacier. Despite it's extremely alluring name, the place ended up being no more than dirty ice. The scenery along the way was well worth the trip, though. Here are some highlights:




That about does it for me, I've got "homework" to do, but I've got a lot of cool side trips planned for the next few weekends, so I might actually have something more interesting than visas to write about! Talk to you soon.

M

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