Bariloche

Buenos Aires is on the east coast of Argentina. Our next stop, a couple of hours flying time was Bariloche (pronounced Bar-i-losh-ay) is on the western side about half way down, nestled in the lower foothills of the northern Patagonian Andes, close to the border with Chile. A popular tourist spot with people from all over South America, plus a few travellers from other parts of the world. The Bariloche region is an overdose of distant mountains, clear water lakes and abundant forest. We were fortunate to see one of the larger lakes, Nahuel Huapi (no we have no idea how to pronounce it) with a flat calm, reflecting the trees and the sky. We were told that such days occur only about ten times a year.

The town of San Carlos de Bariloche has no industry. It relies totally on tourism with two main seasons, summer hiking and touring, and winter skiing. Consequently almost every store is a café, a gift shop or sells chocolates. a local speciality brought in by early immigrants. The cocoa beans are imported from Brazil but the finished products are produced in town. There are a few interesting buildings including the Municipal Centre which dominates the main square. A European influence is noticeable, even down to the Saint Bernard dog with a Swiss flag painted on its barrel.

 

We played the tourist, taking a tour that included a chairlift that took us to the top of Mount Campaniaro providing 360 degree views of lakes, mountains and occasional dwellings. A visit to a small local business that produces rosehip oil was interesting and Kim purchased some more potions to add to her Harry Potter collection. 

We jumped from that tour directly on to a boat trip that took us to Isla Victoria, an island that boasts a well-established arboretum including some huge sequoias, douglas firs and a variety of native species, the names of which we could not pronounce. As the only English speaking passengers we were fortunate to have a guide, Sebastian, to ourselves, who took great pride in pointing out all the eucalypts. He also explained about the Arrayanes, a cinnamon-coloured tree that has a very thin bark that is rich in tannin and feels strangely cold to the touch. We compared it with other trees and the difference was considerable – another new experience.

Following the unusually calm day, the wind returned and the lake surface became choppy. Clouds obscured the sun giving the water the appearance of lead. But the scenery remained beautiful, if a little moody. The catamaran was comfortable and the gentle rocked sent both of us into a doze on the way back. The boat’s name, Cau Cau, which means seagull. Hope you’re impressed with the pic – it took ages to get!

We hired a car to visit the small town of Villa La Angustura, nothing to do with the bitters added to gin, and to see some of the Seven Lakes. These are linked and cross the Andes before becoming a river that flows right across the country, finally reaching the Atlantic.

Argentina produced some good wine, of which Malbec seems to be the favourite. We’ve enjoyed a bottle or several and perhaps this a good place to finish this with a rather fine example of a Malbec that sort of evaporated over dinner.