Backpacking South America

We finally arrived in Bariloche, and it’s as beautiful as every Argentine said. Until now, we were always asked, “have you been to Bariloche?” Now we can finally reply, “Yes, we have.” It seems that Bariloche is every Argentines favorite place in Argentina.

We had a feeling we’d like it here and we do. The only downfall is that right now at this time of the year, it’s extremely busy, but that is still an understatement. As travelers, we generally don’t plan too far in advance, because our schedule seems to change day-to-day. Up until this point, it hasn’t proven to be difficult when finding a place to stay. Well, Bariloche and all spots further south in Patagonia are very popular places, especially during January and February, and I kid you not, every place is booked! We arrived with one-day booked, and struggled to find accommodations for another 3.

Bariloche

Situated on a massive lake and surrounded by towering, snow-capped mountains, it’s no surprise that Bariloche is the destination of choice of Argentine’s seeking to escape the summer heat of the north. Originally settled by German immigrants, the architecture and layout of the city has a very European look, but it is definitely with the Argentine flair.

On our second day, it was time to get out and enjoy nature. So we decided to hike a mountain and visit a Refugio. It was a beautiful day and we were really looking forward to it. After a long wait, the bus finally arrived and eventually dropped us off about 26 kilometers outside of town.

We read this hike had beautiful views, and we weren’t let down. What we didn’t know was that the trail wasn’t just steep – it was poorly marked in many places; it was obvious at several places that people tried to make their own “short-cut.” In other places, the trail just went straight up the mountain through “sand.” The dirt was super dry and crumbly with no switchbacks, making a bit more challenging than necessary. It didn’t help that our 99% DEET bug spray didn’t seem to keep the horseflies away.

Finally, we reached the top at Refugio Lopez and the view was just beautiful! We overlooked Bariloche and Pennisula LLao LLao. It was just gorgeous! But, what goes up, must come down…and remember those really steep parts? Well, our knees were killing by the time we finished and all we wanted was to get back to our hostel and find something good to eat! Unfortunately, we had to wait 2 hours for the next bus since the first one was full and wouldn’t stop for us.

We finally made it home and celebrated a good hike with the best pizza we’ve found in Argentina (Marsalis) and a bottle of wine. Nothing like a hard days work.