Bariloche, Gnomes and the 7 Lakes
When we last left our intrepid adventurers . . .
We spent Thursday on the Argentinean side of Iguazu Falls which was absolutely incredible. I didn't expect it to be nearly as good as it was, but I honestly think I liked it better than the Brazilian side. There was one catwalk we walked on for about 1100 meters that was out to "Garganta del Diablo" (devil's throat), and it was one of the strangest places I've ever been. The lonely planet guide describes it as a place most like what 15th century explorers envisioned "the edge of the flat world" to look like. This place is where there is an enormous amount of water coming in from 3 sides falling into such a small area that it literally produces a ton of fog, steam and mist that rises up and clouds the bottom from view. I'd say to this point in my trip, it's #1 on my list of most memorable experiences. Then as we hiked back to the entrance to the falls, we were accosted by a group of coatis (coatimundi) and they had no fear of approaching us and sniffing us out for food. What is a coati? The best I can describe it as is a South American version of a raccoon, but obviously they aren't nocturnal. Pictures to come of all of this . . .
Thursday night we returned to Buenos Aires and went back to La Estancia for another excellent steak. Friday morning we flew to Bariloche and arrived to find the temperature a cool 50 degrees, a nice change from the 95 degree heat we had in Puerto Iguazu. Bariloche is simply too beautiful to describe. It is on the shore of Lake Nahuel Huapi and is at the base of the Andes to the west. In the winter time this place is a ski town and in the summer it caters to people wanting to do any type of outdoor excursion - hiking, biking, horseback riding, fishing, and touring. We wandered around the plaza where we saw lots of St. Bernard dogs being led around for photos with people. We organized our Lake Crossing for Monday, which after a lot of issues we had heard about, the guy said it was not a problem and acted like everything was under control. . .we're still a bit suspicious, but we've ponied up the money and so I guess we're on for tomorrow. We also discovered these figure gnomes for sale all over town, I guess it's a European thing.
Yesterday, we rented a car and drove on the beautiful Route of the 7 Lakes road from Bariloche to San Martin de los Andes. We had some incredible views and there were clouds just above the tops of the mountains making for some incredible photos. What normally takes 4 hours to do, we did in 6 stopping probably way more than a tour bus and even getting some bonus views from campsites a bit further off the road in a couple places. Unfortunately, today our luck with good weather has run out and it is raining and the mountains are completely socked in. We're going on a tour out to an Arrayanes Forest this afternoon and are hoping the clouds lift before then, but most of all we are hoping for clear skies tomorrow for our lake crossing . . .Tomorrow we return to Chile for the last few days of our trip. Argentina has been a wonderful country and I will take some excellent memories with me.
We spent Thursday on the Argentinean side of Iguazu Falls which was absolutely incredible. I didn't expect it to be nearly as good as it was, but I honestly think I liked it better than the Brazilian side. There was one catwalk we walked on for about 1100 meters that was out to "Garganta del Diablo" (devil's throat), and it was one of the strangest places I've ever been. The lonely planet guide describes it as a place most like what 15th century explorers envisioned "the edge of the flat world" to look like. This place is where there is an enormous amount of water coming in from 3 sides falling into such a small area that it literally produces a ton of fog, steam and mist that rises up and clouds the bottom from view. I'd say to this point in my trip, it's #1 on my list of most memorable experiences. Then as we hiked back to the entrance to the falls, we were accosted by a group of coatis (coatimundi) and they had no fear of approaching us and sniffing us out for food. What is a coati? The best I can describe it as is a South American version of a raccoon, but obviously they aren't nocturnal. Pictures to come of all of this . . .
Thursday night we returned to Buenos Aires and went back to La Estancia for another excellent steak. Friday morning we flew to Bariloche and arrived to find the temperature a cool 50 degrees, a nice change from the 95 degree heat we had in Puerto Iguazu. Bariloche is simply too beautiful to describe. It is on the shore of Lake Nahuel Huapi and is at the base of the Andes to the west. In the winter time this place is a ski town and in the summer it caters to people wanting to do any type of outdoor excursion - hiking, biking, horseback riding, fishing, and touring. We wandered around the plaza where we saw lots of St. Bernard dogs being led around for photos with people. We organized our Lake Crossing for Monday, which after a lot of issues we had heard about, the guy said it was not a problem and acted like everything was under control. . .we're still a bit suspicious, but we've ponied up the money and so I guess we're on for tomorrow. We also discovered these figure gnomes for sale all over town, I guess it's a European thing.
Yesterday, we rented a car and drove on the beautiful Route of the 7 Lakes road from Bariloche to San Martin de los Andes. We had some incredible views and there were clouds just above the tops of the mountains making for some incredible photos. What normally takes 4 hours to do, we did in 6 stopping probably way more than a tour bus and even getting some bonus views from campsites a bit further off the road in a couple places. Unfortunately, today our luck with good weather has run out and it is raining and the mountains are completely socked in. We're going on a tour out to an Arrayanes Forest this afternoon and are hoping the clouds lift before then, but most of all we are hoping for clear skies tomorrow for our lake crossing . . .Tomorrow we return to Chile for the last few days of our trip. Argentina has been a wonderful country and I will take some excellent memories with me.
Labels: 7 Lakes, Bariloche, San Martin
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