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Bariloche, Argentina
Oct. 31st - Chile
Bariloche is a lovely mock Alpine resort
town in the Andes. The motif of most buildings is Bavarian or
Swiss. The hillside city rises sharply up from the shores of
the huge lake. Across the lake and behind the city sit snow
capped mountains. I don't think another city is more ideally
situated. This is one of the centers of the Argentine ski
industry. Every building seems to be a hotels above shops.
Chocolate is the favorite item to sell. I've never seen so
many chocolate stores. We tried to resist. The prices of
clothes were so cheap that we bought some more cold weather
gear for Torres de Paine. Yesterday we were all cold on the
boat trip. I rented a car so we could take a drive in the
afternoon. Lunch after shopping was fabulous and only $12 for
3. I had the best sauerkraut, I can remember.
The afternoon drive went south of Bariloche where we passed
the ghetto. The poverty wasn't evident at all on the lake.
Argentina is like all other countries and couldn't be the
exception, especially after the economic collapse. There were
so many beautiful homes near the lake that we had forgotten
this was South America. Once out of the city we climbed into
the mountains and followed the shores of 3 different large
alpine lakes. There were very few houses out there. The
mountains had varied hues of colors that reflected in the
waters. We stopped and put our feet in the frigid water. I
doubt that it ever warms up much but it is early spring. There
is a common yellow blooming scrub tree brightening up most of
the southern countryside. Puerto Montt is in full bloom when
we left.
Our stay in Bariloche is way too short. We take a bus back to
Puerto Montt in the morning. It's only 5 hours compared to the
14 the boat/bus combo took yesterday.
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