Bariloche (formerly San Carlos de Bariloche)

Sunday mid morning set off on a leisurely drive from Villa La Angostura, (raining again but lightly unlike a few days ago) to Bariloche, about 90km. All the roads are good, so our current Lonely Planet guide bought last year but published 2016 is a tad out of date. It had warned of unpaved roads on large sections of our journey from San Martin de Los Andes to Bariloche. Scenery is mainly Forest with frequent lake views. Today the lake is very rough with high waves whipped up by the wind. Very dramatic. As we approach Bariloche the terrain gives way to scrub and a rather uninteresting outskirts of the town.

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I took over the driving as was feeling decidedly car sick. The car is a basic Nissan March with no central locking. We arrived at our destination at around 2pm, Design Suites Bariloche. After a cup of coffee our room was ready. Scored again, a magnificent room with a panoramic view of the lake and mountains. A jacuzzi bath situated in the bedroom directly overlooking the lake, hmm a tad bit different! May report further on that in due course. A separate shower room en suite.

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Once checked in we took ourselves off for a walk around the local town, however the wind was gusting over 50km an hour so we had some interesting moments trying to stay upright. The shopping however was less exciting consisting of chocolate, ski gear shops and chemists.

Parts of the town were very Swiss GermanIn style but other parts had obviously grown too rapidly without much thought to planning. What can’t be disputed is the stunning beauty of the lake and surrounding mountains that constantly changes with the varying light.

We also booked an Estancia day trip for Monday. Finally managed to persuade David to get on a horse for a few hours. Pick up at 09.15 Monday morning. More to follow on that expedition! Definitely losing track of the days now, having been moving about since November 1st.

Ate at ‘Stag’ restaurant tonight, a very good meal with great views overlooking the lake, until it got dark that is when the view went completely black such is the lack of any ambient light. Internet speeds so bad here that I may not be able to upload many pics.