Flew from Buenos Aires to Barlioche on Thursday morning. Bariloche is a beautiful lakeside city nestled in the foothills of the Andes. It is situated along the banks of the 40 mile long Lake Nahuel Huapi & is a gateway to Patagonia’s Lake District. It is both a summer & winter getaway very much like the ski resorts in Colorado having very much an alpine feel, hence its nickname “Little Switzerland.
Interesting sculpture of Mary in front of this charming Catholic Church. There are many of German descent in Bariloche. Began to come here in the mid 1800’s & continued to do so until after WW11. In fact, we had a lecture on Friday by a German educator who spoke of Nazi war criminals escaping to Argentina as well as many other countries & being protected. Most interesting.Morning view of Andes from our hotel in Bariloche. Huinid Bustillos which sounds like We Need.Getting ready to board the chairlift to go to the top of Campanario Hill. It’s late Spring here so everything is in full bloom.Chairlift to the lookout point.From lookout point after reaching the top of the chairlift. The beautiful Andes with glacier made lakes.The Andes from another view. Pictures hardly do the beauty justice.So fortunate to be here among all of this beauty.Learning about the flora & fauna from Lettie. Amazing how much these young local guides know, & how well they communicate in English. Command of the language so impressive.Forest walk only to come upon Lago Escondido (Hidden Lake). Another lake & Mountain View, this one from our rocky hike.Amy & I enjoying the view during our hike.Marta with a treat of chocolate covered raspberries before we headed back to the trailhead/beach. Quite a challenging rocky hike. Marta is a terrific tour leader who is just so much fun. Bariloche is the chocolate capital of Argentina. Chocolate shops abound.Recreational beach area. Several individuals chose not to join us on the hike, so they collected sea glass. BTW, there are 14 of us traveling together.Another beautiful lookout point. Famous hotel in the distance, & no we did not stay there. Would have taken a Tauck tour to experience such a stay.Gilbert Brewery where we sampled four different kinds of beer & had a boar stew lunch w/pumpkin soup starter. The brewmaster gave our group a short lecture on the beer making process. Little hole in the wall brewery that brews beer for the restaurant only. Beer & wine are big industries in Argentina.Started our very busy Saturday with a lecture called First Hand Testimony “Mapuche People”. This gentleman is a Mapuche who told his story in Spanish & Marta translated. Mapuche are the native people of Argentina, & he talked about their struggles then & now. Found it most interesting that his father was Mapuche & his mother was a captured white woman who considers herself a Mapuche because she was raised in their culture. Loved this lecture as it was so similar to the American Indian story.We then arrived at a horse ranch where the first order of business was learning how to make & drink Mate, a South American drink since way back when. There is a social ritual to the making & drink that would require too many paragraphs. Will say, it is definitely an acquired taste.Drinking of Mate in its special cup & metal tube. Am I really sharing this picture????? Oh well, have to demonstrate how it is ENJOYED.Our next adventure was a horseback ride through the steppe before having a barbecue lunch.Barbecuing lamp, chorizo sausage & beef for our lunch.Salads to accompany our barbecue. The yellow penguins contain wine, of course.Ended with a float trip on the Limay River with a snack at the end.
Busy day, late night & early morning to come. Tomorrow, we’ll travel 8 to 10 hours overland into Chile. We cross the border from Argentina into Chile, & will have our passports stamped which can take a few hours, hence the long travel time by bus. Fortunately, a big bus for the 14 of us to spread out.
I am having a blast. Lots of adventures & many laughs.
Traveling with Judy 
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