Bariloche - sad story

Bariloche is supposed to be a vibrant resort all sorts of tourists - Argentinian and foreign; travellers and tourists; skiers and other sports enthusiasts. It has 2 peak seasons winter and summer. However, since early June it has been suffering from the effects of the activity of Puyehue volcano. When arriving we first thought there was some kind of heat haze over the lake. we later found out that we couldn't see across the lake because of a constant fall of ash from the ongoing eruption. It became obvious as we walked along the streets which had a layer of ash everywhere. as cars went by ash was whipped into the air - it got into your eyes, up your nose and in your hair. Fortunately there were clearer days but the town had experienced a multitude of cancellations.
it's a place where people go to see the views or go kayaking or cycling so if it's difficult to do these things why would you go?
However, if you did stay in the town, there were lots of special offers on accommodation and food.


Although the town was experiencing difficulties it was still possible to stay and see some things. We stayed at La Barraca Suites which was quite upmarket as 'hostels' go.

view of lounge and window towards the lake

view from our room

Bartloche is famous for chocolate as it has loads of chocolate shops. It's not cheap either but people buy it by the kilo - except fpr the Englishwomen who asked for one chocolate (70p).

this is only one half of the biggest chocolate shop we've ever seen

The front counter

It is also famous foor its spring blooms and we were able to see some but not much evidence

 

Historically, the area has a Germanic background. On both sides of the border (Argentina & Chile) there had been an influx of German and Swiss immigrants. many say that the area resembles the low alpine scenery of those two countries. This is where the chocolate tradition comes from, not to mention the fondue, the cakes and the beer. We've got a couple of photos to illustrate but if you look closely there may be a suggestion of British influence that you either love or hate.

can you spot the British influence?

We thought that Bariloche had it bad with ash but the camping resorts on the way to the Chilean border were devastated. As soon as we crossed the Chilean border there was no sigb of ash!!

a bit of nature and Ruta Quarenta

bird of prey - on the lookout!

Well, the next day we investigated the local nature reserve. There were lots of different bird life including some ibis that we couldn't get close enough to photograph. However, We did manage to get some of them but not always very clearly.

hope it's not looking for me!

First, I'm white and then...

keeping our heads down

....I'm not! Just like that!

fire tree - again!        

In the pink!

Then, it was off on the famous Ruta Quarenta. apparently the stuff of legend, the eternal road movie in real life. We were going to face it in two bursts of 12-hour coach travel and in the first couple of hours we were going to stop at one of Butch & Sundance's stopover points (!!)

our trusty chariot

Anne waits expectantly for Robert Redford

This is as close as she gets

The long and winding road...2,000km of it

the throbbing metropolis that is the town of Perito Moreno provides the overnight stop

It was the longest journey though nothing I have experienced. What you see in the photo above right represents 85% of the journey - it doesn't change!

So we arrived in Bariloche. Home of exciting sports and skiing. Home of suave sophisticates.......

back in Argentina

well, back again.... this was originally a trip to Chile and Peru but we're going to spend as much time in Argentina as Chile. As there's not much mainland to travel on in Chilean Patagonian, it can't be helped!!!
So... we're now in El Calafate, another staging post for tourists/travellers as it's the base to see the Perito Moreno Glacier - South America's only advancing glacier.
It's a small town strung along one main street. lot's of shops, mainly souvenirs but also some more upmarket stuff. Lots of Parillas which are more expensive than the ordinary restaurants - nothing cheap here.
The accommodation we stayed in, Amancay, was brilliant! A small family-run hostel with rooms surrounding a garden - really nice. The owners were incredibly friendly and couldn't do enough for you. Rami was a Boca fan and loved football and quite keen to talk football-he idolised (as many do here) maradonna and is quite a fan of Tevez (the first I've found!). Cecilia, his mother, is a godess of baking - her cakes are gorgeous! Breakfast is also absolutely fantastic. basically, we enjoyed ourselves here. They also sold us our trip for the next day

the trip was to Perito Moreno galcier still advancing and part of the south patagonian ice sheet. The trip involved a bus journey along the peninsula jutting out into Lago Argentino followed by a short boat crossing to the foot of the glaciar. It was a fantastic sight to see and made the other glaciars we had seen seem quite small.

view from inside the boat

 On landing we left our bags at the refuge before being given a brief talk on the glaciation of the area. Then.....the whole thing we had been waiting for ....the WALK ON THE ICE!!!!!!!!!
First we had to put on our crampons....

Anne feels that she has finally found her true place in life as a local kisses her feet

We could already see what was in store for us as several groups were out on the ice. We weren't expecting much, just a little touch on the ice and back again.

never seen again!

ready for anything!

feet wide apart and square on the ground (but how do i move??)

It was a truly wonderful experience! Anne felt it was 'challenging' but i felt it was one of the best things i'd ever done. We didn't go very far but the leaders took us up and down and across showing various bits of ice shapes and water swallow holes in the ice. I found it all quite exhilarating. The going uphill with the crampons on was a bit of a doddle but going downhill was a different matter. " The trick is to keep your feet parallel, put your feet down square on the ground (not heel to toe), bend your knees and lean back!" So I'm going down a 50% slope - I can lean back and I can even bend my knees but how the hell do you lean back, bend the knees AND plant your feet square on the ground while  keeping them parallel????????
anne got annoyed - we were the oldest people in the group - and when Anne paused  slightly to considert where to put he rfeet next, one of the guides took this as a hint of dodderiness and insisted she walked at the front with him and insisted on grabbing her hand every time she paused. It was good job we were with a group of other or she would have clocked him one and left him on the ice!!! I was congratulating myself on remaining anonymous in the middle of the pack.......so I was the one who fell! Fortunately I used my face as a brake as I slid across the ice.. so no damage there then!

This is the place where I forgot the warning about sharp ice and  cut my finger scooping up some water!

I took some time off here to do my catalogue shoot!

on top of the world!

bit of a tricky descent!

The end of the 'trek'

cheers!

A few wooden looks from the locals!

The ice from the glacier was still advancing by 2 metres a day and every now and then it reaches a peninsula of land. As Lago Argentino is then cut in half by the glacier the water level on one side increases and puts pressure on the snout of the glacier until it forms an arch and then eventually collapses. The water level equalises and as the glacier advances the process repeats itself.

T

A lot of people waited patiently to catch some ice breaking off but this was the nearest I got

Overall it was a great day, both of us felt uplifted by the whole experience! The only way to follow it up was to go back to the hostel and eat some fabulous cake!!