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!!