I continued backpacking alone from San Martin de los Andes to Villa La Angostura and Bariloche.
1st day – Friday (05/27/2011)
I woke up, had breakfast and around 9am, the tour vanthe 7 lakes route passed by my hostel, the Puma Hostel, in San Martin de los Andes. We continued along the road with beautiful views and as the viewpoints appeared, we stopped to take photos. Each view was more beautiful than the last, despite the rainy weather…
We passed several lakes and after a 4-hour journey, we arrived at Villa la Angostura. What a beautiful little town! Little houses made of wood and stone, few people on the streets, a view of the lake… practically the same as SMA.
We stopped for lunch at a restaurant that had already been arranged with the company and the food and wine were great. I met a girl from Uzbekistan who lives in Germany and who was also going to Bariloche, so we stopped at the bus station and bought the ticket to Bariloche together. She was so cute and ended up being my companion during my entire stay there! 🙂 (update: we are still talking after 5 years of traveling…)
We took the bus and arrived in Bari late in the afternoon. We liked the city too, but we agreed that it wasn't as charming as the other two, which are much smaller. When we left the bus station, we came across some people handing out flyers and this made me feel at home (hey Brazil), but she found it quite strange. We went to our respective hostels and agreed to meet up 1 hour later to walk around the city.
I stayed in the Bariloche Hostel Inn, with excellent service, structure and best of all, a sensational view. The only bad thing about it is that it is at the top of a considerable slope, so we have to do a good amount of exercise to get there.
I left my backpack at locker From my room, I got ready and after 1 hour I met my friend to go for a walk around the city. We stopped at the tourist center and got some tips on tours in the area. On the main street, we went straight to the chocolate shop RapaNui, which stood out from the others because of its cute lilac decor. We ate dulce de leche ice cream, bought some chocolates and sat there on a delicious sofa, enjoying the hustle and bustle of the store. When it was almost dinner time at my hostel (yes, it was included!), we went back and she ended up having dinner with me. What a delicious dinner! We met a really nice Argentinian and an American woman, with whom we went out for drinks at a nearby bar afterwards. A day full of new friends…
2nd day – Saturday (05/28/2011)
I woke up, had breakfast and met my friend to book the tour. Victoria Island/Arrayanes the afternoon. We decided to go in the morning to the Otto Hill, which was very close to the hostel, compared to Cathedral Hill. We took the cable car to the top, even though it was a cloudy day. We sat on the Revolving confectionery to wait for the weather to improve… and it did! We took pictures from all angles and drank delicious hot chocolates while we did so. The view is really beautiful when the weather is clear, because you can see the little town below with the lake, the surrounding mountains with eternal snow and abundant vegetation.
We took a bus to the port where the boat for the tour to Isla Victoria would leave from. We arrived there very close to the time the tour started, but we managed to take some photos of the area, which has the hotel's prominent presence. Llao Llao, the most chic in the city.
We got on the boat and stayed outside, despite the cold. We stayed there because we wanted to feed the seagulls that fly over the boat, crazy about the biscuits given to us by the tourists. What an adventure it is to feed them…
The first stop on the tour was at Arrayanes National Park , a forest full of 15-meter-high trees, with reddish trunks with white spots...very beautiful. The forest is super charming, with well-made wooden trails and the smell is very nice.
After 30 minutes of walking around, we got back on the boat and headed to the Puerto Anchorena on Victoria Island. There we took a walk through the coniferous plantation, through the forest and then along the beach, which has a beautiful view. Look at the view:
After some time walking around, we got back on the boat and arrived in the city. We took a bus from the port to the hostel and when we got there, we got ready and went to dinner with our new friends at the hostel. We had a great time and went back to our room early, because the next day's tour would leave very early...
3rd day – Sunday (05/29/2011)
We woke up, had breakfast and waited for the tour bus. Tronador Volcano and of the Black Ventisqueiro Glacier. As soon as we arrived, we realized that our companions were only elderly men and women… and I mean, age. I admit that we were discouraged at first, because we wanted to meet people our own age, but during the tour we realized that they were really cute and we ended up having a lot of fun with their advice and stories. The tour lasted the whole day and was a delight. We first stopped at a place with a restaurant next to a river for a quick snack. It was very cloudy and quite cold, so we quickly returned to the bus…
We continued and stopped at a viewpoint with an incredibly beautiful view of Tronador, look:
Afterwards we stopped at a restaurant for lunch, also with a view of the volcano, with several beautiful horses roaming free.
We continued on to see the black glacier, which is also very beautiful. When we got there, we could hear the roar of the ice blocks falling at the base and I thought it was really cool. We took lots of photos and then went back to the bus.
The last stop on the tour was at a viewpoint where you could see an island that is shaped like a heart, if seen from above. From the viewpoint, it is just an island, in the middle of the lake, with lots of vegetation…lol.
We arrived in Bariloche while it was still daylight and went to see the San Carlos de Bariloche Cathedral, which is one of the most beautiful cathedrals I have ever seen.
We enjoyed the beautiful sunset on the lake Nahuel Huapi and we went to dinner at a very cozy restaurant (I don't remember the name, but the prices were very affordable). After the good food (trout) and some beers (Quilmes and Aguila), we had ice cream at Grandma Goye and we went back to the hostel. We got ready and went to have some more beers at a cool bar nearby to celebrate our last night together! It was so nice to meet you. We got back to the hostel a little late and went to bed…
4th day – Monday (05/30/2011)
We woke up without much rush, had breakfast and went for a walk in the Llao Llao Park, which was practically empty. Some photos of the tour:
We had lunch there and returned soon after, because my friend from Uzbekistan had a bus to catch. We said goodbye and I continued walking around the city… I went into a chocolate shop and saw the chocolate making process… very interesting. I walked around the lake, bought my bus ticket to Puerto Montt, I walked around a little more and went back to rest at the hostel. I had dinner and left everything ready because my bus the next day would leave at 7 in the morning.
PS: I wanted to do the Andean lakes tour that goes from Bariloche to Puerto Montt by boat and bus, passing through beautiful places. The problem was that it was low season and the tour that was available was for 2 days and stopped in a city called Peulla, where I would have to pay for accommodation in a small hotel there... I had no other option. The tour would cost about US$1,4,300 and I thought it would be too romantic and expensive, so I opted for the regular bus, which was much cheaper. This is a tip for couples! <3
Want to know everything about my 30-day trip through Argentina and Chile? Just click on the links below. links below:
- ARGENTINA – Buenos Aires and Tigre
- ARGENTINA – Córdoba, Alta Gracia, Villa Carlos Paz and Villa General Belgrano
- ARGENTINA – Mendoza, Uspallata and Puente del Inca
- ARGENTINA – Neuquén and San Martin de los Andes
- ARGENTINA – Bariloche
- CHILE – Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas
- CHILE – Pucon
- CHILE – Cálama and San Pedro de Atacama
- CHILE – Santiago, Vina del Mar and Valparaíso
